"First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win." Celebrating the life and legacy of Mahatma #Ghandi.

Maryland Rolls Back Zero-Tolerance Policies

In "Promises Kept" I wrote about the damaging effect of zero-tolerance policies in educational environments. I'm excited to learn that Maryland is rolling back its ZT policies back because they unreasonably punish boys, African-American students, and those with special needs. I urge you to read the examples of things kids are getting suspended and expelled -- read: separated from their education -- for. Things for which, back in the day, we would have gotten a detention or been sent to the office.

Role-play to prep Black boys for encounters with cops, security, authorities & knuckleheads. Teach him to respond not react. #promiseskept

What Happens When A Smoker Quits

It's never too late to quit smoking, so don't give up or get down on yourself. Each time you try you're learning more about the skill set you'll need to you kick the habit forever.

What happens when a smoker quits... SHARE THIS

The Most Likely Person to Read a Book?

According to a Pew Internet study published this week, college educated Black women read more than everyone else. And another stereotype-busting statistic that is buried in the data? Black people read more than Whites.

http://www.thewire.com/culture/2014/01/most-likely-person-read-book-college-educated-black-woman/357091/ 

Breathing In vs. Spacing Out

Sometime's daydreaming's better than mindfulness. HA!

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/19/magazine/breathing-in-vs-spacing-out.html?src=me&ref=general&_r=0

"It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done…" 
-- Sidney Carton, A Tale of Two Cities. 

I am feeling very humble today. Random House just published my latest book "Promises Kept: Raising Black Boys to Succeed in School and in Life," with Joe Brewster and Michele Stevenson. Our book will be a game changer, since it will arm Black boys' parents, educators and Village with strategies to help the boys fulfill their potential. 

Researching and writing Promises Kept was the hardest thing I've ever done. Not because I find research and writing so difficult, but because I did an exhaustive amount so quickly. I don't know how I did it and don't believe that could repeat it. Today "Promises Kept" landed in some excited parent's hands. Now lives begin to change, leaving me feeling awestruck (again) by how the work I do alone in a room (or not so alone in a coffee shop) can transform the world in ways I will never know. 

What an honor it has been, Joe Brewster and Michele Stevenson, to support you in your journey to help improve both children's lives and our world. #PromisesKept

Why dieting doesn't usually work

Food for thought: The speaker in this TED Talk on why dieting doesn't usually work shares some information I thought you might find meaningful: 

1) Girls who diet in their early teens are 3 times more likely to become overweight 5 years later, even if they start at a normal weight. 

2) Being teased about their weight by family members is a predictor of girls' becoming overweight. 

3) Developing just one (if you're overweight) or two (if you're obese) healthy habits reduces a person's risk of death so that their risk falls into the range of people with a "normal" weight. 

I also find it interesting that this neuroscientist, who knows that she didn't need a diet as a girl, just got off of a diet even though she appears to be a healthy weight. We don't know what health issues she has, but it does raise the issue of how powerful the media images are of a woman's ideal body type, even for middle-aged women.

http://www.ted.com/talks/sandra_aamodt_why_dieting_doesn_t_usually_work?%3Futm_medium=social&source=email&utm_source=email&utm_campaign=ios-share

If you knew that by adjusting your parenting style you could increase your Black son or Black male student's grades, would you do it? 

Fewer than ⅓ of Black boys' parents and too few of their educators use the childrearing style that helps him optimize his test scores, behavior and self esteem. But don't beat yourself up or feel embarrassed: Researchers have only recently discovered that the approach that worked so well for our parents, forbears and previous generations of educators doesn't work well (and sometimes even backfires) in this global, digital era. 

What's the right mix of responsiveness and demandingness? We tell you in "Promises Kept: Raising Black Boys to Succeed in School and in Life," published Tuesday, January 14, 2014. Order now on Amazon or B&N. 

Joe Brewster Michèle Stephenson Chris Jackson Gregory Scott Jones Darcy Heusel American Promise Melissa A Rowe, M.Ed. Random House, Inc. #promiseskept #achievementgap #BlackEdu #education

Cold Turkey Isn't the Only Route

I want to share this article about non abstinence-only options to help people with drinking problems, which increasingly includes women. Apparently in other parts of the world, they use approaches that allow (at least some) people to still drink. This flies in the face of the AA model that we follow in the US, but according to the author, they work. Good info for our loved ones who struggle.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/02/opinion/cold-turkey-isnt-the-only-route.html?_r=0

 

What MLK said about health care...

I'm a big supporter of the movement to raise the minimum wage so that people can live lives with dignity, care for their families and actively contribute to our society.

Who's responsible for the gap between what people think and what reality is? You guessed it: the media. 

Thanks to Economic Policy Institute for the image, viaDaily Kos