Boost Your Kid’s Confidence: 3 Habits to Help Them Avoid

By: Valorie Burton, Author and Executive Director of The Coaching and Positive Psychology Institute

There are three signs to look for in how your children explain why something didn’t go well – whether a test, a game, or even a spat with a friend.  Think back to the last time your child didn’t do well at something.  Did their explanation reflect any of these three pitfalls?
1. It’s Personal:  It’s me.  It’s all my fault!
Kids (and even adults!) who blame themselves entirely for their failures without pinpointing some of the changeable circumstances that contributed to the failure are less motivated to try harder – and they are more likely to have low self-esteem.  “I’m stupid, that’s why I got a D on the test” is a personal explanation.  “I didn’t study much, the teacher didn’t explain the material well and I was hungry because I skipped breakfast” are external explanations.  And they are all things you can do something about the next time around.
2.  It’s Permanent:  I never do well on tests.  I always screw up.
If you’re child uses “always” and “never” to explain a failure, boost their confidence by helping them remember a time when the opposite was true.  “What about the English test you did well on last week?  You didn’t mess up on that.”  Help them see failures and mistakes as temporary situations that offer life lessons.  When they use words such as “always” and “never,” get them to change those words to “sometimes” and “lately.”
3.  It’s Pervasive:  I can’t do anything right. Everything I do goes wrong.
Lastly, teach your kids to see failure as a specific event so that a loss of confidence at school doesn’t spill over into other areas of life.  Every kid has different strengths.  As a culture, we tend to put a lot of emphasis on grades.  In the real world, there are kids who drop out of college (ever heard of Bill Gates?) who are immensely talented, but just not in the ways measured by traditional academia.  Discover your child’s strengths and celebrate them.  Help them do well at school, but also make a big deal out of what they do well (music, leadership, sports, making friends) outside the classroom.  Read more…

D.C. Using GPS Tracking to Keep Troubled Youth Under Law's Thumb

The D.C. Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services does not have the best track record. Close to a dozen of young offenders under the agency's supervision have recently been hit with murder raps, and 6 unfortunate delinquents with hopes of turning their lives around have met an untimely demise. Rather than carry on hoping that a subpar record of putting pubescent perpetrators on the straight and narrow magically rights itself, the D.C.D.Y.R.S. is relying on technology to ensure those under their charge start following a more righteous path. Though they can't implant do-gooder chips in their brains (just yet), they can use the GPS tracking to monitor whether or not these troubled kids are staying away from areas of ill repute. | GPS Tracking Info

Why Do African-American Youth Kill Each Other? The Lack of Cultural Alignment

“A constant diet of hopelessness will ultimately darken their mental skies and make them believe that their future is bleak and they will, therefore, develop the self-destructive behavior patterns so many of our youth currently exhibit.” Na’im Akbar

The headline, “Murders of Young Black Men Rise” by Mike Wilkinson and Santiago Esparza in the Detroit News earlier this month prompted me to pause and think about why we continue to be plagued by this problem. In his Atlanta Post article this month, R.L’Heureux Lewis discusses the recurring exposure to violence students often encounter in their neighborhoods and the lack of resources dedicated to addressing the psychosomatic affects of overexposure to violence. Tony Sewell of the Guardian traces the violent behavior to boys’ over-feminised upbringing—too many single mothers raising boys, and the lack of a male role model to help the boys navigate and suppress the destructive proclivities that are inherent in them. Because the male role model is absent, Sewell believes that boys pursue alternatives in the form of male dominant figures normally found in gangs. The latter premise has a lot of currency among researchers. | The Atlanta Post

Young Black Males Dying in Detroit at Alarming Rates

 

African-American males in Detroit between the ages of 15 and 24 are dying at a rate that is roughly seven times higher than the rest of the Detroit population. If they were dying at the same rate as everyone else, there would be one death every three weeks. Instead, there are two black men dying every single week.
This has set off alarm bells within the Detroit Police Department, which has taken heavy criticism for its policing of the black community. Their most recent embarrassment was the shooting of 7-year old Aiyana Jones during a police raid. But the Chief of Police, Ralph Godbee Jr., is concerned about black men killing one another.

