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How do you have open conversations with children about the Capitol riots?
"The place to start with kids is to ask questions like, 'What have you heard? What are you thinking? What are you feeling?'" says MCC faculty director Rick Weissbourd in the Harvard Gazette
The premise of holistic admissions suggests that admissions officers consider the whole applicant. But how can intangibles like character or compassion be judged alongside empirical data like grades or test scores?
Amy and Mike from Tests and the rest invited Glenn Manning and Brennan E. Barnard to describe how this challenge is being addressed by the Making Caring Common Project.
Read MoreLet children lead conversations about traumatic events, says Richard Weissbourd, faculty director of Making Caring Common.
“Find out what their concerns are, make room for their questions, and know how they’re processing and making meaning out of the events first.” Rick spoke with Emily Boudreau for this piece that provides guidance for educators and families to support productive conversations.
Read More“We may be failing to help our teens develop the critical cognitive, social and ethical capacities that are at the heart of both doing good and doing well in college and beyond,” said Making Caring Common director Richard Weissbourd. Our college admissions work was mentioned in this Spokesman - Review article.
In June of 2020, more than 300 admissions deans spoke out to encourage college applicants to be honest about the obstacles they have faced during the pandemic, as well as meaningful activities they've undertaken, such as caring for siblings, shopping for elderly neighbors, and writing thank-you notes to essential workers.
Read More“My guess is that at least some dads, because they have found real and deep gratification in their relationships with their kids during this time, will work hard to preserve this closeness," expressed Rick Weissbourd in USA Today.
This article mentions our research study that found a majority of fathers felt closer to their children during the pandemic.
Read More"It's not only an increase in quantity of time spent together, it's also an increase in quality... parents are willing to express vulnerability and are more able to get to know their kids better." Rick Weissbourd discusses our research about parental relationships with children during the COVID-19 pandemic in JAMA's podcast.
Read MoreIs it possible to bridge the political divide and have unity and economic, racial and gender justice?
"None of this will be easy. But for far too long we’ve avoided these conversations, and it is upon this work that our brave, imperiled democracy depends, " says Rick Weissbourd in NationSwell discussing our new research brief,
Read MoreOur 2020-21 Youth Advisory Board represents a diverse group of young people who will work with Making Caring Common to make schools and communities more just, caring, and respectful places.
Read MoreHow can we enable students to engage respectfully and constructively students who don't share their political views? How can we help students bridge political divides during a time when the country is so divided?
Read MoreWhile this year has shed light on how politically divided Americans are, our new research brief shows that the majority of Americans are willing to make amends across the aisle. 83% percent of the 1,400 respondents surveyed earlier this year said they could respect someone who disagrees with them politically as long as the person respected them back. Emily Bernstein includes some of our insights in this Wall Street Journal article.
Read MoreIn June, more than 300 admissions deans spoke out to encourage college applicants to be honest about the obstacles they have faced during the pandemic, as well as meaningful activities they've undertaken, such as caring for siblings, shopping for elderly neighbors, and writing thank-you notes to essential workers.
Read more about our collaboration with the deans in Good Housekeeping Magazine.
Read More"Kindness is what gets our families healthy, our country healthy. It's how we live together so we’re constructive and joyful. If we don’t take care of each other, we won’t survive.” - Rick Weissbourd, Making Caring Common Faculty Director.
National Geographic’s Jamie Kiffel Alcheh emphasizes the benefits of kindness for kids’ health and gives some tips on how to teach kindness and kind things that kids can do.
Read MoreWhether students are younger or older - learning in person or online - asking caring questions and listening to others can set the stage for sharing and promoting trust and connection in the classroom. Helping students learn and practice these skills can help them build relationships, understand their own thoughts and feelings and those of others, and make them feel heard.
In this webinar from Harvard’s Making Caring Common project, now available on demand, educators will learn strategies for building a caring community by developing student listening skills. Click through to watch now!
Read More“Ultimately, the college search and application experience boils down to being an informed consumer. Do yourself a favor and go to the source,” Brennan Barnard discusses in his Forbes article. He mentions the 2020 U.S. Presidential election, and advises to rely on credible resources for information
Read MoreWhile this year has shed light on how politically divided Americans are, our new research brief shows that the majority of Americans are willing to make amends across the aisle. 83% percent of the 1,400 respondents surveyed earlier this year said they could respect someone who disagrees with them politically as long as the person respected them back. Emily Bernstein includes some of our insights in this Wall Street Journal article.
Read MoreDo commercial rankings of colleges mean anything? “It's important that the admission profession looks for innovative, powerful and effective ways to deliver high-quality information about searching for, applying to, and affording higher education," Brennan Barnard argues in his Forbes article.
Read MoreOur Get Out the Vote program was highlighted in the Be Latina article: How to Convince Your Stubborn Friend or Family Member to Vote.Journalist Erica Nahmad spoke with Making Caring Common faculty director, Rick Weissbourd who emphasized the challenges o getting college - aged voters to the polls.
Rick reiterates this point, claiming that “only 40% of college students turned out in the 2018 midterm election — a dramatic jump from the 19% student turnout in the 2014 midterm elections, but a disappointing percentage for any healthy democracy.”
Read MoreHas the pandemic brought you closer to your kids? Rick Weissbourd discusses our recent report on Boston 25 News.
"A significant majorities of fathers are spending more relaxed time with their kids, asking their kids questions, learning about their kids"
Read MoreHelping students develop greater empathy is essential for building a positive school climate, but equally important is considering who students have empathy for. Children and adults alike are predisposed to empathize for those who are in their own social group. But empathy for many different kinds of people is important in its own right; it is the basis for children’s developing conceptions of and commitments to fairness and justice.
In this on-demand webinar from Harvard’s Making Caring Common Project, educators will explore our Circle of Concern strategy, which is designed to help children become more aware of those for whom they do and do not have empathy.
Click through to watch the webinar now!
Read MoreChildren and adults alike are predisposed to empathize for those who are in their own social group. But empathy for many different kinds of people is important in its own right and is the basis for children’s developing commitment to fairness and justice.
Read More
