‘For any nation in the world history means something fundamental: a link to the past, an explanatory tool for todays society and in many cases a key for a sound approach to the future. Pupils and students are confronted with a vision of History which is determined by the State. Some elements are emphasized, others are ignored or underreported: each of these choices has its significance and is by no means neutral. “Tell me how you teach History or rather, which History you teach, I will tell you who you are” might be an interesting start for tonight’s debate. Experts coming from different backgrounds will look deep into how education sysytems present History, as a subject and as an element of both humanities and political sciences.
The debate will bring together specialists from Tanzania and France for a stimulating discussion which has much to do with our identities at large.’

Venue: Alliance Francais (Dar es Salaam)
Date: Thursday, 21st April 2016
Time: 6:00pm

“Each generation must discover its mission, fulfil it or betray it…” – Franz Fanon

Youth leadership development programmes and networks have become abundant in Africa. Each claiming to equip, support, and inspire ‘the next generation of Africaâ€s leadersâ€. Leadership is a great challenge for Africa, and one of the things we can draw from the numerous and massive investments in Africaâ€s young high-achievers and those recognised as ‘high potential†is that the world is taking ‘the next generation of Africaâ€s leaders†very seriously.

History tells us that young people, whether in the civil rights movement of the United States or the ‘Arab Spring†across North Africa and the Middle East, play a critical role in ushering in change. Indeed, many of the icons of Africaâ€s independence era were all relatively young when they led us to independence: Kenneth Kaunda (40), Patrice Lumumba (34), Samora Machel (41), Kwame Nkrumah (47), Julius Nyerere (39), Thomas Sankara (33), Haile Selassie I (24), Sekou Toure (36), etc. At the very least, this list of distinguished men (and this is not to detract from the critical role of women in these movements) highlights the potential of youth. It should be noted, none of the above-mentioned (nor other leaders of that generation) ever had opportunities for specialised and dedicated grooming in the form of youth leadership programmes. However, they were visionary in the sense that they quickly realised that they needed each other – the pan-African struggle is and was as much a moral battle as it was a case of ‘enlightened self-interest†since their fates were intimately linked.

Sadly, there are few examples where youth organise themselves or are being organised by, of and for Africa. This reflects a failure to recognise the power and importance of networks of and for leaders (and leadership). In part, this is due to an emphasis on leaders as individuals. Sadly, this is a lesson from the past that we are ignoring. Not organising young high achievers and high- potential youths is a missed opportunity. That the world recognises Africaâ€s talents and potential is great – and well deserved for the many men and women who have had the privilege and opportunity to participate in these programmes. However, there is a missing piece to the puzzle. In order for Africa to progress as Africa, we need to build the relationships between these young individuals to understand our different pasts and value-systems, and build consensus around our common purpose and destiny, on our terms. We are failing to marshal these (would-be) ‘leaders†into a cohesive ‘leadership†that will drive the continent and her people forward. This requires specialised investment in and organisation of this demographic that so far has not been forthcoming by the continent itself.

The most valuable component of these programmes is not the technical knowledge that is gained, nor is it the opportunity to practice particular skills associated with ‘leadingâ€. The community (or network) of peers who one can reach out to for guidance or support is by far the most valuable take-away for participants. As mentioned above, the liberation-era leaders across Africa formed these social bonds and are known to have been in constant communication. Despite the lack of specialised grooming, they realised the importance of alliances and a group of leaders (peers) to form a collective leadership. These relationships were vital in securing Africaâ€s independence. Such relationships are, and will be, vital for good leadership in Africa. As these programmes are often not Africa based or formed, which individuals are being promoted, and why? How are potential-leaders identified? For what purpose are they being groomed? Are we coaching and mentoring would-be leaders to equip them with the skills and knowledge to understand how Africa got to be where it is today, why we face the challenges we face, where Africaâ€s place is in the world, and what efforts we can build on to get a better seat at the global table?

This piece starts with a famous quote from Franz Fanon, a psychiatrist and anti-colonial philosopher who fought in the Algerian War of Independence. It speaks to the heart of the matter regarding the development of young and emerging leaders in Africa – for what?

Through the African Union, African Heads of State and Government have adopted the Agenda 2063 (with its seven pillars) followed by seven goals. Are these the tasks we are setting our leaders? Are we doing enough to prepare ourselves across private, public, and civil society spaces to take on the leadership challenges that fulfilling these seven goals will face, and are our leaders doing enough to prepare future leaders for this task?