Young Black Males Dying in Detroit at Alarming Rates - BV Black Spin

Egypt's youth build new opposition movement

Inside a small apartment tucked away in a middle class Cairo neighborhood, a trainer teaches a dozen volunteers of a budding opposition movement the basics of political organization — communication, recruiting, gathering signatures.

The instructors draw inspiration from Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King and download books from American scholar Gene Sharp, whose tactics of civil disobedience influenced public uprisings against authoritarian regimes in Serbia, Ukraine, Georgia, Iran and elsewhere.

Over the past six months, about 15,000 of these volunteers have formed the kernel of a burgeoning youth opposition movement in Egypt who are pinning their hopes for leadership on Mohamed ElBaradei, the Nobel peace laureate and former chief of U.N.'s nuclear watchdog agency.  Read more...

UN agency: 40 youths murdered daily in Europe

The World Health Organization says 40 young Europeans are murdered every day, with Russia, Albania and Kazakhstan having the highest homicide rates for people aged 10-29.

In its first report on youth violence, WHO's European office says about 40 percent of the 15,000 annual youth homicides are perpetrated with knifes and sharp weapons. Other means include firearms and strangulation.  Read more...

Education Secretary Arne Duncan: Chicago youth violence 'devastating'

By Dave Cook

The most somber note in Duncan’s meeting with reporters at a Monitor-sponsored breakfast came when he was asked about the murders of young people in Chicago. “The violence in Chicago and other places around the country is devastating. I thought it couldn’t get much worse than when I was there. I think in fact it has gotten worse. It is staggering,” Duncan said. “This continues to haunt me."

During his time as CEO of the Chicago school system, youth-related violence was “by far, by far the toughest issue that I dealt with. Nothing came close, nothing came close," Duncan said.  - CSMonitor.com

Undocumented Teen Wins Rare Reprieve

Though he sounds like any other American teenager, 17-year-old Yves is not American in the strictest legal sense. His parents, immigrants from India and Bangladesh, were never able to regularize their status in the United States. Yves was 14 months old when he came to the U.S. And he has spent his entire life living in the shadow of his parents’ uncertain status even as they built their lives in Maryland. His brother, born in the U.S., is an American citizen.

It’s meant he cannot do a lot of things his peers took for granted. He cannot get a driver’s license. He wanted to be a doctor but could not get an internship at the local hospital. He took French for many years but couldn’t go on a class trip to France.

Yves just kept his head down and doggedly pursued his studies hoping his 3.8 GPA would help him realize his dream to become a doctor.

A broken taillight led to everything unraveling. His father got pulled over in 2008 and the police went through his records. - New America Media

Starting Today, Young Adults Can Access Parents' Health Insurance

 

Come Thursday, key provisions in the new health care reform law will take effect, significantly altering the health care environment by providing greater access to coverage to hundreds of thousands of Americans.
One of those provisions would allow adult children like Duong to stay on their parents’ employer-based insurance plans until they turn 26.
It doesn’t matter if the child lives with his or her parents, attends college, receives financial support from them, or is a dependent for income-tax purposes. Nor does it matter whether the child is married or single.

Starting Today, Young Adults Can Access Parents' Health Insurance - New America Media

13 Year-Old Teen Wins LG Texting Competition and Cashes In $50,000 Prize

Softpedia

Started back in 2007, LG's U.S. National Texting Championship is one of the most important texting events in United States. The fourth annual LG U.S. National Championship took place over two days and started off with 32 contestants.If you were amazed by the fact that the last   read more 

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. K-12 art, poetry, and prose contest

Via: polishing the gem city with a old t-shirt 


26th ANNUAL REVEREND DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.
K-12 ART, POETRY AND PROSE CONTEST

ELIGIBILITY: All K-12 students

AWARDS

* Cash awards and plaques for the twelve grade-group winners (K-3, 4-6, 7-9 and 10-12 in each of the three categories)
* Certificates of Merit for the grade-level winners and Certificates of Participation for each entrant
* Certificates of Appreciation for the teachers/mentors

