Rugged Elegance, LLC: RE: Parenting and Mentoring

Wed, 04 Jun 2003 20:41:54 GMT

The Rugged Elegance Inspiration Network Is Moving! Due to the tremendous response we've gotten, we've decided to give The Rugged Elegance Inspiration Network site room to grow by moving it to a new, improved location: http://www.ruggedelegantliving.com Please re-set your bookmarks as all new posts will occur on the new site. As part of the move we are also transitioning to a Moveable Type content management system, which will allow us to add more editors while providing better search and categorization capabilities. Thank you your continued support. Growth is good. -Tim

Wed, 04 Jun 2003 00:56:26 GMT

Unfogging the Future: What to Look for in the Next Harry Potter Book Magazine:

After three knuckle-biting years of waiting for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, we finally have a date. On June 21, J.K. Rowling's latest dose of Harry, Hogwarts, Hermione and Hedwig will be delivered to millions of grateful readers. To help fill the gap between then and now, Book went to work, gathering every hint that's been dropped -- including surprising revelations by Rowling herself -- about what to expect in Book Five. Here's what we've divined.

Thu, 29 May 2003 18:26:36 GMT

Home-Schooling Families Have a New Option: A Public Education, Online The New York Times:

MADELINE NELSON of Steubenville, Ohio, has been in the third grade since last fall but has met her teacher only a few times. She has plenty of schoolwork to do, including book reports and her favorite, art projects. She gets her assignments online through the Ohio Virtual Academy, which she attends along with her sister Therese, 7, and brother Gabriel, 5, from the dining room table at home. If Madeline, 9, were a traditional home-schooled student, her mother, Gretchen, would be instructing her (her father, Mark, works full time outside the home). But even though Mrs. Nelson believes home schooling is best for her children, she does not feel capable of teaching them.

For those friends who have chosen to homeschool their children, I hope you find this article inspiring. -Jen Keywords: Computers and the Internet, Teachers and School Employees, Children and Youth, Equal Educational Opportunities

Fri, 23 May 2003 21:17:04 GMT

Building A Better Teenager Child Trends' Research Brief: What Works-Youth Development

Most American adolescents are psychologically, socially, and physically healthy. A vast majority are good citizens who are free of major mental, behavioral, and addictive disorders; an increasing percentage volunteer in their communities; and declining numbers are violent, become pregnant, or smoke. Despite these encouraging facts, adolescence remains a time of considerable change and risk.

In this brief, I especially like what Dr. Moore and Dr. Zaff say about viewing teens positively, promoting their skills and assets rather than focusing on the negatives, their potential problems and deficits. It is clear that "relationships" are key to adolescent well-being. -Jen

Fri, 23 May 2003 18:53:27 GMT

Latest 'Harry Potter' Book Fastest Ever Seller Indiantelevision.com:

The boy wizard Harry Potter is growing from strength to strength. Online distributor Amazon.com has said that the latest installment in the Harry Potter book series has already become its fastest-selling new product ever, with more than 500,000 copies ordered in advance of the book's publication on 21 June.

Fri, 23 May 2003 05:46:36 GMT

States Cut Test Standards to Avoid Sanctions New York Times:

By lowering testing standards, states hope to evade the penalties that a federal law imposes on schools whose students fare poorly on standardized tests.

Wed, 21 May 2003 19:48:24 GMT

Backpacks May Not Cause Back Pain After All ScienceDaily News:

Backpacks have gotten a bad rap. For years, specialists have urged school children to lighten their loads, wear their backpacks on both shoulders and avoid lugging around those heavy school bags whenever possible. But new research from a University of Michigan Health System physiatrist indicates backpacks don't cause the stress and strain on young backs that they've been linked to.

Comforting news, especially after having picked up my daugther's (heavy) back pack the other day. -Tim

Mon, 19 May 2003 21:08:53 GMT

America's Prison Popluation: 2 Million and Growing International Herald Tribune:

The population of America's jails and prisons passed two million last year, for the first time in history. The United States has one of the highest incarceration rates in the world, and one that falls unevenly. An estimated 12 percent of African-American men between 20 and 34 are behind bars, more than seven times the rate for white men the same age.

There is clearly a direct tie-in with the research I saw presented last Wednesday. According to Mark Coehn in The Monetary Value of Saving a High Risk Youth, the lifetime cost to society of a career criminal is $1.3 million per prisoner. The cost to society, therefore, is $2.6 trillion to deal with 2 million prisoners. What to do? Support an early prevention and intervention program, such as Friends of the Children, which finds seriously at-risk children and gives them a paid adult mentor from age 6 through 18. An ounce of prevention is certainly worth a pound of cure. -Tim

Mon, 19 May 2003 20:05:41 GMT

Girls Rule at the Intel Science Fair CIOL:

Girls stole the show at the Intel International Science & Engineering fair held in Cleveland. The top awards this year went to Anila Madiraju, of Canada, Elena Glassman of Pennsylvania and Lisa Glukhovsky of Connecticut.