If we are serious about our future, we must groom the young and emerging leaders of today, to move us towards sustainable development and transformation. We must prepare them, so that when they too become Elders, they will in turn help to prepare future young and emerging leaders for Africa. For this, Africa too must look to the talented individuals across the continent and give them the opportunities and support they need to succeed – and we need to get them talking to, and working with, each other.

For more on Agenda 2063 see http://agenda2063.au.int/en/home

Frantz Fanonâ€s ‘The Wretched of the Earth†is available from the UONGOZI Institute Resource Centre (http://www.uongozi.or.tz/centerservices.php)

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in the above article are the views of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of UONGOZI Institute.

It was lunch time at Marysville School in Southeast Portland when the fire broke out. Teachers quickly herded their students out of the building to the sports field behind the school as the old colonial-style building burned. The fire that traumatized students and staff alike was in 2009, when Lana Penley was in her second year as principal. The 460 students and 50 staff members of the K-8 school relocated to a vacant school building in another part of Portland, displaced from their school site for three years as the district rebuilt the Marysville building.

“We were already a school that struggled, and then adding [the fire] on top of it, we really thought we needed to find a social and emotional curriculum that connects to the heart to overcome our trauma,” Penley explained. When the school reopened, Penley and her staff started using the MindUP curriculum, developed by the Hawn Foundation (founded by the actress Goldie Hawn), to try to address underlying trauma both from the fire and from the daily poverty that many students face.

‘Weâ€ve seen this huge shift in the overall tone and civility of the school culture.â€

At first they implemented the program using a counselor, rotating between classes, teaching the 15-lesson sequence that starts with explaining to students how their brains work and whatâ€s happening when they are stressed, scared or angry. The program then moves into mindful breathing exercises, meant to help students feel present in their bodies. Thereâ€s a section on choosing to approach the world with optimism and discussions of mindfulness in all the senses: seeing, listening and eating. Towards the end of the sequence the lessons expand outward, asking students how they can contribute to the community, how they can be better citizens. Students practice doing random acts of kindness and reflect on how that makes them feel. Gratitude becomes a daily practice.

The program is a blend of neuroscience, social and emotional tenets like empathy and perspective taking, and mindfulness, a practice which many schools have already started exploring. Several programs teach mindfulness in schools, including Mindful Schools.

After implementing the MindUP program at Marysville, Penley saw the difference. “Weâ€ve seen this huge shift in the overall tone and civility of the school culture,” she said.

Penley and her staff soon realized that when the counselor taught the class, students were getting the benefit, but teachers werenâ€t. Soon teachers started coming to Penley, asking to teach the class themselves, as part of their regular classes.

“After our first year we began to think about how we could bring this to the overall health of the school,” Penley said. As a staff they decided to teach the MindUP lessons concurrently, at the same time every week, so there would be a sense of synergy. “Everyone is in a classroom except the custodian and secretary,” Penley said. “Imagine all of us hearing about gratitude and asking ourselves how we can integrate it throughout everything we do.”

Penley says the real shifts in school culture came when they started implementing the program school-wide. Teachers now start class in the morning with a few breaths to help students feel present. The middle school has breathing exercises after passing periods. Penley described how kindergarteners used to come into their classroom for free breakfast while their teacher was already directing them to look at what sheâ€d written on the board. Students were having a hard time learning that way because they didnâ€t feel settled or safe.

Now, teachers greet kids at the door and play soft music with the lights down; they talk about the practices the whole school is working on at that moment. In this low key environment, the teacher is taking roll and checking in on students.

Gradually the practices in the MindUP program became part of how the school operates. “These are the ways we treat each other and that happens all the time throughout the day,” Penley said. The switch to thinking about every interaction and learning moment in the school day as one of mindfulness has dramatically changed the tone of the school, according to Penley. She says discipline referrals have dropped and students are using their mindful seeing practice in classes like English, art and science to make better observations. An eighth grader recently noted that heâ€d been watching the presidential debates and that the candidates werenâ€t doing a good job of listening to one anotherâ€s perspectives.

And this more human approach hasnâ€t stopped at the classroom door. Teachers get a “brain break” at the start of staff meetings in recognition that theyâ€re coming from a hectic teaching day and need a moment to ground themselves in the present before starting another task. The staff also practice whatever skill theyâ€ll be teaching through MindUP with one another before rolling it out into the classroom.

