It’s been more than 100 years since Dr. Maria Montessori first developed the Montessori method of education, which focuses on building children’s resourcefulness and natural abilities through practical play. [Read more…]

We often think of engaging in leisure activities as an important component of a well-balanced life. Now, a new systematic review finds that leisure activities of all kinds reduce your risk of developing dementia later in life. [Read more…]

An Asian female board member speaks up in a meeting about an important issue, only to be interrupted by her white male colleagues. A security guard follows a Black man around a store at the mall to make sure he doesn’t steal anything. A teacher compliments a Latino student on her English, even though she was raised in the U.S. with English as her first language. [Read more…]

Today, many Americans observe Juneteenth, a long-celebrated holiday in the Black community that commemorates when the news that slavery had been abolished reached Galveston, Texas in 1965, two years after Abraham Lincoln first issued the Emancipation Proclamation.

This year’s Juneteenth celebration comes at a time when race occupies the forefront of our national consciousness. Scholars are working to help us understand how racism has come to dominate our society and what we can do to change it. [Read more…]

Homelessness is a tough issue to quantify and study. The most recent tally by the U.S. government estimates there are nearly 600,000 homeless people in the U.S. And if you add in homeless people in other developed nations, that number reaches more than 1 million. [Read more…]

We have all woken up grumpy after tossing and turning all night, so it’s not surprising that research demonstrates you are more likely to be in a bad mood after a restless night and a good mood after sleeping well. [Read more…]

The school shooting in Parkland, Fla. last month re-ignited the national dialogue on gun control.

Since the shooting, President Donald Trump has held a meeting with legislators on gun control, and Florida lawmakers passed a new law that raises the minimum age to purchase guns from 18 to 21, creates a waiting period for gun buyers, bans bump stocks, and other measures. Last week, students across the country staged school walkouts to honor the 17 victims and ask legislators to enact gun control laws. [Read more…]

Sexual harassment is nothing new. But when a celebrity is accused of harassment, more people focus on the problem and how to stop it. Earlier this month, accusations that moviemaker Harvey Weinstein harassed dozens of women over the course of decades brought the topic to the forefront of people’s minds again. [Read more…]

You have, no doubt, heard the statistics about youth and obesity: Approximately 12 million American youth are obese; that is 17 percent of people ages 2 to19. Youth who are obese are more likely to live in low-income neighborhoods, and are more likely to be black, Hispanic, or native American.  And we hear all sorts of reasons why young people gain weight such as too may sugary drinks, less physical activity and a lack of access to healthy foods.

[Read more…]