For over a hundred years, The Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club has provided Philadelphia’s boys and men the opportunity to be a part of a positive community. Before the heart of downtown Philadelphia was known for its poverty stricken neighborhoods with abundant drug activity and high unemployment rates, the African American community of Fletcher Street was thriving, and out of that community men began saving horses from slaughter and giving them a new home in the city’s urban stables.

In an interview with Temple University, longtime proponent of Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club, Ellis Ferrel said, “A lot of kids would come around the stable, who wanted their own horse. They reminded me of me. I would assign them to a horse to take care of, and it helped teach them responsibility and respect. They learned to respect the horses and respect themselves, and they learned to respect others.”

The mission of The Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club is to save the historical aspects of Philadelphia’s community, and most importantly, its children. Through riding, the club offers a safe environment, mentorship, lessons in responsibility, discipline, and reward. The men who keep the club alive are sometimes the only support the young equestrians have in their lives.

However, as old buildings get demolished and new housing takes their place, the original 50 stables once throughout Philadelphia continue to dwindle and get closer to extinction. The interesting juxtaposition of horses trotting through urban settings and numerous personal stories from the Fletcher Street community inspired the documentary, “Fletcher Street,” a film that hopes to raise awareness and “shed light onto a neighborhood worth saving.”

To learn more about the Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club visit www.fletcherstreeturbanridingclub.com.

References: http://www.fletcherstreeturbanridingclub.com/main.html

Millions of people will turn on their TVs this Saturday to watch the horse race known as the Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports: the Kentucky Derby. Thirteen horses are entered in the longest running sports event in the country, but among them are three unlikely participants.

In the last 136 horse races, there have only been 14 female trainers and five female jockeys. No female trainer or jockey has yet to win a race, but this year trainers Kathy Ritvo and Kathleen O’Donnell and jockey Rosie Napravnik are real contenders for breaking the gender barrier.

Jockey Rosie Napravnik is a 23-year-old who will be riding a colt named “Pants on Fire”. She’s had her jockey license since 2005, and in the last year won the Fair Grounds riding title and last month’s $1 million Louisiana Derby allowing her to place in this year’s Kentucky Derby.

Keep an eye open for  “Watch Me Go” to see the work trainer Kathleen O’Donnell has done. “I feel like I’ve been a trailblazer since time began to be honest with you,” she said. “I’ve been on the track since 1970. My first license said ‘exercise boy’ because there wasn’t even a category to check for a girl.”

Resources: http://www.bigsiteofamazingfacts.com/how-long-does-the-kentucky-derby-last-and-how-many-people-watch-the-kentucky-derby-every-year

Three women eager to break gender barrier at Derby - http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/05/us-horse-racing-kentucky-women-idUSTRE7447HD20110505

When is the Kentucky Derby 2011 –  http://news.travel.aol.com/seasonal/when-is-the-kentucky-derby-2011/

Look at any daily news source this week and expect to see coverage on Osama bin Laden’s death, education policy, candidates for the next presidential election, and the U.S.’ involvement in two wars, among other issues nation-, state-, and city- wide. Now, look at a graduating class of seniors who are either of voting age or almost there, and guess how many are prepared to vote in the next election.
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Finals week is coming up and many students are panicking to find time to squeeze in studying for every class, write term papers, and memorize oral presentations. When life gets stressful, students often turn to commonly alcohol for a stress relief, but research shows this habit is doing more harm than good to student’s grades.

A new survey found that besides time spent studying, time spent drinking was the most reliable predictor of a student’s GPA. Researchers surveyed 13,900 incoming freshmen from 167 schools, including institutions known for both their drinking and stellar grades, and found across the board the amount students drink is more influential to their grades than how many hours they spend in the classroom.

However, researchers did find that when students who drink are also involved in extracurricular activities they had fewer negatives consequences like ditching class, missing work, or failing assignments than those who weren’t involved in an activity.

Researchers were also surprised by how students spent most of their time. Even though social networking seems like a likely candidate to be the number one distractor from doing one’s work, students spent the 4.41 hours social networking, 5.32 hours watching TV, 7.25 hours studying, 7.61 hours working, and 14.21 hours attending class. The study warns not to get too excited about studying taking third place. In the 1960’s, college students were studying 24 hours a week.

“The main value of the study lies in using the relationships between study time, alcohol consumption, and academic success to predict student behavior so colleges can develop programs that target specific students in danger of falling behind,” writes Newsweek editor Kristina Dell.

Many schools are attacking the issue with alcohol awareness programs, community help, and online courses. Some schools have seen positive results from requiring students to take an online alcohol education test before entering the campus.

Resources: How Alcohol Consumption Predicts GPA – http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2011-03-31/drinking-and-grades-how-student-alcohol-consumption-affects-gpa/#

Seventy-one percent of recent college graduates wish they had done something differently in college to prepare for the job market, according to research by Adecco Staffing US, part of the world’s largest staffing firm.

The Adecco survey was designed with the interest of understanding how the economy has effected new graduates seeking a career. The findings are based off interviews with 503 college graduates in the age range between 22 and 26  who are considered to be a part of “Generation R(ecession)” — those who graduated between 2006-10.

When recent grads were surveyed about their college education, Adecco found the following:

• 26 percent wished they had started their job earlier,
• 29 percent wished they had spent more time networking, and/or
• 26 percent  wished they had applied to more jobs before graduation.
• 33 percent currently live with their parents, and 17 percent of that number are financially dependent on their parents.