“Our teachers are happier, which is really important, and we have a ton of people applying to our school now because theyâ€re interested in mindfulness,” Penley said. Before they started the MindUP program, Marysville, like many other Title 1 schools serving a diverse population of learners, struggled to attract teachers. Now, Penley said she has 100 applicants for every open position, which also allows her to hire teachers who are in line with their vision.

On a teacher survey administered in the 2013-2014 school year 95 percent of the adults in the building said they were satisfied or extremely satisfied working at Marysville. And all of the adults reported that teaching MindUP has carried over into their personal lives and extends into the classroom throughout content areas.

Despite the success of the program, it hasnâ€t been all smooth sailing. Some teachers initially pushed back with the inevitable “initiative fatigue” that plagues many schools. But Penley said she kept them engaged in conversations about what made them uncomfortable and how they could work through those issues. “Once you are on the ground and realize that what itâ€s teaching are just basic human practices, weâ€ve seen that even our most resistant teachers have come a long way with it,” Penley said.

Penley said the program has also helped her personally. “Itâ€s helped me find the joy in my job,” she said. “Being a principal is a really hard job. A lot of principals donâ€t like their jobs.” Sheâ€s learned to be more present in each meeting and to think of her main job as being a listener. She used to rush about trying to solve every problem, but now she tries to stay focused and present in each moment, giving her staff her full attention. Itâ€s helped her remember why she loves working in education and being around kids.

“It really is a shift in the heart,” Penley said. “Itâ€s a way of being. Instead of compliance, we call it moving more towards compassion. Itâ€s going to shift the feel of the school.”

RESEARCH BEHIND THE PROGRAM

University of British Columbia professor Kimberly Schonert-Reichl, who was one of several researchers consulted on the development of MindUP, conducted a randomized controlled trial on fourth and fifth graders participating in the program in Vancouver public schools. Students reported many positive benefits of the program: 82 percent of children reported having a more positive outlook, 81 percent learned to make themselves happy, and 58 percent of children tried to help others more often.

Schonert-Reichl also tested childrenâ€s saliva for cortisol levels and found those who participated in the program had healthier levels. Peers also rated students in the program as more prosocial. Schonert-Reichl says teachers in British Columbia were involved in developing the curriculum based on evidence-based neuroscience and psychology principles, which helped ensure the lessons were hitting home for educators.

“When the MindUP program was developed it was an iterative process between researchers and teachers,” Schonert-Reichl said. Teachers would teach a lesson, give feedback and help the researchers improve on the program.

“When teachers see it theyâ€re like, oh yeah I can do this,” she said. “It wasnâ€t something foreign because it had been developed by teachers.” The program also came out in 2005, just after British Columbia had included social and emotional learning as a part of the curriculum. Schonert-Reichl said the high level recognition that these skills are valuable made it much easier for schools to get access to training money and to implement with fidelity.

In Vancouver there is a district-level person who coordinates trainings and materials, supports teachers in classrooms, and connects them to one another. “Instead of it just being this outside person who drops in and does the professional development and leaves with no follow-up, you have this core district support,” Schonert-Reichl said.

A TRAINERâ€S EXPERIENCE

Jonathan Weresch became a MindUP trainer after seeing the results in his own classroom. He taught students with learning differences and disordered behaviors, who were especially hard to teach after lunch.

Weresch said it took about six weeks for his students to get on board with the program and there were plenty of times they tested his patience as they got used to it. In the beginning when heâ€d ask them to focus their attention on their breathing with their eyes closed there would be a lot of silly noises. But he modeled patience and continued to teach them about what these exercises were doing for the brain, and in time students stopped joking around. Although heâ€s a principal now, he still does MindUP trainings on the side because he believes in it.

As a trainer, Weresch answers a lot of questions from teachers who are either having problems getting results or who donâ€t see how three minutes of focused breathing three times a day can make such a big difference. Weresch explains that itâ€s like any other skill.

”First we have to practice things deliberately, and then what happens — just like learning to play the piano or something like that — we practice and then with enough practice it becomes a habit. And the habits become character traits after a while.”

