Summer is almost here! But along with summer fun comes summer slide, the learning loss that occurs when children do no educational activity during the summer months of no school. That loss is real: studies show that most students lose about two months of grade level equivalency in mathematical computation skills over the summer months. Experts also agree that [...]
Today's Thoughtful Thursday features poems from two iconic African-American poets, Paul Lawrence Dunbar and Alice Walker. Dunbar's "By The Stream" cautions us to remember to look beyond the sparkle and glow of personality to determine the depth of character. Walker's "Before You Knew You Owned It" offers words of wisdom about managing expectations and guarding vulnerability. On the lighter [...]
It is graduation season, and speakers everywhere are polishing up their speeches and getting ready to share their wisdom and advice with the Class of 2015 and their families. Today's Thoughtful Thursday features quotes from past graduation speeches. Some are funny, some thought provoking, some inspirational. Enjoy, and Congrats to the graduates! "Think hard, always think hard, but don't [...]
Now is the time to focus on your sons' summer reading plans. If you have an avid reader, make time to stop at the library or the book store and pick up some fun books for the summer. If your son would rather do almost anything other than read, then you will need to give him some incentive to [...]
Joe Brewster and Perri Peltz, the folks who brought you the powerful short documentary "A Conversation With My Black Son" (see our earlier GCP post about it here) are back with "A Conversation About Growing Up Black", in which a group of young men discuss the impact of race and racism on their lives. These thoughtful young men talk [...]
Today's Thoughtful Thursday presents the work of award-winning poet Terrance Hayes. Born in 1971 in Columbia, South Carolina, Hayes received a BA from Coker College and an MFA from the University of Pittsburgh, and is a professor at the University of Pittsburgh. "Lighthead", his collection of poems published in 2010, won a National Book Award, and Hayes received a [...]
Zach Hodges, the Harvard defensive end featured in an earlier post who overcame great personal tragedy to become a star football player at Harvard, has signed with the Indianapolis Colts. While Hodges was not selected during the NFL draft as he had hoped, he signed with the Colts over the weekend after they expressed strong interest in him as [...]
Hard to believe we need protest poetry again this year, and we are only four months in. Today's Thoughtful Thursday salutes Haki Madhubuti, poet and member of the Black Arts Movement. Madhubuti's work with the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) informs his activist poetics. As he [...]
Bryan Stevenson founded the Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery, Alabama in 1989 and has spent years defending innocent people condemned to death. His highly acclaimed and award-winning book, “Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption,” tells the stories of his clients and their pursuit of justice. In a recent interview with The Charlotte Observer, found here, Stevenson offered [...]
NYC educator Alvin Irby is the founder of Barbershop Books, a New York City–based project that puts child friendly reading nooks and a variety of fun and engaging books into neighborhood barbershops, so young Black boys are encouraged to read while they wait for a haircut. With Barbershop Books Irby seeks to connect Black men to Black boys’ early [...]