Spending just one hour per week for a month with therapy dogs led to a significant improvement in executive functioning for college students at risk of failing academically. Read more »
In recent weeks, governors, mayors and superintendents have discussed plans to reopen schools and get “back to normal” in the fall.
For schools, seeking a return to normalcy is only natural, but it may actually be counterproductive. Students coming back through our doors in the fall will be carrying the stress, anxiety and trauma of the past year.
One evening in late March, a mom called 911. Her daughter, she said, was threatening to kill herself. EMTs arrived at the home north of Boston, helped calm the 13-year-old, and took her to an emergency room.
Melinda, like a growing number of children during the covid-19 pandemic, had become increasingly anxious and depressed as she spent more time away from in-person contact at school, church and her singing lessons. Read more »
The vaccines made by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna set off a persistent immune reaction in the body that may protect against the coronavirus for years, scientists reported. Read more »
Music classes can serve as a way to help students develop social-emotional learning skills, and activities that build these tools can be introduced into classrooms as early as preschool, according to an Edutopia article by Laura Petillo, early childhood advocate and music educator at the Basie Center for the Arts, and Dr. Kerry Carley Rizzuto, associate professor of early childhood education at Monmouth University. Read more »
In the eyes of the tech industry, mental health treatment is an area ripe for disruption.
In any given year, 1 in 5 adults in the U.S. experience a form of mental illness, according to federal estimates. And research indicates only about half of them receive treatment in a system that is understaffed and ill distributed to meet demand. Read more »
It’s getting even riskier to remain unvaccinated.
The United States, as a whole, is still in good shape for the summer of reunions and revived activities. But for those who haven’t been immunized against COVID-19, there is a new concern: the emergence of yet another coronavirus variant, one with a nasty combination of features that makes it even more dangerous than the other strains that have caused global alarms. Read more »
Juneteenth, celebrated June 19, marks the day enslaved Texans learned they were free in June of 1865. While the history of the holiday includes the injustice of enslavement, Juneteenth should also be understood in the context of Black people’s fight for justice and freedom. Read more »
We see images and hear conversations about racial injustice almost every day. As a parent, you might find it easier to be silent or ignore, but it’s important to view these as opportunities to talk with your kids about what they are seeing and hearing.
How do you have those conversations with your kids? For each family, this conversation might look a bit different, depending on your own heritage and experience. Read more »
Children are never too young to learn about diversity. As young as 3 months old, they may look differently at people who look like or don’t look like their primary caregivers. As parents and caregivers, we must have confidence in ourselves and in our children — that we, and they, can handle tough topics and tough situations. We must understand that our role is to be honest, specific, and trustworthy as we raise the next generation to confront racial injustice. Read more »
