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Dear Jennifer,
Happy New Year! The MindOH! team is excited to kick off 2005 with
a number of new projects. As always, we have had a fun time reading
the entries to our annual Character's Cool Contest. This year's
theme is about bullying, so if you haven't encouraged the youth in
your home or community to enter, please do so!
Additionally, we are launching our second research study. This
time, we are thrilled to be working with two schools in St. Louis,
the Lift for Life Academy and Francis Howell Union High School. And
in February, our director of customer support, Brooks Tutor, is
launching a new product line -- the MindOH! TeleSeminar Series. Read
all about these projects in this month's issue!
We hope your New Year is off to a wonderful start!
Sincerely,
Jennifer O'Brien, MindOH! Director of
Marketing
P.S. Check
out the New MindOH! Web Site!
| The 2005 Character's Cool Contest is Now
Open! |
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The MindOH! Foundation's fourth annual Character's Cool
Contest will be accepting entries January 1st through the 31st
in 2005. All secondary students ages 11-18 in the U.S. and
Canada are eligible.
The Contest is actually three contests in one:
- Students can fill out the online survey to win prizes
such as a Nintendo Game Cube, a portable CD/MP3 player, gift
certificates, games or sports memorabilia.
- Students can also enter the essay contest to win cash
prizes of $500 for first place, $250 for second place and
$175 for third place.
- The school with the most survey entries wins the grand
prize of a new computer and a one-year subscription to
MindOH!'s Discipline and Life Skills Series. The
second place school receives Project Wisdom's character
education materials.
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| Funding Corner: Leader in Learning Awards |
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Cable's Leaders in Learning Awards honor U.S.
policymakers, educators, community leaders and administrators
who demonstrate vision, innovation, action and transformation
in K-12 education, in schools and in other informal learning
settings such as after-school programs. In addition to a three
day all-expense paid trip to Washington, DC, winners receive a
$3,000 prize (policymakers may select a charity to receive the
money) and the chance to be part of a community of innovators.
Applications and recommendations are due January 31,
2005.
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| Introducing the New MindOH! TeleSeminar
Series! |
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Each month experts are brought to your home in a
convenient, low cost and easy-to-access format. Our
TeleSeminar Series offers a wide range of practical topics. In
less time then it takes to do a load of laundry, you can get
answers from experts on the most important questions you have
on your mind about the many issues facing parenting, teaching
and raising kids.
FREE!
Our next TeleSeminar is "Success Secrets for
Developing Ethics and Values in Your Kids" on Wednesday,
February 2nd at 4pm (CST).
People talk about making decisions based on an ethical
compass, but are we giving our youth the tools they need to
make values-based decisions? Hear guest speaker Leslie Matula,
the founder and co-founder of two successful character
education companies and a national speaker on
character-related topics, answer your pressing questions and
concerns on this important topic.
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| MindOH! Kicks Off Study in St. Louis
Schools |
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MindOH! announces the launch of a new research study to
evaluate the MindOH! Discipline and Life Skills Series
(DLSS) in two schools in St. Louis, the Lift for Life Academy
and Francis Howell Union High School. Objectives for the
research project will include evaluating MindOH!'s effect on
academic achievement.
"After seeing a MindOH! presentation at the CharacterPlus
Conference last July, I knew I wanted these tools for my
students," said Chris Layman, Dean of Students for the Lift
for Life Academy. "I believe it's a valuable program that will
help our students navigate their way through the discipline
process while learning how to make better choices."
"I'm so impressed with the MindOH! Discipline Series and
MindOH!'s commitment to research, that I am now planning to do
my doctoral dissertation on the impact of character education
on the behavior and performance of at-risk, alternative
students," said Mike Hylen, Principal of Francis Howell Union
High School.
The primary researcher for this 2005-2007 research study is
Dr. Beth Manke, Associate Professor in the Human Development
Department at the California State University, Long Beach. Dr.
Manke will be supported by Dr. Marvin Berkowitz, Sanford N.
McDonnell Professor of Character Education at the University
of Missouri-St. Louis. Dr. Berkowitz brings a long history of
character education expertise to the project.
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| January is National Mentoring Month |
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A lot of kids need mentors. In fact, according to The
National Mentoring Partnership, 17.6 million kids do. But did
you know that 57 million American adults would consider
mentoring young people? That's according to a National
Mentoring Poll, which told us what would make people become
mentors - instead of just thinking about it. The bottom line
is, we can close the mentoring gap.
With mentoring organizations across the country paying
special attention to their public awareness efforts during
January, National Mentoring Month is a great opportunity to
spread the word about the need to connect young people with
caring adult mentors.
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Character Education Expert Column:
"Bullying" |
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by Marvin W. Berkowitz, Ph.D., Sanford N. McDonnell
Professor of Character Education, University of Missouri-St.
Louis
It is estimated that every day in America 160,000 children
stay home from school because for them school is a toxic,
frightening environment. And that is probably the tip of the
iceberg as many more are at school but wish they didn't have
to be, for the same reason.
I will guess that most if not all of those students hate
school because of the way somebody is treating them. Bullying
is likely at the heart of this school phobia and hatred. And
it is epidemic. And global. It knows no boundaries of age,
race, gender, ethnicity, nationality, religion, etc.
And it is potentially lethal. Bullying takes a mortal toll
both through killing by bullies and suicide by the victims who
see no other way to escape the torment. In fact such suicides
have become so common that there is now a term for them:
bullycides. Read the Entire Article
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