The negative perception of their college experience is likely to be due in part to where they found themselves employed after college. It wasn’t that these recent graduates were without work, many had full-time jobs, but 43% of the graduates are working a job that doesn’t require a bachelor’s degree.

“Regardless of how the economy is fairing, graduates who proactively pound the pavement well before they finish their studies are more successful in landing a full-time job after graduation,” said Joyce Russell, EVP and president of Adecco Staffing US.

Recent graduates have reason to worry about where their career path is headed in a bad economy, but it doesn’t mean there aren’t any options. These statistics show recent grads wish they had taken advantage of what their schools had to offer before it was too late. College students spend most of their time on a campus that is rich with resources that too often go untapped.

If you are a student or know a student who wants to get more involved in a career search before graduating, consider the following options:

• Students can earn invaluable real-world experience through apprenticeships, internships, and volunteer jobs.
• Students can visit the career center at their school or take a course to help them design a professional portfolio for landing a job.
• Students can start networking at job fairs held on their campus.

For students getting ready to enter college, check out LifeBound’s MAJORING IN THE REST OF YOUR LIFE. Students will learn the importance of planning, financing, living independently, interning, landing the job, and more all before heading out into the workforce.

Resources: Adecco College Graduate Survey - http://www.adeccousa.com/articles/Adecco-College-Graduate-Survey.html?id=181&url=/pressroom/pressreleases/Pages/Forms/AllItems.aspx&templateurl=/adeccogroup/News/press-releases/Pages/press-release.aspx

As summer approaches many families are planning how they are going to spend their summer vacation. Among many activities, people from all over the world will be making their way to the Grand Canyon National Park (which gets over 5 million visitors a year!) to take in one of the first and most notable national parks in the United States. But this year will be a little different.

This year will be the first time visitors will be able to look into the famous canyon and know how it was formed, thanks to researchers from Rice University who recently took the first step in solving the geological mystery.

In last 70 million years, the Colorado Plateau of the southwestern United States, which covers Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico — a 130,000-square mile region — used to be flat and reach  1.2 miles high. The plateau was then invaded by magma causing it to erode and create deep valleys and landscapes that tourists now flock to, like the Grand Canyon (LiveScience).

Before recent findings, a popular theory was that the valleys were slowly created over the millennia by the Colorado River. New research shows the magma would have created the Grand Canyon in only the last 6-7 million years, a much shorter amount of time than some theorized.

Researchers will continue solving the mystery of the Grand Canyon by searching for the cause behind the magma rising. The “drips” caused by the magma are increasingly being found all over the world and giving scientists new a perspective on Earth’s formations.

“[The drips are] a new component to our understanding of how continents evolve that we’re just trying to figure out now,” said Seismologist George Zandt in an interview with OurAmazingPlanet.

What are some places you’re going to this summer with your family? Need some ideas on how to fill your summer with learning? On May 10, student success expert Maureen Breeze will be presenting the webinar, Summer Learning: Fostering Analytical, Practical, and Creative Intelligence. Parents, educators, counselors, and administrators who work with grades 5-12 and want learn more about why summer time is a great time for learning are encouraged to attend.

References:

Grand Canyon:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Canyon#Grand_Canyon_tourism

Mystery of Grand Canyon’s Formation Revealed: http://www.livescience.com/13903-grand-canyon-age-formation-colorado-plateau-uplift.html

How the Grand Canyon Was Formed: Anomaly Gives New Clues: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/27/how-the-grand-canyon-was-formed_n_854549.html

Students of all ages can start developing work skills and experience this summer that will help them assess their strengths and challenges and give them the chance to address them early on. Middle school students have many working opportunities that they can get involved in during the summer. They should be encouraged to try a variety of jobs so they can learn what they do well and pick up transferable skills like responsibility, communication, punctuality, and time management.

If a student has a passion for animals, they could potentially become a zookeeper, veterinarian, or wildlife photographer. This summer, have your student volunteer to petsit while neighbors are on vacation, be in charge of feeding and cleaning up after family pets, or walk dogs at the animal shelter.

Whether high school students are required to earn their own money or not, they should have a job during the summer. Volunteering, part-time work, and odds-and-ends jobs like babysitting, housesitting, and household chores all help young adults start creating a work ethic that they will take with them to their independent years in college and their career.

Encourage students to get a head start on developing job skills, getting to know themselves, and maybe even making some money, by getting them involved this summer. Below is a list of common jobs from www.careerkids.com for students of any age.

• Babysitting
• Pet sitting
• Yard workers
• Bicycle repair
• Camp counselor
• Referee and umpires
• Computer tutoring or training (this can be a good resource if you live near a retirement community)
• Garage sales
• House sitting (pick up mail, packages, feed animals, water plants while neighbors are away)
• Car washing/detailing
• DVD rental (if the family has a large collection)
• Recycle pickup (they make their money when they take the recycling to the service center)
• Library pick up and return

On May 10, student success expert Maureen Breeze will be presenting the webinar, Summer Learning: Fostering Analytical, Practical, and Creative Intelligence. Parents, educators, counselors, and administrators who work with grades 5-12 and want learn more about why summer time is a great time for learning are encouraged to attend.