Newsflash Investing in Children is pleased to let you know that London's first run of the Roots of Empathy program will begin in November 2002. This innovative project is a collaborative venture of many partners including the City of London, the Thames Valley District School Board and the Kiwanis Club of Forest City, with the participation of the London District Catholic School Board and the three OEYCentres. The project will be coordinated and administered through Investing in Children. Sixteen school classrooms will participate in the first session of this highly acclaimed program that was developed and introduced worldwide by Mary Gordon of Toronto. For more information about Roots of Empathy and the pilot project in London, please read Getting to the roots of bullying in this month's E-mailer. Voices I agree with the perspective in your article, "Fulfilling a Positive Prophecy", that placing labels can lead to problems, and possibly lead to a negative consequence. However, I don't see an alternative to identification, since if we do not identify groups, then how can we help them? Your suggestion of a positive label, such as "opportunities for excellence" rather than "at risk" is possibly one way of reducing the stigma associated with "at risk", but I do not believe that using a different label will necessarily fulfill a positive prophecy. Many years ago, when I went to elementary school, there were reading groups. The children in the reading groups always knew who the good and poor readers were -- even when the groups had names such as 'robins' and 'bluebirds'. Today, in our schools, we use the term 'exceptionality', yet has the term made a difference? Many of these 'positively labeled' children have a very poor self image. I believe, as your comments on "Pygmalion in the Classroom: Teacher Expectation and Pupil's Intellectual Development" suggests, it is our attitude towards others that truly makes a difference. When you treat people with respect, and believe they can succeed, they often will. Changing a label, without a similar change in attitude, will only reveal insincerity. Articles such as "Fulfilling a Positive Prophecy" can start a discussion, and/or self reflection. However, unless we are willing to reexamine our attitudes and treat people with the respect they deserve, changing labels will have little long-term effect. Thank you for starting the 'discussion' so that we can revisit strategies for reaching the "untapped potential" in our communities. Barry Onslow Esso Family Math I read with interest the June edition of the Investing in Children E-mailer. Thank you for providing your readers with an "early look" at the eylearning zone. We are very excited about this new initiative, and are confident that the toolkit and training modules will assist early years leaders with collaborative system development, program delivery, and implementation. Please let your readers know the official launch date of the website. Congratulations, and keep up the good work. I will recommend this e-mailer to anyone working in community development, health promotion, education, or business. Kelly Simpson KS Powergroup Consulting Do you have something to say? E-mail it to info@investinginchildren.on.ca and we'll include your thoughts in next month's Voices section. Surfin' Safari This month we shine the spotlight on the new e-Parenting Network website. A creation of the Canadian Institute of Child Health, the interactive website features on-line video programs, research material, articles and downloadable information from leading experts about parenting issues, including breastfeeding, proper nutrition and safety. Click on the logo above to visit their site. Worth Noting In Stats Canada's Summer 2002 Social Trends report, they note that high-income Canadians spend only four minutes a day teaching their child, and only four minutes a day reading to or talking with their child. They do, however, have 82 minutes to spend watching television. Low income Canadians didn't fare much better, spending a scant nine minutes per day teaching their child, and just five minutes a day reading with or talking to their child. They spent more than two hours watching television though, clocking 132 minutes each day. High-income is defined as a family with an annual income of at least $80,000, while low-income is defined as families earning less that $30,000 per year. Puzzle Corner Above is a very special grid, around each shaded number are 8 white squares. However, each white square should have a number from 1 to 7. Once filled in, these 8 numbers will sum to the shaded number. In addition, once completed correctly, no row nor column will contain a duplicate number within a white square. For example, the top row may be 5 6 4 2 3 1 7, etc. Mouseover the grid for the solution. © Kevin Stone www.brainbashers.com Subscription Info If this was forwarded to you and you would like to become a subscriber of Investing in Children's monthly E-mailer, please send an e-mail message to info@investinginchildren.on.ca, and write SUBSCRIBE in the subject line. To unsubscribe from the E-mailer, please send an e-mail message to info@investinginchildren.on.ca and write UNSUBSCRIBE in the subject line.

