What's New | Making Caring Common — Making Caring Common

Raising kids who care about others and the common good.

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You’re in the right place for our media coverage, blog posts, and event information. Our work spans a range of topics, all connected by our commitment to elevate caring and concern for the common good at school, at home, and in our communities. You can review what’s new below or use the dropdowns to sort by topic and category.

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The Harvard Gazette | Way forward after Supreme Court ruling

The Harvard Gazette | Way forward after Supreme Court ruling

"There will be major losses in diversity on college campuses," MCC's Rick Weissbourd told the Harvard Gazette about one impact of the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision about race-conscious admission practices. "Diversity is so important for the prospects of many kids, and it’s also important in terms of having a healthy community, where people learn about themselves and the world.”

Read more about how admissions processes may change and what it may mean for colleges, universities — and the nation itself.

News, All What's NewAli CashinJuly 3, 2023College Admission, Access and Equity

Purposeful Empathy | How to Raise Kind, Caring and Empathic Kids

Purposeful Empathy | How to Raise Kind, Caring and Empathic Kids

How—and why—should we raise children who care about the common good? the Purposeful Empathy podcast’s Anita Nowak discusses this core MCC topic with Rick Weissbourd.

News, All What's NewAli CashinJune 28, 2023Parenting, Moral and Ethical Development

Greater Good Magazine | Why Don’t Most Parents Teach the Golden Rule?

Greater Good Magazine | Why Don’t Most Parents Teach the Golden Rule?

The Golden Rule, treating others as you want to be treated, is one of the oldest and most universally agreed upon moral principles in human history. So why aren’t parents today teaching it to their kids?

News, All What's NewAli CashinJune 6, 2023Parenting, Caring and Empathy

Harvard Medicine | Alone in the Crowd

Harvard Medicine | Alone in the Crowd

This article in Harvard Medicine magazine looks at the high rates of loneliness among young people and related concerns over possible damage to their mental and physical health.

News, All What's NewAli CashinMay 31, 2023Mental Health

Ed Magazine | Does Anyone Win When Colleges Compete?

Ed Magazine | Does Anyone Win When Colleges Compete?

Today, much of higher education is predicated on gaining a competitive advantage. But what if colleges and universities could cooperate instead of compete for applicants?

News, All What's NewAli CashinMay 30, 2023College Admission

Ed Magazine | Taking Care of Siblings? Put it on the Common App

Ed Magazine | Taking Care of Siblings? Put it on the Common App

A new tool that Making Caring Common piloted with the Common App will allow college applicants to provide more diverse information about their life circumstances — information like time spent taking care of siblings. Through the Common App, the most-used college application platform in the country, students can apply to multiple colleges and universities at the same time.

News, All What's NewAli CashinMay 30, 2023College Admission, Access and Equity

6 Youth Advisory Board Members Share Their Advice for the Class of 2023

6 Youth Advisory Board Members Share Their Advice for the Class of 2023

We asked six former Youth Advisory Board members what they wished they knew before high school graduation. This is what they shared. These students are wise beyond their years, and offer advice on everything from how to handle disappointment about not attending their dream school, to making the most of the summer before college and what they wished they had known before graduating.

Blog, All What's NewAli CashinMay 23, 2023K-12, Youth Advisory Board

Newsweek | 'Lonely' Woman Goes On Friendship Date Every Week For A Year

Newsweek | 'Lonely' Woman Goes On Friendship Date Every Week For A Year

This Newsweek piece about a woman seeking friendships through weekly dates with potential friends cites MCC’s loneliness report.

News, All What's NewAli CashinMay 14, 2023Mental Health

USA Today | A loneliness 'epidemic' is affecting a staggering number of American adults

USA Today | A loneliness 'epidemic' is affecting a staggering number of American adults

USA Today’s Nada Hassanein checked in with MCC’s Rick Weissbourd for this piece about the U.S. Surgeon General’s May 2023 advisory about loneliness and mental health.

News, All What's New, Featured newsAli CashinMay 2, 2023Mental Health

The Washington Post | Loneliness poses profound public health threat, surgeon general says

The Washington Post | Loneliness poses profound public health threat, surgeon general says

“Probably our most effective way to reduce loneliness is if we take more care of the people in our lives,” MCC's Rick Weissbourd said in response to the U.S. Surgeon General’s May 2023 advisory on how loneliness negatively affects mental health. Read more in The Washington Post.