The most common complaint he hears from teachers (who are choosing MindUP as their professional development) is that they donâ€t have time for an extra program, the curriculum is already too big and hard to cover. Weresch sympathizes with that argument, but tells them that in his own experience the time spent on the front end tremendously improved the quality of learning throughout the day. He also points to research indicating that social and emotional learning improves academic achievement.

In the middle of a Tuesday afternoon, three teenage girls sit on the floor of a theatre production studio, hammering away at a four-legged tabletop. Behind them, a black wooden stage takes shape under the glare of ceiling-mounted lighting fixtures, which the young women also built.

This is not your typical home-economics class.

At City-As-School, an alternative public high school in New York City’s Greenwich Village, students spend just two or three days a week in the classroom. The other half of the week, they go out into the field and work internships for academic credit. There are 48 alternative high schools in the city, though none offer such a robust apprenticeship program.

In addition to its emphasis on real-world learning, City-As-School challenges the status quo in a number of ways. Students complete a portfolio of papers and projects instead of taking tests. There are no grades, no statewide Regents exams (minus the English assessment), and no class years. You graduate when you’ve completed your portfolio.

I recently spent the day at City-As-School to see what it’s like to be one of “New York’s most interesting kids,” as the school’s motto calls its students.

Founded in 1972 with 15 students and a staff of 4, City-As-School has grown from a church basement to a five-story brick schoolhouse.

Founding principal Frederick J. Koury opened the school because he believed education shouldn’t just take place inside the four walls of a classroom. As a teacher at his previous school, he took students on field trips all the time. His aspiration with City-As-School was to turn New York City’s five boroughs into a playground for experiential learning. He established contacts throughout the city, armed students with bus and subway tokens, and sent them on their way.

In an interview with Canarsie Digest in 1972, Koury described his school as something completely novel. “City-As-School is designed so that students will be forced to think and function independently,” the article said. “There will be strange situations, people, and places, and there won’t be someone constantly there to give direct instructions or tests.”

Today, City-As-School students spend half of their time at one of 300 affiliated internship sites, where they earn academic credit in traditional subject areas like math, science, English, and history.

The rest of the week, they swarm these vibrant halls, which the administration repaints white annually, so incoming students have a fresh canvas.

The school’s unconventional and varied approach to learning accommodates an equally heterogeneous group of kids. Most students arrive between the ages of 17 and 18, after completing ninth and tenth grades at other schools.

The come for a variety of reasons: Bullies taunted them for their piercings, tattoos, or sexual orientation. A tough home life or an unexpected pregnancy forced them to grow up too soon. They were bored. They were overwhelmed.

City-As-School students missed, on average, more than 40 days of school in their previous academic year. Half rely on food stamps to survive, and another 10% of students live in temporary housing, foster homes, or on the street.

When Anthony, 22, was a ninth grader, a known gang member robbed him across the street from his Bronx high school. The Department of Education granted Anthony a “safety transfer,” giving him the choice to relocate to a New York City public school of his choosing.

At his next school, his grades started to slip. He fell in with the wrong crowd and got kicked off the basketball team. His mother coaxed him into trying night school for his second round of junior year, but the bearded, tattooed older men in the class scared him.

“I had a wall up,” Anthony says. “No expression on my face. I didn’t talk. I was exhausted and disappointed I was still in school at age 20.”

Anthony eventually landed at City-As-School, which his aunt once attended. Everything changed. He made friends with shared interests. Teachers asked him to call them by their first names, and treated him like an adult. His internship at a children’s culinary institute taught him to prep food like a seasoned line cook and to speak to groups with confidence.

Anthony, who once disliked school and the person he was becoming, is on track to graduate this spring. He dreams of studying forensic science and playing basketball at Ithaca College.

City-As-School, commonly referred to as a “transfer school,” has implemented several measures to help struggling students like Anthony succeed. That’s why more than 60% of its students — many of whom were once on the brink of dropping out — leave with a degree.

Some teachers bring New York City bagels and fresh fruit to first period. “It’s the only way we can get them here so early,” one instructor tells me.

Students are graded on a credit/no-credit basis, rather than receiving letter grades. Teachers say this model rewards students who engage and do the work, rather than punish students who maybe studied the wrong thing before a test or were out sick with a cold during an important lesson.

Once a week, students go to “advisory,” an informal gathering with one teacher and about 10 of their peers. It’s an opportunity for students to discuss their internship experiences and whatever else is on their minds. For many, advisory becomes a little family.