TOPICS

1.Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. and President Barack Obama: Striving to Make the Dream a Reality
2. How I Can Help Make One of Dr. King’s Dreams a Reality by Studying Science and Better Understanding the World
3. The Role of Youth in the Struggle for Justice
4. How I Can Let Peace Fly High in My City
5. Lessening Violence in My Neighborhood
6. Explain the importance of the following quotation, which Dr. King used in his speech during the March on Washington for Jobs and Justice on August 28, 1963.
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their
Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
7. Malcolm and Martin: What I Have Learned from These Two Leaders
8. What We Have Overcome
9. What We Still Must Overcome
10. What I Have Done to Help Make One of Dr. King’s Dreams a Reality

RULES
1.Each entry must be the student’s own work. Teachers/Mentors may review entries for mechanical and grammatical errors.
2. Students submitting art entries may select any of the topics or design a symbol for the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. National Holiday Celebration. Because large entries are subject to damage while being taken to the judges, entries larger than 18” x 30” (not including frames/matting), will not be considered for awards.

CRITERIA
Knowledge of Dr. King and the ongoing struggle for human rights, originality, creativity, effort and neatness.

SUBMISSION/DEADLINE
Each entry must contain the student’s name, grade, telephone number, school or institution, and teacher or mentor’s name. Entries must be submitted to MLK Art, Poetry and Prose Contest, Dayton Education Association, 1013 N. Main Street, Dayton, Ohio 45405 no later than Wednesday, November 17, 2010.

AWARDS CEREMONY - Friday, January 14, 2011, at 7:00 p.m. at Thurgood Marshall High School

QUESTIONS - E-mail Margaret E. Peters or call 274-484362.

Abbott Voluntarily Recalls Certain Similac® Brand Powder Infant Formulas That Did Not Meet Its Quality Standards.

Abbott is initiating a proactive, voluntary recall of certain Similac-brand, powder infant formulas in the U.S., Puerto Rico, Guam and some countries in the Caribbean.

Abbott is recalling these products following an internal quality review, which detected the remote possibility of the presence of a small common beetle in the product produced in one production area in a single manufacturing facility. The United States Food and Drug Adminstration (FDA) has determined that while the formula containing these beetles poses no immediate health risk, there is a possibility that infants who consume formula containing the beetles or their larvae, could experience symptoms of gastrointestinal discomfort and refusal to eat as a result of small insect parts irritating the GI tract. If these symptoms persist for more than a few days, a physician should be consulted.

The recall of these powder infant formulas includes:

• Certain Similac powder product lines offered in plastic containers.
• Certain Similac powder product lines offered in 8-ounce, 12.4-ounce and 12.9-ounce cans.

To immediately find out if the product in your possession is included in this recall, parents and caregivers should visit www.similac.com/recall/lookup, and type in their lot number to determine if their product is affected, or call (800) 986-8850.

No Abbott liquid infant formulas are impacted. Products not involved in the recall include all Abbott Nutrition liquid ready-to-feed and concentrated infant formulas and all powder and liquid specialty formulas, such as Similac Expert Care™ Alimentum®, Elecare ®, Similac Expert Care™ Neosure ®, Similac® Human Milk Fortifier, and metabolic formulas for inherited disorders.

About the Recall

• The company is implementing a plan to address this matter in the affected manufacturing facility, which is expected to be completed shortly. No other facilities or products are involved in this recall.
• Abbott has consulted with the U.S. FDA regarding this recall.

Information for Parents and Caregivers

• Products with affected lot numbers should be returned to Abbott at no cost to the consumer.
• Parents and caregivers can go to www.similac.com/recall/lookup or call Abbott's consumer hotline, (800) 986-8850, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
• Both the website and the consumer hotline have specific details on how to complete the return process.

Holger Liepmann, executive vice president, Abbott Nutrition said:

"Abbott understands that parents expect to feed their children only the highest quality product. We are taking this action so that parents know that the infant formula products they provide unquestionably meet the highest quality standards for which they are known. We regret any inconvenience this situation poses to parents and consumers."

