Entries by Jean Rhodes

Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character

Here is a nice review from the New York Times of Paul Tough’s popular book on the role non-cognitive factors. Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character By Paul Tough 231 pp. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. $27. Most readers of The New York Times probably subscribe to what Paul Tough calls “the cognitive hypothesis”: the […]

Amachi Texas completes a randomized controlled trial–with impressive results

By Richard A. Lewis, Director, Federal Compliance and Project Management, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America In Texas, the Amachi program was established in 2006 as a public-private partnership and joint initiative of the Office of the Governor, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, the Texas Education Agency, OneStar Foundation, and all Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) […]

Bill Russell played ultimate mentor role 

By MARTY MARTINEZ and DAVID SHAPIRO reprinted from MassLive This fall has provided further evidence that Boston is the ultimate sports town – evidenced not only by our teams’ success on the field but also for the role our athletes play in strengthening our community. On Nov. 1, the city of Boston celebrated a sports […]

Toxic stress in children–and what programs can do to help

From the New York Times Imagine if scientists discovered a toxic substance that increased the risks of cancer, diabetes and heart, lung and liver disease for millions of people. Something that also increased one’s risks for smoking, drug abuse, suicide, teen pregnancy, sexually transmitted disease, domestic violence and depression — and simultaneously reduced the chances […]

Must Read: Special Issue on Military Children and Families

Prestigious journal The Future of Children has devoted its latest issue to Military Children and Families. This issue is the result of a collaboration with the Military Child Coalition.  Unlike most academic journals, FOC grants full access to readers. This special issue is a treasure trove. The editors  Stephen J. Cozza (Retired Army Colonel) and Richard M. Lerner […]

University of Houston: A new hub of youth mentoring research

Meet Assistant Professor Samuel McQuillin I am a school psychologist by training, and as such, my primary research interest surrounds school-based interventions and supports that promote the emotional, behavioral, and academic wellness of youth. Currently I am refining and evaluating a brief school-based mentoring program for middle-school students. The goal of this work is to develop […]

Now available online: Group Mentoring: Bridging Research and Effective Practice

Group Mentoring: Bridging Research and Effective Practice NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE Group mentoring is an increasingly popular strategy for providing positive relationships and activities to youth in need. In fact, over 20% of youth mentoring programs offer some form of group mentoring, while a survey of American volunteers finds that over half say they work with […]

MENTOR, Pivot TV Pair Pop Culture with Social Action

October 2013 Joe Halpern, MENTOR Writer MENTOR has begun an exciting partnership with Pivot TV, a new cable television network that targets talented and passionate 18 to 34 year old Millennials, to encourage viewers to explore mentoring programs as part of a year-long social action initiative on the channel’s new hit docu-series, “Jersey Strong”. The […]

Mentoring youth promotes cognitive gains in older adults

Carlson, M.C. et al. (2009). Evidence for Neurocognitive Plasticity in At-Risk Older Adults: The Experience Corps Program. Journal of  Gerontology  64A (12): 1275-1282. Posted by Tim Parsons-JHU Older adults who tutored children or took part in some other form of volunteer service were able to delay or even reverse declining brain function, a new study finds. Using […]