This is further evidence of the advances that girls are making at all levels. -Tim

Sat, 17 May 2003 02:16:07 GMT

The New Gender Gap BusinessWeek:

From kindergarten to graduate school, boys are fast becoming the second sex. "Girls are on a tear through the educational system," says Thomas G. Mortenson, a senior scholar at the Pell Institute for the Study of Opportunity in Higher Education in Washington. "In the past 30 years, nearly every inch of educational progress has gone to them."

Fri, 16 May 2003 21:45:43 GMT

34 Years Later, One Coach's Sweetest Victory The New York Times by Bill Pennington: How would you feel if you were adopted and, after thirty-four years, you were reunited with your birth parents? If that weren't enough, what if you found out that your birth father was a prominent person? That was the scenario that played out for John Mathieson who was recently reunited with his birth parents, New York Giants Coach Jim Fassel and his wife, Kitty. Even if you're not a sports fan, you'll love this article. -Tim

Mon, 12 May 2003 04:45:01 GMT

The New York Times Magazine has an incredible article entitled 'Why Is Jonathan Simms Still Alive?' which details how Don Simms successfully fought in the British courts for his son's right to undergo experimental treatment for the effects of mad-cow disease (CJD). Don Simms is an inspiration both for his single-minded determination and for his ability to navigate the medical, research and legal barriers to do everything possible for his son. This article raises many ethical questions, but there is one thing beyond question: Don Simms' love for his son, Jonathan. Mr. Simms should know that his efforts have already brought many blessings to the world. -Tim

Thu, 08 May 2003 01:46:46 GMT

Young Lives Transformed, Guided by a Camera Lens New York Times by David Gonzalez:

Guatemala City -- One of the first photographs Evelyn Mansilla ever took was of a peaceful landscape of rolling hills peeking out through a thicket of trees. Not a single soul or a speck of garbage was visible, which was almost miraculous, since she took the photo inside the sprawling municipal dump where she and her mother often joined dozens of neighbors to scavenge. Point of view is all. "I am here, but it is not all bad, and it could be worse," said Ms. Mansilla, who lives a few blocks from the dump. "You have to see something positive. You have to look for alternatives. We may live in the dump but, look, there is also a forest."

Tue, 06 May 2003 19:03:05 GMT

Fruit Juice a Double-Edged Sword for Kids HealthScout News by Colette Bouchez:

If you stock your refrigerator with fruit juices, you may be setting your kids up for a battle with obesity. That's the suggestion of a new study finding that overweight children consume 65 percent more of the calorie-laden juices than thinner kids. "Parents think that because fruit juices are natural that they are a healthy drink, so they don't put a limit on how much their children consume," says study author Dr. Sarita Dhuper, director of pediatric cardiology and the pediatric obesity clinic at the Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center. In truth, however, Dhuper says fruit drinks are a major source of calories on their own. Moreover, she says, their high sugar content may increase a child's appetite for even greater amounts of food, thus further contributing to weight gain.

Juicing fruit removes all the fiber from fruit, which means that the carbohydrates (sugars) in fruit juice get converted into blood glucose very quickly. The body releases insulin to bring the blood glucose down. What ever is not used by the body for energy at the time gets stored as fat. This happens quickly and kids end up becoming hungry soon after drinking fruit juice. What's a better solution? Have kids eat fresh fruit and drink water instead of drinking fruit juices. The fiber in the fruit slows down the rate at which carbohydrates (sugars) get converted into blood glucose. Three positive benefits: 1) kids don't get hungry quickly as they do with juice; 2) they get all the vitamins that they need from the fruit and 3) the water keeps kids hydrated. Here's a rule of thumb: The less processed a food is, the better it is for you. Eat Right. Live Better. -Tim

Mon, 05 May 2003 15:57:25 GMT

Adoptive Parents Say SARS Won't Stand In Way San Francisco Chronicle:

Among the outfits, books and baby supplies Iris Moy received at her baby shower last month was a box of surgical face masks. It was no joke. Moy of Oakland is adopting a baby girl from China, where at least 4,125 people have contracted the disease known as SARS, and 197 have died. Her friends and family have been expressing grave concerns about her trip there later this month.

Sun, 04 May 2003 05:43:35 GMT

Teachers Learn About 'Assets' Anchorage Daily News:

On April 17, educators found booklets on "40 Ways Anyone Can Build Assets," "150 Ways to Show Kids You Care" and "10 Things Parents Need to Know About Their Teens. But it all boiled down to one thing for Clarissa Smith, a 4-H program staff member seated at one of the large round tables at the Hotel Captain Cook. "My husband and I decided that it's a lot easier to build a child than repair an adult," she explained about the philosophy that has sustained her and her husband, Brian, through raising seven children. Caring is at the heart of building a child, she said, adding that it does help parents to have values spelled out in formats such as the Developmental Assets program of the Minnesota-based Search Institute. "Assets" is being used as a tool to guide parents and teachers in promoting positive youth development.