"Sesame Street" Yanks Controversial Katy Perry Duet with Elmo

"Sesame Street" started previewing its 41st season on the Web this week, releasing teaser clips featuring stars like Jude Law, Will.i.am, Colin Farrell, and Run-DMC's Reverend Run. One of the shorts, however, got a lot more attention than the rest: a two-and-a-half minute video of pop star Katy Perry singing a reworked version of her 2008 hit "Hot N Cold" with Elmo. The issue: the perception that Perry's outfit wasn't appropriate for a show geared toward children ages one to six.- omg! on Yahoo

MOOZ-lum depicts challenges for black US Muslims

By Sabrina Ford

The makers of a new movie about family life for black Muslims in America want to highlight challenges facing followers of Islam, just as Spike Lee's "Do the Right Thing" revealed the racism and harsh realities facing black youth in Brooklyn two decades ago.

"MOOZ-lum" was filmed in Michigan, which has a large Muslim population, and premiered to packed theaters at the Urbanworld Film Festival in New York on Friday.

"I hope people can walk out of the theater thinking more and trying to understand what we're facing here," said director Qasim Basir, adding the movie's portrayal of discrimination mirrored his own Muslim-American experience. | Read more...

What baby boys eat determines how strong, masculine they become

by: Ethan A. Huff,

The phrase "you are what you eat" really is true, according to a new study published in the online journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Researchers have determined that baby boys who are breastfed during the first six months of their lives--who also gain the most weight during this crucial developmental period--grow up to be stronger and more masculine than men who are undernourished.
According to Christopher Kuzawa, a biological anthropologist at Northwestern University and author of the study, the first six months of a boy's life is "when testosterone is at roughly adult levels". This means that getting proper nutrition during this time is absolutely crucial if boys are to develop into healthy maturity.

What baby boys eat determines how strong, masculine they become

One Strike and They’re Out

 

Schools are right to expel students who carry weapons or who otherwise pose a safety threat. But they have taken “zero tolerance” to extremes, suspending ever larger numbers of children for merely disruptive or nonthreatening behavior. Suspension rates for black male children are disproportionately, devastatingly high.

A new report published by the Southern Poverty Law Center found that in 2006, more than 30 percent of black male middle school students in 15 urban districts were suspended from school. In Milwaukee and Florida’s Palm Beach County, suspension rates for black males were said to exceed 50 percent.

One Strike and They’re Out

Two out of five black children are living in poverty - Census

By Robert "Rob" Redding Jr.

Black children are now living in poverty at higher rates despite having a black president in the White House.

While poverty numbers are high overall, surging from nearly 40 million in 2008 to almost 44 million in 2009, black poverty numbers are far worse than whites, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

An estimated 41.9 percent of young blacks are living in poverty, according to the Census.

“Simply stated, while nearly 1 in 10 white Americans are in poverty, one in four African Americans and Latinos are trapped by poverty," said Out of Poverty Caucus Co-Chair Rep. Barbara Lee. "This disparity is a national disgrace, and it is my hope that all Americans will work together to ensure that America is a land of prosperity and opportunity for all."  Poverty - Census

BLACK MALE DROPOUT RATE IS GREETED MOSTLY WITH YAWNS

The research from the Massachusetts-based Schott Foundation on Public Education shows that more than half -- 53 percent -- of black male students drop out of high school without a diploma, compared to 22 percent of white males. It's a stunning statistic that foretells a permanent underclass, forever stuck outside the American mainstream. If I ran the NAACP, the National Urban League or the troubled Southern Christian Leadership Conference, I'd make my single priority hammering away at that awful statistic and working to change the fate of those young black men.

Nothing is more important to the future of black America than reclaiming 53 percent -- more than half -- of its young black men from educational failure, which will lead, inevitably, to unemployment, irresponsible fatherhood and the temptations of crime. If you wanted to guarantee the decline of a community -- or a nation -- in the 21st century, you could hardly do better than to impose academic failure on half its young men.  BLACK MALE DROPOUT RATE

Family meals' fat-fighting effects vary by race

Forty-three percent of the white children were overweight or obese, compared to 60 percent of Hispanic children and 63 percent of non-Hispanic black children. White and black children ate about five meals a week with their families, on average, while Hispanic children averaged six family meals a week.