"Nothing great in the world has ever been accomplished without passion." - G.W.F. Hegel Welcome Welcome to the third issue of our monthly E-mailer. As you may notice, we've changed the look quite a bit. The E-mailer now utilizes HTML to share the same distinctive visual branding as our website. If you require a plain text copy of the e-mailer, or would like to comment on the new look and feel of the newsletter, please e-mail info@investinginchildren.on.ca. The sidebar on the left hand side will diversify our content, filled with short, interesting pieces and announcements. Making its first appearance in this issue, is our new Voices section, a forum for your thoughts, comments and opinions. If you have something to say, say it in Voices! We hope that all of these changes combine for a more readable, more dynamic and more informative e-mailer. This month, we continue our series on approaches to child development by applying Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs to the "at risk" child. We also feature a sample article from Investing in Children's new e-learning initiative, a look at anti-bullying practices highlighting the new Roots of Empathy pilot project and a case study of Westmount Shopping Centre's family-friendly efforts. If you would like to write an informative piece for the e-mailer, suggest a story idea, respond to a letter or article for Voices, or just shower us with praise, please e-mail Greg Picken at info@investinginchildren.on.ca. If you like what you read, please forward this e-mailer to anyone you know who might be interested in reading it. What you need Applying Maslow to the "at risk" child Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, developed in the mid-20th century, postulates that our actions are motivated by a series of increasingly complex needs. Whether child or adult, the theory suggests that the order in which these needs present themselves is universal. This model can be of great use when reaching out to "at risk" children and families, presenting a psychology-based strategy for addressing their needs. Abraham Maslow (1908-1970), was one of the founders of humanistic psychology in the 1950's and 1960's. This school of thought believes that neither the stimulus and reinforcement model of behaviourism nor the unconscious impulses of Freudian thinking singularly controls a person's actions. Instead, humanistic psychology suggests that a person's intentions, values, and motivation are a determining factor in a person's life. Maslow's research was unique for its time; most psychology until then had focused on why people become mentally ill. In contrast, Maslow looked at highly successful people and wondered how they got there. He hypothesized that people were guided by their needs, and as soon as one need was satisfied, they would move on to the next. He also recognized that some needs took precedence over others. Drawing on the knowledge of anthropologists and psychologists, he formulated the Hierarchy of Needs, marking five stages of human growth. He envisioned a ladder, beginning at the bottom with the basic need for sustenance, and culminating with transcendence. The rungs of the Hierarchy are physiological needs, safety and security needs, belonging needs, esteem needs, and finally, self-actualization, the peak of human existence. Do you need to know more? Click here for the full article. Top Tricks of the Trade As we previewed last week, Investing in Children is undertaking a new e-learning initiative entitled Working on the Edge: Balancing Risk, Change & the Comfort Zone. Below is a sample article from the toolbox, written by Kelly Simpson, KS Powergroup Consulting, and former Coordinator of the Early Years Challenge Fund for Middlesex-London. Proposal writing can be tough. It requires an enormous amount of time to develop a persuasive and concise proposal that reflects the objectives of the prospected funders. Proposal writing requires exceptional research, writing, and analytical skills. As an experienced proposal writer and grant reviewer, I have devised a list of tips to help you develop winning proposals that will separate you from the rest of the pile. 1. Do your homework - make sure that the concept of program/event advances the mission, vision and values company or charitable foundation. It is important to obtain a copy funding/grant giving criteria before you apply. In the proposal tell funders how you fit within their funding strategy; this will impress them and give the organization credibility. 2. Follow directions - read directions carefully to make sure that you answer the question that is being asked. Keep your answers brief and to the point. Read the guidelines, for example, if they ask for a copy of the annual report make sure you include it. Do not send in additional information that is not requested, it is important to keep your proposal simple so that it will standout from the others in the enormous grant-seeking pile. For the complete list of tips on proposal writing, please click here. Getting to the roots of bullying It seems that hardly a month goes by without a new headline-grabbing story about bullying. In very recent years, one student in Vancouver was viciously murdered by a pack of bullies. At least three Canadian students have committed suicide due to bullying. And in a precedent-setting verdict in British Colombia, a 16 year-old girl was found guilty of criminal harassment after her actions pushed a victimized girl to commit suicide. Even many of the horrifying school shootings, such as Columbine and Taber, can trace their roots back to bullying. Too late, the public often learns that before they were perpetrators, the gunmen were victims themselves. Bullying has been in schools as long as there have been schools, but only recently it seems death has entered the picture. And yet, to many of us, the bully is more an archetype than a reality, a thuggish, cartoon-like stereotype found in movies and on television. Rarely do we cast our eyes on the playground and wonder who the bullies are and why. Is bullying a growing epidemic or are we just blind to the problem until tragedy occurs? What is being done to prevent future tragedies? To find out, click here. Westmount Shopping Centre A Case Study in Family Friendly Practices With over 160 stores and services, Westmount Shopping Centre is always bustling with children and families. Piper Badgley, Centre Manager, and also co-chair of Investing in Children, and Colleen Gosnell, Marketing Manager are the leaders of a dedicated team, positioning Westmount not just as a shopping centre, but as a large community centre, with as many family-oriented activities and community outreach projects as they have stores. "Everything we do", says Ms. Badgley, "through the physicality of the shopping centre, through special events, through outreach, through our tenants, focuses on London families." Ms. Gosnell follows up "This all helps to enhance our awareness in the greater community." The management team is committed to building "strong partnerships" that make them not just hosts, but "active participants" in all of these events. Physically, Westmount Shopping Centre has been designed to appeal to the needs of the family. Throughout the Centre are help phones, placed at eye-level for children. Connected directly to customer service, patrons can receive information or summon security, while children can contact help if they are lost, or need emergency assistance. Underground parking with elevator access protects shoppers and their children against the elements, while free strollers and family washrooms make it easier to bring the youngsters along. The Let's Play Childcare Centre is available to supervise children, letting parents shop quicker, and without distraction. Arts and crafts, Nintendo games and plenty of toys keep the children entertained and having fun. Westmount Shopping Centre is home to all kinds of special family-oriented events, from live entertainment to on-going programs. Westmount is one of two locations hosting the Arts Adventure program. Children in grades 5-8 participate in exciting art projects, including tie-dying t-shirts, puzzle murals and clay molding. As part of the Arts Adventure program, one wall in the food court has been set aside for the children to paint. Just this past month, the children created a brand new mural, featuring a colourful beachside scene, complete with sun, surf and sand castles. To read more about Westmount Shopping Centre's innovative practices, please click here.