Feature
Archive 2005
With so much happening
in the arena of children, youth and families, the Consortium
highlights a feature article. Features include timely issues,
related research, or information from our archives.
Dec
Nov
Oct
Helping America's Youth
The University of Minnesota's Children, Youth, and Family
Consortium assisted in the broadcast of the White House Conference
on Helping America's
Youth. Conference information and a featured community guide is
available on line.
posted October 21, 2005
updated October 28, 2005
Sept
Helping
Kids Manage Back-to-School Stress
Parents sometimes minimize how stressful the return to
school can be for kids. Imagine yourself in this scenario: You've been
away from your job for three months, and now you have to go back to
work full-time after twelve weeks of relaxing, playing, and doing whatever
you want to do. That's stressful. And it's even more difficult for
young people if they're switching schools within the same district
or moving to a new place altogether. If returning to school coincides
with a divorce, a death, a relocation, or the dramatic changes that
come with puberty, going back to school can be particularly stressful.
Dr. Linda Bearinger, professor in the School of Nursing at the University
of Minnesota and director of the U's Center for Adolescent Nursing
discusses what parents can do to help kids manage the stress.
posted September 8, 2005
Aug
On Line
Resource for Somali Immigrants
The University of Minnesota launched a new Web site to
help Somali immigrants with their transition to life in Minnesota.
The one-stop resource’s creation stems from the increasing population
of Somalis in the state. Minnesota is home to the largest Somali community
in North America, with a population estimated at 35,000. The bilingual
Somali-English Web site offers a large inventory of employment, health,
housing, transportation and education resources. This one-stop-shop
allows Somali immigrants to easily navigate the basic systems important
to their livelihood.
posted August 5, 2005
July
Out
of School Time
Out-of-school time is a golden opportunity
to engage youth in their own development and in serving their communities.
Far too frequently, this time is left to chance. Research shows that
making the most of youth programs and activities can improve a young
person’s self-confidence, connection to others, and academic
and social competence. The Minnesota Commission on Out of School Time
released its vision and recommendations.
posted July 13, 2005
June
New
report reviews Minnesota school achievement and offers recommendations
to improve (pdf)
Minnesota schools are having a more difficult time reaching
their reading and mathematics proficiency targets, according to a report
to be released Monday, June 27, by the Office of Educational Accountability
(OEA) in the College of Education and Human Development at the University
of Minnesota.
posted June 27, 2005
May
Motherhood Study Released
A groundbreaking national study led by
University of Minnesota researcher Martha Farrell Erickson, former
Director of the Children, Youth and Family Consortium, has found that
mothers derive deep satisfaction from motherhood even as
they
worry about the impact of American culture on their children. However,
many mothers also reported that they feel that society does not appreciate
them.
“
The Motherhood Study–Fresh Insights on Mothers’ Attitudes
and Concerns” researchers surveyed more than 2,000 mothers of
children under the age of 18 to ask what they think and feel about
mothering. The sample was representative of the diverse population
of adult mothers across the United States in terms of income, education,
age, race, ethnicity, marital status and employment.
posted May 2, 2005
April
Resetting the Clockwork
The University of Minnesota will host “Resetting
The Clockwork: Possibilities for Healthy Employees, Retirees, Families,
Businesses and Communities” forum from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday,
April 22, in Cowles Auditorium, Humphrey Center, 301-19th Ave. S. Minneapolis.
During this research and policy forum, participants will examine how
to foster greater flexibility by rethinking the clockwork of work days,
work weeks and career paths.
According to Phyllis Moen, forum organizer and McKnight Presidential
Chair in Sociology at the University of Minnesota, the goal of
the
forum
is to start
the conversation about how to redesign work and retirement in light
of
demographic and
other changes.
posted April 15, 2005
Mar
School Shootings: Resources
for Families, Teachers, and Communities
We realize the resources listed here are general resources, and may
or may not be useful within the unique traditions of the Red Lake Nation
and other Native American cultures. We put them up for whatever usefulness
they may provide to Red Lake and its surrounding communities, and also
realizing that these events profoundly affect all of Minnesota and
beyond.
posted March 22, 2005
Minnesota Children's Summit 2005
The third Summit, Smart Policices, Strong Families, held
March 28, 2005, emphasizes the relation between family functioning
and policy.
How do decisions made at all levels - from the legislature to the workplace,
from the church to the community center - impact diverse families and
their ability to support and sustain their members? University and
community leaders throughout Minnesota come together to share models
of understanding the family and to learn skills necessary for effective
action to strengthen families.
posted March 1, 2005
Feb
Heady Work
Researchers in the College of Education and Human Development continue mapping
the human brain — its “neural architecture,” as
Charles Nelson, the professor who heads up the study, calls it. Faculty
members at the college currently run about 30 studies in brain research,
many in collaboration with other professors and students across the
disciplines.
posted February 15, 2005
Jan
Healthy
Foods, Healthy Lives
The University of Minnesota is uniquely
positioned as a national leader for an initiative focusing on food
and health promotion, being one of only two U.S. universities to integrate
six key components on one campus: agriculture, human nutrition, medicine,
public health, exercise science, and veterinary medicine.
The initiative brings together activities within four priority
areas to address critical health issues over the next 10 years -- bridging
quality science to sound public policy, and transforming what we know
into what we do.
posted January 7, 2005
