I spent this past weekend at a business conference which included presentations from several very dynamic and accomplished women. These were some impressive and powerful women, many of whom mentioned their children as they talked about their lives. It was great to hear their stories. I must confess, however, that as I listened to them I also heard a [...]
In early August 2019 we lost Toni Morrison, the first African American woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. In today's Thoughtful Thursday we celebrate this gifted author by sharing some of her inspirational quotes. Share these with your children and enjoy. On Writing –If you find a book you really want to read, but it hasn't been written [...]
For those of you who have children heading to their freshman year in college, this is an exciting time. Your son or daughter is probably nervous, enthusiastic, optimistic, and filled with anticipation as they begin the school year, and no doubt so are you. Here are a few tips to help you with the transition: Ask Your Child to [...]
All hell broke loose, it seems, while GCP was on vacation last week. Not one but TWO mass shootings, where innocent victims were targeted by deranged shooters. We experience the shock, anger, and helplessness of watching people's lives be cut tragically short at a community festival, at the local Walmart. As adults we are shook to the core. It's been [...]
For today's Thoughtful Thursday we return to our roots with poems for Black boys. Our inspiration: Did you hear about the 10 year old Black boy who faced criminal aggravated assault charges after an elementary school dodgeball game? A (white) classmate was injured after being struck in the head with a ball the boy threw during the game. The [...]
University of Pennsylvania Dean of Admissions Eric Furda hosts "The Process", a Sirius XM monthly show on college admissions, and I was his first guest for the July show. It aired on Sunday morning, and if you missed it you can hear it at https://soundcloud.com/siriusxmentertainment/the-process-7-26-19 And what will you hear in my segment? Lots of college admissions advice and tips. [...]
Last month, Joy Harjo was named the U.S.’s 23rd Poet Laureate. She is the first Native American to be appointed to this role. She takes the position in September 2019, following U.S. Poet Laureate Tracey K. Smith, whose work has been featured often in Thoughtful Thursday posts. Harjo was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1951, and is a member [...]
There will be just one poem for today's Thoughtful Thursday. "A Small Needful Fact", by Ross Gay, pays tribute to Eric Garner, whose life was ended in 2014 by a police officer's illegal and deadly chokehold during an attempt to arrest him. The medical examiner ruled the death a homicide. A Staten Island grand jury decided not to indict the [...]
The NYT article "When a Black Student Plays Along With the K.K.K. Joke, What's a College to Do?", written by Ronald Crutcher, the (African American) president of the University of Richmond, details the aftermath of his discovery of an 1980 photo of U. Richmond white students dressed as Ku Klux Klansmen surrounding a grinning African American student posing with [...]
As we near mid July, today's Thoughtful Thursday celebrates Summer. We do so with a variety of poems about summer from a variety of poets. We start with a classic from Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872-1906), who "In Summer" waxes eloquently about a song for a summer's day. Then we have a delightful ode to a "Firefly", a familiar summer [...]