The career development office not only shepherds students through the college application process, but it follows up with recent alumni after graduation. Only 20% of all full-time students in the US who matriculate into community college get a degree within three years, so Ummi Modeste, a veteran City-As-School staffer, checks in with City-As-School grads to see that they’re on track.

City-As-School provides easy access to quality mental healthcare, as well. The school is unusual in that it employs two guidance counselors, two social workers, and one school psychologist, who all hold sessions in the building.

Social worker Veronica Savage says low self-esteem affects many students who step into her office.

“There are students who come here, having received messages [their whole lives] that they don’t know how to learn,” she says. Students may think there’s one right answer, or one right path to graduation. But there are many ways to finish, Savage says.

No one appreciates City-As-School’s flexibility more than Savage, who graduated from City-As-School years ago. After she failed one class at her previous high school, teachers told her she wouldn’t graduate on time. Savage enrolled here because she believed one slip-up shouldn’t jeopardize her future.

Of course, the most unusual way City-As-School ensures students’ success is by awarding them academic credit for completing internships. It’s the only school under the New York City Department of Education’s jurisdiction with permission to do so.

Teachers double as “internship coordinators” by identifying opportunities throughout the city, pairing students with companies, and supervising students’ progress via email and phone calls.

Each internship in City-As-School’s catalogue satisfies one or more academic requirement. Need a science credit? Volunteer as a school-group guide at the American Museum of Natural History. A culinary credit? Learn to bake doughnuts at growing city bakery Dough. A tech credit? Disect the intersection of internet and culture at Red Bull Studios, where hip young artist and alum Ryder Ripps pays forward the opportunities City-As-School once gave him. It’s these special and forward-thinking opportunities that make City-As-School so unique.

Teachers and administrators tell me that this model enables learners of all types to grasp new skills, gain confidence, and practice professional behaviors.

As Nia, 18, hammers at the legs of a tabletop at Videograf, the indie theatre production studio where she and three peers intern, she laughs and teases the other girls about their craftsmanship. She tends to fall into a leadership role, being the kind of person who calls her friends in the morning to make sure they get out of bed.

On her first day at Videograf, Nia helped senior producer Michael Frenchman build a desk for the control room. “I was using my hands. I felt like I was in the Village People,” Nia jokes. Since then, she’s outfitted the stage with all sorts of technical equipment and created tutorials so future interns can learn how to operate the camera, sound, and lighting fixtures.

An aspiring multimedia professional, Nia says her internship doubled as “corporate espionage.” She learned the inner workings of a company in the same industry she hopes to pursue a career in after college graduation. (This winter, she applied to no fewer than 21 colleges, including Oberlin, Brown, and Skidmore.)

During a tea and biscuits break at Videograf, Nia sat down to tell me about how she arrived here. She says she wasn’t a “bad student” at her previous high school, nor was she desperate for credits. That stereotype follows many of her peers.

She chose City-As-School because of what it offered: a refuge for individuals. “We’re not the rejects,” she says.

Rodney:

I was really ready to be a dad and have a family. I thought, ‘Iâ€m going to get him involved and put a football in his hand.†I wanted him to be the smartest kid, the best athlete.

When he was 2, I remember RJ standing by himself. He had a glazed look in his eyes, like he was a million miles away. It broke my heart, and I started crying and trying to will him to play with the other kids. I could just tell that something was wrong. Everything Holly had said was making sense.

Later, when RJ came to my Panthers games, he was unable to grasp that amazing experience. I really wished he was able to: it would have been special for us both. But RJ is like me in many ways. We have a respect for one another.

A part of him thinks that Iâ€m hard on him, but thereâ€s that look in his eyes that tells me he craves structure and knows it comes from love. RJ wants to impress me with everything. Heâ€ll say, ‘I did a good job today, Dad. Didnâ€t I do good today?†And Iâ€ll say, ‘Yeah, you did RJ. You did.â€

Holly:

RJ was born two minutes before his twin sister Ryan. He was the most delicious piece of butterscotch candy I had ever seen: chunky, laid-back, with these big eyes and dripping juicy lips. Something drew me to him.

When he started talking, ‘cow†was his first word. ‘Cow, cow,†he would say, pointing his fat fingers at the picture. He and his sister were hitting all their developmental milestones on time. He was sweet, had a great disposition and was always giving kisses and saying his few words. I will never forget that because one day he stopped. He went from saying, ‘cow, cow†to nothing. Silence. Indifference.