Non-Hispanic white kids who ate family meals every day were one-third less likely to be obese than white children who ate family meals twice a week or less. But there was no relationship between family meal frequency and overweight or obesity among black girls. For black boys, the risk of being overweight or obese decreased "marginally" as family meals per week increased.

For Hispanic boys who either lived in a single parent household or lived in less educated households (meaning the most-educated family member had either finished high school or completed fewer years of school), eating more family meals actually increased the risk of being overweight or obese.  Family meals' fat-fighting effects vary by race

Youth Radio: Japanese-American granddaughter questions internment

 

On the morning of December 7, 1941, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in an attack that began a devastating period for Japanese Americans in the United States.

In the following months, more than 110,000 of them were rounded up and sent to internment camps scattered around the western half of the United States. The government was worried they might be aiding the Japanese army, even though many had been in the United States since the beginning of the 1900s and had children who were American citizens.

One of the families affected was Mara Kumagai Fink's, a senior at St. Olaf College and a reporter for MPR's Youth Radio series. Mara spent the summer visiting the internment camps and uncovering what happened to her family during the war.

Youth Radio: Japanese-American granddaughter questions internment | Minnesota Public Radio NewsQ

More than 1 in 5 kids live in poverty

By Liz Szabo

The rate of children living in poverty this year will climb to nearly 22%, the highest rate in two decades, according to an analysis by the non-profit Foundation for Child Development. Nearly 17% of children were living in poverty in 2006, before the recession began.

The foundation's Child and Youth Well-Being Index tracks 28 key statistics about children, such as health insurance coverage, parents' employment, infant mortality and preschool enrollment.  Poverty

YouTube - INDIGO CRYSTAL & STAR CHILDREN 6/7

 

The Boys Club Of New York Allstar Band performs in concert at Julliard.

INDIGO CRYSTAL & STAR CHILDREN 5/7

 

The Boys Club Of New York Allstar Band performs in concert at Julliard.

'Sex trade of children rampant in US'

 

A growing demand for commercial sex with children in the US has made US House to consider a new legislation to halt the issue of child exploitation.

In the hearing for the new legislation called Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Deterrence and Victims Support Act of 2010, US House judiciary committee heard shocking testimony from the witnesses.
Reports show that at least 100, 000 children are exploited in sex trade in the US each year.

PressTV - 'Sex trade of children rampant in US'

Date-rape drug use on the rise, U.N. warns

 

Governments around the world must step up their efforts to limit access to "date-rape drugs," sedatives that are secretly added to a person's drink to limit their ability to resist sexual assault and remember it later, a watchdog said Wednesday.

Sexual predators can easily procure such date-rape drugs, despite existing efforts to curb their misuse, the International Narcotics Control Board said in its annual report.

Governments should quickly adopt measures to limit illegal access to such drugs, and increase public awareness about the risks of leaving food and drinks unattended at public events such as parties, the board said.

"The 'date-rape drug' phenomenon, although fairly new, is evolving rapidly as sexual abusers attempt to circumvent stricter drug controls by using substances not restricted by international drug conventions," the Vienna-based U.N. body said in a statement accompanying the report.

The misuse of flunitrazepam — sold under the brand name Rohypnol — has been reduced, thanks to international efforts, but the report said criminals are now using gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid — known as GHB — or ketamine and gamma-Butyrolactone, commonly referred to as GBL.

Health - Sexual health

Class A drug use on the rise among young people | Society | guardian.co.uk

 

Class A illicit drug use is increasing among 16- to 24-year-olds, with more than half a million young people taking cocaine and ecstasy in the last year, according to Home Office figures published today.

But the latest findings from the British Crime Survey confirm that the longterm gradual decline in cannabis use among young people has continued.

