|
Dear Jennifer,
What an awesome group of guest authors we have for you this
month! Just as the weather is heating up here in Houston, so are the
topics we're sharing with you in our May issue of OH! News.
New Orleans radio personality, author and journalist Monica
Pierre shares some of her experiences on how to keep dreams alive
for our young people. Learn more about why Americans are so
irritable and angry from Houston's very own Dr. Joyce Gayles in her
guest article "Anger Gone Amok." And one article that adults in our
audience should pay close attention to is Dr. Marvin Berkowitz'
answer to whether we can still develop our character, even as
adults.
Be sure to register for our upcoming free teleseminar on ADD and
ADHD with Dr. Jean Smith-Wooley. This is a topic we get asked about
over and over so we wanted to share the experiences and knowledge of
one of our experts on May 26th.
It's an awesome issue so I don't want to keep you from it. Until
we meet again, have a spectacular summer!
Beth Carls
CEO, MindOH!
| Guest Article: Lit From The Inside Out |
 |
By Monica Pierre, Emmy Award-winning journalist, radio
personality, author, actor, and communications consultant
My television talk show assignment was simple enough -
interview students for the New Orleans Public School System's
On-Air Book Club. Each year, the school superintendent
at the time, recommended readings for the elementary, middle
and high school levels. The television segment was one way to
get the students excited about reading, with only a lucky few
selected to share their insights on the local education
channel. I was humbled that Col. Alphonse Davis had selected
my motivational book, Found
My Soul in a Sweet Potato Patch: Living a Life of Victory
for the middle school read. I'll admit that it was a bit
unsettling serving as both the talk show host and the subject
of the interview, but I was excited to hear the students'
observations about my book.
|
| Guest Article: Anger Gone Amok |
|
By Dr. Joyce Gayles, Clinical Psychologist and Success
Coach, MindOH!
Advisory Committee Member
Anger is a normal human emotion. Rage is anger gone
amok.
Normal anger tells you that there is something that you do
not like, that does not feel right or fair to you. Normal
anger tells you that you need to address an issue and it can
motivate you to take appropriate action to resolve a problem.
However, anger becomes a problem when it has certain
effects on you and your life. Anger becomes a problem when it
negatively impacts your relationships with others. It becomes
a problem when it affects your performance on the job or at
school, and when your health and quality of life begins to
suffer.
In our 21st century world, more people are getting angry
and people are displaying anger more of the time. Not only is
there more anger and bullying among youth, but adults, for
example, are demonstrating more office rage, anger in the
home, road rage, and rage on the playing fields.
So, why are Americans so irritable and angry?
|
| Expert Column: Character Isn't Static |
|
By Guest Author Dr. Marvin Berkowitz, Sanford N.
McDonnell Professor of Character Education, University of
Missouri-St. Louis
I recently was asked by a college student whether you can
still affect one's character development in the college years.
I told him that it would likely be a tragedy if his character
stayed precisely the same for the rest of his life.
I didn't mean that he currently had "bad" character. I
meant that we all can improve and mature throughout our lives
and it would be a shame if he did not benefit from experience.
Life experience and general maturation provide the
opportunity for continuing growth. In other words, you can
teach an old dog new tricks. And those tricks include
character.
We learn from watching others. We learn from reflecting on
our own experiences or those of others. We learn from
self-examination and moral will. We learn by directly being
taught. And so on.
I recently heard a moving speech by a leader in the field
of character education. He told how he was a thrill-seeker
during his adolescence and early adulthood. This included
outdoor adventure activities and military service. It was only
in a combat situation in Vietnam, when he chose to sacrifice
others' lives to potentially end a battle, that he finally
started to think about right and wrong, rather than simply
seeking thrills and going with the moment. Only at age 28 did
he finally integrate a moral compass into his personal life
navigation system.
|
|
|
Sign up for the May 26th TeleSeminar on ADD and
ADHD |
|
|
|
Find out what parents and teachers can do to deal with the
behavioral issues associated with ADD and ADHD. Find out the
role meds actually do and don't play from our expert
psychiatrist, Dr. Jean Smith-Wooley.
Dr. Smith-Wooley is a board certified general psychiatrist
who has been providing mental health care for over 10 years.
She attended college at University of Missouri-Columbia and
graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelors of Arts in
Chemistry. She applied to medical school so that she could
pursue a career that would allow her to use her academic
strengths in an applied way to help others. She moved to St.
Louis, MO to attend medical school at Washington University.
Sign up for the TeleSeminar
|
Links to Help Kids With Service Learning
|