That change happened when he was about 2 1/2, very soon after he had received his inoculations for measles, mumps, and rubella. I noticed he ceased making eye contact and responding to his name without loud repetitive shouts. ‘RJ, RJ, RJ!†we would scream helplessly.

I called Rodney, who was traveling. ‘Somethingâ€s going on with RJ.†And he said, ‘Maybe he canâ€t hear. Get his ears checked.†But that wasnâ€t it. Rodney, like every man who felt helpless when he couldnâ€t fix things, called again. ‘Everythingâ€s okay, right?â€

But it wasnâ€t. Together we took RJ to a specialist. She was a rigid, hard-looking woman who sat us in this icy office. The room was cold; the toys were cold. I hated everything about the place. Even the diagnosis was cold. She said, ‘Okay, here it is. He is a mid-to-high functioning autistic child. Here are a few phone numbers.â€

With pessimism in her voice she said, ‘Unprompted, he will never say ‘I love you Mommy,†or run to you and greet you at the front door.†Something died in me the day RJ was diagnosed with autism.

Rodney and I cried for hours. What did we do wrong? I was in denial for a month. Then that became anger. I was ready to fight for RJ, but Rodney lagged behind. He and my mom were in denial. It was harder for him to fathom that something was wrong with his firstborn son and his namesake. I gave them an ultimatum: Get on board with RJâ€s treatment or go.

Autism can present an insurmountable strain on a marriage. And faced with the idea of divorce, I said to Rodney, ‘Quite frankly, Iâ€m not trying to do this without you.†At the time, we had a life strategist who counseled us and we still do, but during the worst part of the autism crisis, it was just the two of us battling it out.

We fought for RJ to stay in this world. Hours and hours of expensive, exhausting intervention: speech, occupational, vision therapies — all with endless waiting lists.

There wasnâ€t anything out there I wouldnâ€t try: diets, acupuncture, hypnotism and enzyme treatments. Some yielded results; others were a waste of time and money. In all, we have probably spent about $500,000 in treatments.

When RJ was 3, I met the administrator of a preschool called Smart Start in Santa Monica where we enrolled RJ. It taught kids with mild mental retardation, Aspergerâ€s syndrome, ADHD. She had them all.

I sat in her office after hours of talking to people, going online, researching more treatments, and I just bawled. She was the first person who talked to me like I was going to get through this.

RJâ€s tantrums and behavior were hard to handle, especially when Rodney was away. He would self-stimulate with repeated movements, called ‘stimming†in autistic children, by flapping his arms.

On a bad day he would literally fall down and cry inconsolably. I felt completely helpless. He only ate three things: pizza, French fries, or pasta. The smell of anything else would throw him into a tantrum.

People would say, ‘Can you control your child, please?†I would say, ‘My son is on the autistic spectrum.†They didnâ€t know what that meant.

People asked, ‘Why donâ€t you go to church anymore?†I made up excuses. I didnâ€t go because I didnâ€t want him to be disruptive in church. I didnâ€t want to see the looks on their faces. We worship in our own way.

Even friends did not understand. At playdates, RJ would come around and they would talk down to him. I lean on Jenny McCarthy and Tisha Campbell-Martin, who both have autistic sons (Evan, 5 and Xen, 6 1/2). Jenny called me after her son was diagnosed. She said, ‘Iâ€m sorry to call you, but…†and six hours later we were both laughing.

I used to wake up in cold sweats visualizing my child walking around homeless. My dreams were so scary, they pushed me into action.

After trying countless therapies, we settled on something called Floor Time. We get on the ground and get up in RJâ€s face to force him to interact. We would both have toy cars, and I had to crash into his car. I refused to give him enough time to phase out.

Never once did we think about sending him away. I chose a proactive, crazy-mama approach. Rodney had his own ways of teaching RJ. RJ went through a phase of repeatedly bouncing a basketball. So Rodney said, ‘If youâ€re going to bounce the ball, then every five times you bounce it, you have to shoot it.†We refused to let him bounce aimlessly.

We are very goal-oriented. At 6 years old, our biggest goal was for him to have a conversation from start to finish. I said, ‘Hi,†and RJ would say, ‘Hi, Mom. How are you?†I say, ‘Iâ€m good and you?†and he would say, ‘Iâ€m good too.†Now RJ sets goals for himself.

