Entries by Jean Rhodes

Baltimore steps forward to mentor post Freddie Gray

By David Shapiro and Terry Hickey From the Baltimore Sun When Trayvon Martin’s life was taken our nation was forced into a long overdue conversation about the condition of the lives of African-American boys and young men. Young men like Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo.; John Crawford in Beavercreek, Ohio; and now Freddie Gray in […]

Programs that help teens and young adults succeed

Editor’s note: In recent days, YouthBuild has been getting some very nice press. The “second chance” program, which is based in Boston, has over 250 programs across nearly 46 states serving older adolescents and young adults across the country. In this piece, Professor David Kirp describes YouthBuild and other programs that are making a difference.  […]

Mentoring Inquiries Surge After Baltimore Riots

Julia Craven huffingtonpost.com Riot-torn Baltimore’s smoky skies have given way to a silver lining. More than 300 inquiries about mentoring young people have poured into Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Chesapeake, the branch of the nonprofit serving the city, from adults interested in working with one of the 600-plus kids on the local waiting […]

“Brokering:” A key strategy for supporting youths’ interests

Ching, D., Santo, R., Hoadley, C., Peppler, K. (2015). On-ramps, Lane Changes, Detours and Destinations: Building Connected Learning Pathways in Hive NYC through Brokering Future Learning Opportunities. New York, NY: Hive Research Lab. [link] Summarized by Dixie Ching and Rafi Santo, Project Leads of the Hive Research Lab. In the summer of 2014, Hive Research […]

Brief online “pep talks” can boost student learning

Brief online interventions that instill a “growth mindset” and a sense of purpose can improve learning, especially for struggling students. These interventions could potentially reach vast numbers of students at low cost. “Two interventions, each lasting about 45 minutes and delivered online, raised achievement in a large and diverse group of underperforming students over an […]

How mentoring affects academic outcomes: The role of relationship quality

Bayer, A., Grossman, J. B., & DuBois, D. L. (2015). Using volunteer mentors to improve the academic outcomes of underserved students: the role of relationships. Journal of Community Psychology, 43(4), 408-429. Summarized by Bridget Nestor Introduction: School-based mentoring (SBM) refers to mentoring relationships in which mentors meet with mentees on school grounds, either during or immediately after […]

Three great new videos explain the science of resilience

Reducing the effects of significant adversity on young children’s healthy development is critical to the progress and prosperity of any society. Yet not all children experience lasting harm as a result of adverse early experiences. Some may demonstrate “resilience,” or an adaptive response to serious hardship. A better understanding of why some children do well […]