They also show that the profile of the most likely frequent illicit drug user is white, young, male, single, a regular clubber and likely to be seen in the pub. The Home Office researchers say that marital status is the strongest factor associated with predicting illicit drug use, that is, if a man gets married he is more likely to give up drugs.

Perhaps true to stereotype, the BCS identifies students as most likely to use hallucinogens such as LSD and magic mushrooms.

Home affairs editor Alan Travis looks at new British Crime Survey statistics on drug use Link to this audio

Class A drug use on the rise among young people | Society | guardian.co.uk

Teen Drug Use on the Rise

 

A new study by the Partnership for a Drug Free America says teen marijuana and alcohol use is on the rise. But while many are sticking to marijuana and alcohol, in Las Vegas, many teens are making the leap to heroin.

Read the Study

What most teens don't realize is how quickly experimentation turns into addiction.

Teen Drug Use on the Rise - KLAS-TV Channel 8 News Las Vegas

Michelle Obama Congressional Black Caucus keynote. Transcript

 - Lynn Sweet

And that's particularly true when it comes to your work on behalf of our nation's children. You've helped more students pursue careers in fields like medicine and engineering. You've worked to groom young leaders, and give them the tools to fulfill their God-given potential. You've been a voice in Congress on every challenge they face -- from healthcare and education to poverty and crime and so much more.

And that's one of the reasons why I wanted to be here today, because I want to talk with you about another issue that I believe presents an urgent threat to the health and well-being of our young people -- and that is the epidemic of childhood obesity that affects every community in this country -- but it affects the African American community in particular. Transcript

Black Expo event focuses on addressing youth violence

Community leaders, law enforcement officials and a hip-hop artist gathered Tuesday in hopes of finding ways to reduce youth violence in Indianapolis.

Indiana Black Expo Chief Executive Officer Tanya Bell described the meeting of about 50 people at Madame Walker Theatre as an effort to identify gaps in services and programs aimed at offering young people alternatives to gangs, drugs and other negative influences.  breaking news

Black ministers urge council, mayor to turn over Parks & Rec investigation to GBI

A group of about 16 black religious leaders called on Columbus Council and Mayor Jim Wetherington to put the police investigation of the city’s Parks and Recreation Department in the hands of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

“We want someone unbiased,” said the Rev. Harry McCall, president of the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance and pastor at Corinth Baptist.

The ongoing police investigation, which started in May, has produced three arrests. Last month, Parks and Recreation Director Tony Adams and subordinate Herman Porter were arrested and charged with two felonies in connection of the misuse of more than $200,000 in money for a Nike-sponsored youth basketball team operated by the city. East Marietta Basketball Inc. Director of Basketball Operations William Fox was arrested Monday and charged with one felony.  - Crime & Courts

Dr. Richard Allen Williams: Miles Ahead

This inaccurate cultural profile not only has a negative impact on every Black person under evaluation for any kind of upward mobility, but it also sends the message to Black youth that they have a cultural obligation to be idiots - that the pursuit of knowledge is "un-Black," thus, not cool.

The media also sends the message to Black youth that their cultural niche in society is limited to becoming either an athlete or an entertainer. While it is true that Black people tend to excel in these areas, that's only because for much of our history those were the only areas in which we were allowed to participate. The fact is, and as any cognitive researcher can attest, creativity is one the primary indicators of overall intelligence. Thus, the very same creativity that goes into the making of a Charlie Parker, Ray Charles, or an Aretha Franklin, can easily be transferred to medical research, physics, or cosmology.
In that regard, I'd like to introduce you to Dr. Richard Allen Williams. Dr. Williams was born and raised in Wilmington, Delaware. Upon graduating from Howard High School at the top of his class with a 4.0 grade-point average, he was awarded a full scholarship to Harvard University, from which he also graduated with honors, and as the first African American student at Harvard from the state of Delaware.  | Wattree's Blog

Teen Helpline: Teens Helping Teens

Many times teens in crisis prefer to talk to someone who understands their feelings and can relate to their issues, another teen. However, numerous teens cannot confide in their friends due to trust issues and a fear of embarrassment. TEEN LINE, an anonymous and free hotline, trains volunteers to listen to their peers’ feelings, educate the caller about options, and encourage positive decisions.  Read more...

CDC: One-third of sex ed omits birth control

Almost all U.S. teens have had formal sex education, but only about two-thirds have been taught about birth control methods, according to a new government report released Wednesday.

Many teens apparently are not absorbing those lessons — other recent data shows that after years of steady decline, the teen birth rate rose from 2005 to 2007. It dipped again in 2008, to about 10 percent of all births. - Health - Kids and parenting

Antibiotics: Longer treatment times that benefit children may cost society

The likelihood that the treatment of a middle ear infection will fail is slightly higher for a child who is given a shorter course of antibiotics, according to a new Cochrane Systematic Review. The results are conclusive, but the researchers say there are other factors that must be considered when the drugs are prescribed.

Most children suffer at some point from a middle ear infection, also called acute otitis media (AOM). It is one of the most common reasons for children being prescribed antibiotics, at a cost of up to $5 billion each year in the US alone. Health practitioners vary in the length of course that they prescribe to treat the infection. The standard course in Britain is five days, whereas in North America it is ten. Due to concern about drug resistance caused by overuse, and the increasing cost of providing these drugs, the researchers decided to update a previous Cochrane Review carried out in 2000. Read more...

Study: Racial imbalance in suspensions

U.S. middle schools are suspending students at an alarming rate, a study says, with a large racial difference in those who are suspended.

An Indiana University research study says the problem is particularly acute in large urban school districts, where a third or more of black male students are suspended in a given year, a university release said Wednesday. - UPI.com

President Barack Obama to Publish Childrens Book, 'Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters'

President Barack Obama is scheduled to release a political paean for children on historical figures, 'Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters,' Nov. 16 -- just weeks after what is predicted to be a brutal midterm election season.

Of Thee I Sing' is a tribute to 13 historical Americans, who helped shape the nation, from the artist Georgia O'Keeffe to Jackie Robinson, the black first Major League Baseball player, to George Washington, the first president of the United States, said Chip Gibson, president and publisher of Random House Children's Books. - BV on Books

The kids aren't all right. Self-harming on the rise?

By Rachael Rettner

Over the last couple decades, more young people appear to be pulling out razor blades and lighters in order to injure themselves, according to anecdotal reports from counselors. Their intent is not to die, just to inflict harm, a behavior known as non-suicidal self-injury.

A recent study on the mental health of college students, presented in August at the American Psychological Association Meeting, found empirical evidence to document these observations. The results show that at one university, the rate of non-suicidal self-injury doubled from 1997 to 2007. Health - Kids and parenting

Africa: New Generation of Muslim Youth Praised At State Department Iftar

M. Scott Bortot

Diplomats, entrepreneurs and future leaders joined Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton at the U.S. State Department's annual iftar dinner in Washington on September 7.

Secretary Clinton praised 70 young American Muslim leaders who attended the iftar, as well as an event earlier in the evening, called Generation Change. Generation Change gave the young leaders an opportunity to network and to discuss issues important to their communities.

"Our embassies now are sponsoring more events like Generation Change in order to listen to young people, and to help connect young people across the globe, to connect them with other change-makers," Clinton said.  Read more...

America's Promise Alliance and AT&T Announce My Idea Grants Program Winners

110 Youth Nationwide Will Receive Funding for Dropout Prevention Projects From America's Promise Alliance As Part of AT&T's $1 Million Contribution to their Grad Nation Initiative

America's Promise Alliance (the Alliance) and AT&T* today announced the winners of the My Idea grants program, an initiative to engage young people in an effort to keep their peers in school. AT&T's $1 million contribution to the Alliance to fund the re-granting initiative has enabled them to provide young people nationwide with the opportunity to develop and implement their own ideas for increasing the nation's graduation rate. A total of 110 winners were selected by the Alliance from applicants representing 35 states and the District of Columbia, to receive funding of up to $20,000 each for their youth-led projects.   Read more...

To view a full list of My Idea grant recipients and to learn more about Grad Nation initiatives please visit: www.americaspromise.org.

16th Annual Search Under Way for Nation's Top Youth Volunteers

Recognition Program Honors Outstanding Middle and High School Youth at Local, State and National Levels

Over the past 15 years, Prudential Spirit of Community Awards have been given to more than 90,000 middle and high school students across the country for helping the less fortunate, promoting health and safety, protecting the environment, and serving their communities through many other volunteer activities. This week the search begins to identify thousands more who have made meaningful contributions to their communities over the past 12 months, as the prestigious awards program kicks off its 16th year.

These awards, sponsored by Prudential Financial, Inc. in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP), honor outstanding community service by young people in grades 5 through 12 at the local, state and national level. Read more...

Former gang member, made blind by violence, now counsels Dallas youth

By LINDSEY BEVER

Levels took a bullet to the left temple. It exited his right eye, severing both optic nerves.

"They took all my money and left me blind for the rest of my life," he said. "I was laying in the house one day in total darkness, and I realized all the people I was there for, wasn't there for me. I came up with the phrase, 'Even though I'm blind, I see.' "

Levels, 33, of Seagoville, who started the gang with eight others when he was 12, now speaks to local at-risk youth and young gang members through his own nonprofit, Now Eye See Inc., educating them about wise decision-making and the "destruction that lies ahead."

He has partnered with local intervention advocates LaKerrie Owens, founder and executive director of Dallas-based Youth Conversion, and Dallas Police Detective Leroy Quigg, founder of the nonprofit Gang Intervention Community Outreach Program. They're uniting to reach at-risk kids and their families to empower them to make healthy lifestyle choices. Dallas-Fort Worth News

EPA Announces Native American Youth Artwork Contest

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a poster artwork contest for Native American students aimed at protecting the environment by encouraging the reporting of possible environmental crimes through EPA’s tips and complaints website.

The contest, open to all middle and high school students who are members of a federally recognized tribe, is a chance for young people to draw their visions of environmental damage from their viewpoint. EPA will use the winning artwork on its website and on posters encouraging the reporting of environmental violations. Kansas City infoZine News

Muslim youth violence is a problem in Germany, says Merkel

Speaking to German weekly Bild am Sonntag, Angela Merkel said it would be wrong to play down statistics that show religious Muslim youths in Germany to be more prone to violence than the rest of the population.

"This is a big problem and we can talk about it openly, without arousing suspicions of xenophobia," Merkel said in the interview published on Sunday, September 5.

Chancellor Angela Merkel: There is more work to do on subject of immigration, says Merkel

But Merkel warned against automatically linking certain religions with violence.

"This is misleading," she said. "Violence among young people is often a sign that they see no perspective for themselves. All that helps is education, education, education."

"Our state is making many offers, but the main responsibility lies with the parents, and cannot be taken on by schools or the state," Merkel added. | Germany | Deutsche Welle

Options Closed for High School Dropouts

Larry Miller

According to a new report released by the African-American and Latino Male Dropout Task Force, half of Black males currently in school will quit and research shows that high school dropouts are eight times more likely to be incarcerated and more than three times likely to be arrested.

Just to illustrate the seriousness of the dropout crisis Rasheed Scrugs, the man accused of murdering Police Officer John Pawlowski was a high school dropout, as are Solomon Montgomery, Daniel Giddings, Eric Floyd and Lavon Warner. All of them allegedly murdered Philadelphia police officers and, authorities said, all had dropped out of school.

Is there a definitive connection between dropping out of school and turning to crime? Experts answer that question — without a doubt. - Read more...

Educators: System Sets Up Black Boys to Fail

Michael Cottman

A coalition of African-Americans educators say the nation’s public school system is giving up on black male students and setting them up to fail.

This alarming quandary is being described as a national education crisis - and that’s not overstating the problem.

According to “Yes We Can: The 2010 Schott 50 State Report on Black Males in Public Education,” the overall 2007-2008 graduation rate for black males in the U.S. was only 47 percent, and half of the states have graduation rates for black male students below the national average.  Read more...