I am just so proud of my boy. He is a happy 9-year-old about to enter the fourth grade at University Elementary School, a mainstream school. He struggles valiantly with subjects like math and reading and loves to write. Thankfully his classmates accept him just as he is.

He blows us away with his ability to communicate now. The other day he said, ‘Mom, I know my name is Rodney Peete, but I donâ€t want to play football. Is that okay? I want to play piano.†I could barely get him to discuss his day with me two years ago.

Tantrums are now followed by RJ saying, ‘Okay, Iâ€m going
to play piano.†Heâ€ll start playing beautiful arpeggios and scales.

He will try any food now: salmon, brussels sprouts, salad. He leaves the athleticism to his younger brother Robinson, who competes with RJ for attention. His twin sister Ryan is never shy to step in for him. She mothers him, itâ€s beautiful. And little Roman is just trying to roll with the big kids.

Itâ€s exhausting because we have to constantly love everyone, play up everyoneâ€s strengths and cheer for every little thing. But having a big family is important.

I had Robinson five years after I had the twins because I didnâ€t want Ryan to be the only one to have to take care of her brother. It was hard having to take care of my dad, who had Parkinsonâ€s, with my only brother. What if RJ canâ€t live on his own?

RJ and I speak very frankly about autism. we treat it like a bully at school. I grapple with not wanting to make him a poster child, but heâ€s a success story.

Iâ€m talking about it now because I want parents to have a glimmer of hope. Especially in the African-American community, thereâ€s not a lot of information about autism. I want to take the scariness away.

Now that Rodney is retired, there are two of us to take care of the kids full-time. Even still, something as obvious as getting an eye exam for the kids got by me. Everyday Iâ€m packing backpacks, meeting teachers, scheduling treatments and heading up HollyRod, our nonprofit to improve the quality of life in Parkinsonâ€s patients.

And most amazingly, almost every single day for the past year, RJ, along with his three siblings, runs to meet me at the door with a kiss from those juicy lips saying, ‘Mom, youâ€re home…I love you.†So much for never.

David Militello is proof that anyone can do anything, as long as theyâ€re determined and unafraid to take a risk.

When David was only a toddler, his parents realized that something was different about him. He wasnâ€t speaking like other kids — in fact, he wasnâ€t speaking at all. After a few doctors visits, they realized that David had autism. Davidâ€s parents were initially devastated by the diagnosis, but one afternoon, Davidâ€s bus driver told his mom that David had been singing the entire ride home. In fact, David started to sing more than he spoke.

When little nine-year-old David stepped onto the Americaâ€s Got Talent stage, you would have no idea that there was anything different about him. And, when he started singing, even though he didnâ€t have the most impressive voice the judges had ever heard, he instantly charmed the entire place. Why? Because you can tell that he loves what he does with all his heart, and nothing is going to stop him from singing!

David may be young, but heâ€s such a great testament to the power of love, determination, and having a dream! Wherever you are these days, David, we hope youâ€re still singing your heart out! We love you!

Please SHARE this adorable little boy on Facebook!

An 11-year-old Texas girl has just scored a sweet $11 million deal with Whole Foods to sell her brand of lemonade.

Mikaila Ulmer’s BeeSweet Lemonade will be carried by 55 stores in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana.

When Whole Foods saw the promise in her lemonade, the supermarket agreed to sell the products in its regional stores. If Mikaila’s lemonade does well, it’ll eventually be sold nationwide.

The savvy 6th-grader from Austin, Texas, has developed her signature Me & The Bees lemonade stand into a thriving national business.

Her recipe is a combination of tasty mint, flaxseed and honey lemonade, which she inherited from her great-grandmother, Helen.

Mikaila gives a portion of her products to bee rescue foundations.

BeeSweet lemonade supports Heifer International, Texas Beekeepers Association and the Sustainable Food Center.

Mikaila came up with the idea for her lemonade after being stung by bees twice when she was four, according to NBCBLK.

‘It was painful. I was terrified of bees,’ she said in an interview with NBC.

But then she began to study the bees after her mother D’Andra turned her bee sting experience into a research assignment.

When Mikaila found out that bees could possibly become extinct in the years to come, she devised a plan to use her great-grandmother’s 1940 recipe, which uses honey, in order to raise money to help the bees.