News, All What's New, Featured newsAli CashinMay 2, 2023Mental Health

The Washington Post | Are you there, God? It's today's teen girls and they need help.

The Washington Post | Are you there, God? It's today's teen girls and they need help.

In this article, Washington Post writer Petula Dvorak quotes MCC’s Rick Weissbourd and calls on adults to do more to support teen girls. She suggests that we can start by listening to them, believing them, and empowering them.

News, All What's New, Featured newsAli CashinMay 1, 2023Mental Health

5 tips to help children become better listeners

5 tips to help children become better listeners

Listening is a fundamental skill that’s essential for success in school, in relationships, and in life. Unfortunately, many children struggle with listening. They may interrupt, tune out, or simply not pay attention. If your child has difficulty with listening, don't worry—there are things you can do to help. Below are five research-based tips for helping kids become better listeners. These tips focus on developing three key listening skills: body language, focus, and expressing empathy

Blog, All What's NewAli CashinApril 25, 2023Parenting

Managed Healthcare Executive | The Lonely Have Plenty of Company

Managed Healthcare Executive | The Lonely Have Plenty of Company

Social isolation and loneliness can have devastating health consequences. This piece in Managed Healthcare Executive highlights MCC research and a program that used persona mapping and artificial intelligence to match users with trained peers who had similar experiences and could provide emotional support and companionship.

News, All What's NewAli CashinApril 14, 2023Mental Health

Meet our 2022-2023 Youth Advisory Board!

Meet our 2022-2023 Youth Advisory Board!

Our 2022-23 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.

All What's NewAli CashinApril 12, 2023Youth Advisory Board

TIME | We Have Put Individualism Ahead of the Common Good for Too Long

TIME | We Have Put Individualism Ahead of the Common Good for Too Long

This piece in TIME by MCC's Rick Weissbourd and Senator Chris Murphy challenges us to think about how we can balance individual autonomy and the common good and calls for a renewed commitment to community and collaboration to address the issues we face today.

News, All What's New, Featured newsAli CashinApril 11, 2023K-12, Mental Health

ASCD | Teaching Students to Talk Across Political Difference

ASCD | Teaching Students to Talk Across Political Difference

In today's increasingly polarized political climate, it's more important than ever to teach students how to have productive conversations with people who have different beliefs. In this ASCD article, MCC's Rick Weissbourd, Glenn Manning, and Eric Torres share tips for helping students develop the skills they need to talk across political difference.

News, All What's NewAli CashinApril 1, 2023K-12, Bridging

Bullying Prevention and Intervention: What Works and What Doesn't

Bullying Prevention and Intervention: What Works and What Doesn't

Key takeaways on bullying prevention and intervention from a webinar featuring expert and scholar Dr. Dororthy Espelage. The event was hosted by Making Caring Common, Facing History and Ourselves, and The Choose Kindness Project.

Blog, All What's NewAli CashinMarch 30, 2023Bullying, K-12, Parenting

HGSE | Askwith Education Forum Highlights the Challenges of Adolescent Mental Health

HGSE | Askwith Education Forum Highlights the Challenges of Adolescent Mental Health

An Askwith Education Forum at the Harvard Graduate School of Education featured a panel discussion, hosted by Senior Lecturer Josephine Kim, including four field experts: MCC’s Rick Weissbourd; Alisha Moreland-Capuia, founder of the Institute for Trauma-Informed Systems Change at McLean Hospital; author and clinical psychologist Lisa Damour; and Linda Charmaraman, director of Youth, Media & Wellbeing Research Lab at the Wellesley Centers for Women at Wellesley College.

News, All What's NewAli CashinMarch 21, 2023Mental Health

Good Morning America | School districts across the U.S. sue social media companies

Good Morning America | School districts across the U.S. sue social media companies

In response to the growing youth mental health crisis, school districts across the country have filed suit against social media giants, including Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. Good Morning America checked in with MCC’s Rick Weissbourd about the lawsuits.

News, All What's NewAli CashinMarch 20, 2023K-12, Mental Health

The Washington Post | Schools sue social media companies over youth mental health crisis

The Washington Post | Schools sue social media companies over youth mental health crisis

In this Washington Post piece, writer Donna St. George looks at lawsuits filed by school districts across the country arguing that Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube have helped create the nation’s surging youth mental health crisis and should be held accountable.

News, All What's NewAli CashinMarch 19, 2023K-12, Mental Health