I resonate with "My husband and I decided that it's a lot easier to build a child than repair an adult." We are so grateful for the work Search is doing to identify the elements of a strength-based approach to healthy youth development. No doubt you will find their 40 Developmental Assets to be an asset to yourself, whether you are a parent, teacher, mentor, coach, or manager. -Jennifer

Wed, 30 Apr 2003 14:39:52 GMT

Challenging Our Young People: Big Questions, Worthy Dreams John Hoffman, Dean of Students, Concordia University in Irving writes: "Ted Mitchell defines mentoring as leadership. 'The people I know who are great leaders are great mentors.' He describes four characteristics of good mentoring.

Teaching: Mentorship is the ability to transfer skills and knowledge, and--more--it is the ability to encourage others to reach beyond previously assumed limits of understanding, perspective, and will.
Common Vision: [Mentors] foster the development of not one but many people who share a vision and interpret it in their own ways.
Seasoning: [Mentors] put novices into increasingly challenging situations in order to develop their habits of mind and instincts, while at the same time standing ready to reach out with a helping hand.
Growth: Mentor/novice relationships are those in which both are challenged, and through which both grow and develop.

I believe these ideas are a great start, but in a changing, postmodern world, this practical side must be complimented with something that goes deeper." Hoffman goes onto say, "If you are to read one book during the coming months regarding mentoring young adults, I encourage you to make it Big Questions, Worthy Dreams by Sharon Daloz Parks (2000). Parks suggests that young adults today are being cheated because they are not being asked big enough questions or challenged to dream the most worthy of dreams. The specific questions she refers to are those of meaning, purpose, and faith. " Here's to challenging ourselves to dream our most worthy dreams. Only then can we rightfully ask those we mentor to to do the same. -Jennifer

Mon, 28 Apr 2003 23:13:20 GMT

Womb Time Drops When Hungry Mama Conceives, Science Study Says BBC News: "If you don't eat enough just before conception and early in your pregnancy, you may be increasing the odds you'll have a premature baby, a new study suggests. The researchers, from Canada, New Zealand and Australia, believe the finding may shed new light on the 40% of premature births for which there is currently no obvious explanation. " Omega-3 fatty acids, found in many fish, also serve to reduce the number of premature births. There seems to be more and more evidence which confirms what our mothers told us: "You are what you eat." Eat right. Live Better. -Tim

'Raising America: Because I Said So'

Mon, 28 Apr 2003 22:16:09 GMT

Book Review: Raising America In the Sunday New York Times Book Review Stacy Schiff writes: "Hulbert could hardly have taken on a more ambitious assignment, and for the most part she succeeds beautifully. She has fit her prodigious material around five of the century's conferences on childhood, focusing on the generations of experts who have guided us through this increasingly materialistic, increasingly meritocratic and increasingly messy business. Each generation has produced a sort of Jekyll and Hyde, from the stern L. Emmett Holt and the empathetic G. Stanley Hall, to the doctrinaire John Watson and the child-oriented Arnold Gesell, to Benjamin Spock, who seems to have managed to ride the seesaw all by himself. The teeter-tottering says a very great deal about this dismal science, which in Hulbert's telling moves not only back and forth between discipline and permissiveness but inexorably from the scientific to the sermonic. If the century began with scientists it ends with preachers, who have replaced manuals with manifestoes, each of them delighted to ease us through the 7,000 habits of highly effective parenting. Available at Amazon 'Raising America: Experts, Parents, and a Century of Advice About Children.'

The Mother of All Life Experiences

Mon, 28 Apr 2003 21:59:52 GMT

The Mother of All Life Experiences This special to The Washington Post by Caroline Elizabeth Wellbery inspired me to keep doing what I'm doing...i.e., building Rugged Elegance while raising my children. -Jen

Parenting Tips: Dealing With Bad Dreams

Mon, 28 Apr 2003 21:47:52 GMT

Parenting Tips: Dealing With Bad Dreams KHQA's Melissa Shriver writes: "Monsters like Sully in Monsters Inc. aren't causing children nightmares like they used to. The movie has helped a lot of children see imaginary monsters differently since these monsters are more scared of children than the kids are of monsters. But since all children are going to dream, at some point they're going to have a bad one, and that means you need to know how to handle it." ********** I always have a tough time getting my kids to talk about their bad dream when they climb into my bed for reassurance. However, Melissa Shriver offers some good suggestions as to how to bring it out of them. -Jen

Coping With Difficult Personality Traits

Mon, 28 Apr 2003 21:29:43 GMT

Coping With Difficult Personality Traits PARENTING Magazine writes: "We all love our children and wouldn't trade them, but we might be a teensy bit tempted to trade a few personality traits in. Maybe your son has a tendency to daydream and gets easily distracted from his chores. Maybe your otherwise charming daughter has a tendency to indulge in histrionics when told no. Maybe your youngest is a master at blaming others for things that go wrong. Roni Jay, business consultant and author of Family Matters: Parenting Tips from the Business World, writes "We like to think that our children will grow up to be sensible, rational adults. But experience shows us that many of the grownups we know haven't managed it. Many of our colleagues, bosses, or staff members exhibit traits that we fondly hope our children will have outgrown long before they are released into the community. The good news is that if there are ways of coping with these traits at work, you can do it at home." ********** Some good pointers for parents with daydreamers, blamers, prima donnas. -Jen