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The Harvard Medical School Minority Faculty Development Program will be hosting an event, “Skills Workshops for College Students and High School Seniors, Juniors, and Sophomores” on Saturday, November 15th from 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM. There is also a session for parents from 8:30 AM to 10:30 AM. Skills Needed for Academic Success The purpose of this workshop is to provide concrete skills needed for academic success for post-baccalaureates; college and community college students; and high school juniors, juniors, and sophomores from underrepresented populations in medicine and science. Topics Will Include: Application process for medical/graduate/professional schools Application process for college ...

Do you ever worry about your teenager’s safety during a sports practice or game? You aren’t being over protective. In fact, you aren’t the only one. If you are in the Boston or Massachusetts area and have children or teenage athletes, you should know about the SmartTeams Play Safe™: Protecting the Health & Safety of the Whole Child In Youth Sports By Implementing Best Practices summit. The summit is being held at Harvard Medical School’s Joseph B. Martin Conference Center on Monday, September 15th, 2014. The cost of the event is $45. MomsTEAM Keeping Youth Athletes Safe The sponsor of ...

Fall is an exciting time for both parents and students. The kids are back at school with structured activities, leaving parents with less scheduling stress. Students also like going back to school in September—but perhaps for different reasons. Back-to-school is traditionally an excuse for shopping sprees: books, pens, pencils, and of course, clothes. Everyone—young and old—likes new things. What if this year, parents can still get their teens excited about school without breaking the bank? If you’ve already indulged this fall, keep these tips in mind for next year (and every year after that!). School Supplies Walmart, Staples, and other ...

Teens are known for staying up all night with their friends, cramming for exams, and watching mind-numbing reality shows. But what impact does teen sleep have on their health in adulthood? Sleep and Obesity Researchers from Columbia University and UNC found that 16-year-olds who sleep six hours or less a night have a 20 percent higher risk of obesity compared to 16-year-olds who sleep more than eight hours each night. The National Sleep Foundation recommends that teens sleep for over nine hours each night. 10,000 US 16- and 21-year-olds were included in this study, which began in 1995. Researchers collected ...

Contrary to popular belief, driving after using marijuana is just as dangerous as driving drunk. A recent study (JAMA Pediatrics) of 315 college students from two state universities found that one in five students used pot in the last month, and more than one half of the male students and one third of the female students reported riding in a car with someone who had smoked. Understanding the Risks of Driving High This data, while frightening for parents, doesn’t represent the bad choices many college students take while on drugs. Instead, it represents a lack of understanding of the effects ...

Are you ever amused, if not horrified, by what auto fills your search bar when you type something into Google? I recently read a blog post that featured Google drop-down search results. The post was a perfect, comedic representation of what people search for on Google, and also how people perceive certain subjects. I was curious about what people searched for relating to teens, parent, and educators. Here are some search results I found. While these search results are, of course, arbitrary and location dependent, it’s entertaining and interesting to see what Google recommended for my searches. Some search suggestions ...

MOOCs—shorthand for "massive open online courses"—have quickly gained traction in the world of higher education, and high school administrators are starting to take notice, too. Despite the ominous name, the idea is pretty simple: a MOOC is a free online course with unlimited participants. Anyone with an Internet connection can enroll in courses on everything from engineering to English lit. There are three main MOOC providers, all with ties to elite universities: Coursera.org, edX.org, and Udacity.com. MOOC Growth The buzz surrounding MOOCs started to take off in 2011, when Sebastian Thrun of Stanford University taught an intro-level course on artificial ...

Colleges are very aware of the drug and alcohol problems on their campuses, and allocate funds and resources towards combating these health risks. But what if sleep deprivation could result in the same side effects as binge drinking or marijuana use? Poor Sleep Equal to Binge Drinking, Marijuana Use A small study from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine reveals that poor sleep causes academic disparities—low grades, withdrawal from class, etc.—similar or equal to the side effects of regular marijuana use or binge drinking. Sleep timing and maintenance problems are predictors of academic trouble and are proven to lower students’ ...

Parents should commend their teenagers for getting a summer job or a paid internship. Although they probably aren’t being paid as much as they’d like, working for an hourly wage teaches teens the real value of money. Before spending $20 on a video game, they may just consider how much time it took them to earn that amount—probably two hours or more. Teenagers who earn their own money will certainly understand the old phrase “money doesn’t grow on trees,” in its true context. Plus, you can bet they’ll gain a stronger appreciation for the money you spend on them! To ...

We all know that summer is one of the only times of the year when teens can relax—they are released from stressful responsibilities including homework, school sports games, and exams. But summer should not be a wasted opportunity to read for pleasure. To help incentivize teens over the last four years, The New York Times created their annual New York Times Summer Reading Contest. How Does the Summer Reading Contest Work? Every Friday from June 13th through August 15th, The NYT posts the same question: "What interested you most in The Times this week?" Anyone 13 to 19 years old ...