Even though honey bees pollinate more than $15 billion of crops each year, Mikaila told NBC that ‘bees are dying’.

‘Last year, beekeepers lost 40 per cent of all their hives,’ she said.

She also quoted Albert Einstein who said: ‘If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only have four years of life left.’

Mikaila started her lemonade business in 2009 and she sweetens her lemonade with honey instead of sugar or artificial sweetener, which is healthier and saves the bees as well as provides support for beekeepers.

She secured $60,000 on ABC’s TV show Shark Tank, last year and then went on to serve lemonade to President Barack Obama.

She was also a part of Google’s Dare to be Digital campaign.

Mikaila is now leading workshops on how to save the honeybees.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3519137/When-life-gives-lemons-Meet-11-year-old-girl-scored-11million-deal-Foods-sell-lemonade.html#ixzz44xT9v7op
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Edward has attend the prestigious the Juilliard School (MAP), Bloomingdale School of Music and Manhattan School of Music Pre-College division for 5 consecutive years. Edward was selected to be an intern with the Exploring the Arts’ Tony Bennett Apprenticeship Program where he studied under the direction of the Latin Jazz fusion Sweet Plantain String Quartet; Eddie Venegas, Romulo Benavides, Orlando Wells, and David Gotay. Edward returned to teach the violinists under the direction of the Sweet Plantains. Edward is now one of the principal guest artists (Stunt Violinist-Violist) for SWEET PLANTAIN and routinely performs with the group doubling for violinists Joe Deninzon, Eddie Venegas and violist Orlando Wells.

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A graduate of the SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Music, Edward received his Bachelor Degree in Viola Performance with Honors. He was appointed Principle Violist of the Purchase Symphony Orchestra for three consecutive years.​ He was a student of Ira Weller of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. Edward is a two-time first prize winner of the Vincent Wagner Concerto Competition (Violin & Viola), a recipient of the Van Lier Scholarship (MSM), the Laurence Rosenfeld Scholarship and the Chamber Music Live Scholarship (ACSM). Edward also received his Master of Music Degree in Violin Performance with Honors from The Aaron Copland School of Music. He is a student of Daniel Phillips of the Orion String Quartet.

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Edward has composed and performed music for theatrical productions including Hamlet (Theatre of War), Joe Turner’s Come and Gone (Dean Irby), Master and Margarita (David Bassuk), Mother Courage and Her Children (Dennis Reed), Beautiful Dreamer (Jim McElwaine/Dean Irby), Blues for an Alabama Sky (Dean Irby), Trojan Women (Rachel Dickstein), Twelfth Night (Chris McCann), No Exit (Yellow House Pictures), I am Human (Kameron Wood Film), A Brooklyn Boy (National Black Theatre/Vineyard Theatre) & The Woodsman (59E59/Ars Nova/Standard ToyKraft). Edward has worked in cooperation with BAFTA, The National Black Theatre, Native American Composers Apprenticeship Program, Trilogy Opera Company, SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Acting, Dance/NYC, Katana Flight Foundation, Bard Conductors Institute, Tony Bennett Exploring the Arts Foundation, Google, and Grand Canyon Music Festival to name a few. Edward studies under the mentorship of multiple Grammy, Tony and Drama Desk nominee, Jim McElwaine.

Edward was a featured soloist in the Colour of Music Virtuosi Concert Series. He performed Vivaldiâ€s Concerto No. 2 in G minor (Summer) at the Charleston Museum. “Edward Wellington Hardy Tackled “Summer” With Vigor, Control And Expressiveness.” – The Post and Courier

Penn was born and raised in Atlanta. She started her company in 2008 at the age of 8.[1] She spoke at the TEDTalk at TEDWomen 2013 in San Francisco, which was streamed live on TED.com.[2] She has done 2 official TEDTalks and 1 TEDxTalk.[citation needed] Penn is also an animator and artist, drawing cartoon characters from an early age. She is the creator of an animated series called The Pollinators which focuses on the importance of bees and other pollinators. She premiered a clip of The Pollinators and another animated series called Malicious Dishes at TEDWomen 2013.[3]

Penn has made herself known as a supporter and member of One Billion Rising[4] and Girls, Inc. She also founded her own nonprofit organization, Mayaâ€s Ideas 4 The Planet, in 2011.

Watch her in this video and find out more about her: