Everyone faces challenges at some time in life, but some children have extra challenges that put them at a disadvantage when compared to others. Perhaps they have to deal with poverty or homelessness; maybe their home life is stressful or even violent. Some parents do not have the skills or resources to give their children the head start they could use in life. There are many organizations that help disadvantaged youth, and there are many ways that you could get involved. From tutoring to fund-raising or simply spending time together, you can help disadvantaged youth feel cared for. Ways to Help Disadvantaged Youth is full of fun ideas and resources to assist you as you lend a hand.

In his international bestseller How Children Succeed, Paul Tough introduced us to research showing that personal qualities like perseverance, self-control and conscientiousness play a critical role in children’s success. Now, in Helping Children Succeed, he outlines the practical steps that adults – from parents and teachers to policymakers and philanthropists – can take to improve the chances of every child, however adverse their circumstances. And he mines the latest research in psychology and neuroscience to show how creating the right environments, both at home and at school, can instil personal qualities vital for future success.

This volume is a collection of research on academic performance. Chapters cover such topics as targeting underserved urban youth, education and science, community-based projects, pedagogy, and developing educational programs, among others. Written by experts, this book offers a comprehensive view of recent developments in the field of academic performance.

From delayed development to mobility problems, disabilities strike people of all ages, but a large number of disabilities occur at birth or are diagnosed in early childhood. Disabilities offer special challenges in movement, communication, learning, and making friends. Educational and therapeutic programs have grown in the past forty years in order to address the special needs of children with disabilities. If you are a young adult, there are many ways that you can help children with disabilities, from everyday tasks to regular volunteer work with established organizations. Helping others can get you involved with your community and help you learn how to solve real-life problems. You can even learn new skills and explore new interests. Most of all, helping children with disabilities allows you the opportunity to put your caring into action. Young people can become contributing citizens when they give back to others through helping children with disabilities.

After-school programs, scout groups, community service activities, religious youth groups, and other community-based activities have long been thought to play a key role in the lives of adolescents. But what do we know about the role of such programs for today's adolescents? How can we ensure that programs are designed to successfully meet young people's developmental needs and help them become healthy, happy, and productive adults? Community Programs to Promote Youth Development explores these questions, focusing on essential elements of adolescent well-being and healthy development. It offers recommendations for policy, practice, and research to ensure that programs are well designed to meet young people's developmental needs. The book also discusses the features of programs that can contribute to a successful transition from adolescence to adulthood. It examines what we know about the current landscape of youth development programs for America's youth, as well as how these programs are meeting their diverse needs. Recognizing the importance of adolescence as a period of transition to adulthood, Community Programs to Promote Youth Development offers authoritative guidance to policy makers, practitioners, researchers, and other key stakeholders on the role of youth development programs to promote the healthy development and well-being of the nation's youth.

An NPR Favorite Book of the Year “Breaks new ground on social and educational questions of great import.” —Washington Post “An essential work, humane and candid, that challenges and expands our understanding of the lives of contemporary college students.” —Paul Tough, author of Helping Children Succeed “Eye-opening...Brings home the pain and reality of on-campus poverty and puts the blame squarely on elite institutions.” —Washington Post “Jack’s investigation redirects attention from the matter of access to the matter of inclusion...His book challenges universities to support the diversity they indulge in advertising.” —New Yorker The Ivy League looks different than it used to. College presidents and deans of admission have opened their doors—and their coffers—to support a more diverse student body. But is it enough just to admit these students? In this bracing exposé, Anthony Jack shows that many students’ struggles continue long after they’ve settled in their dorms. Admission, they quickly learn, is not the same as acceptance. This powerfully argued book documents how university policies and campus culture can exacerbate preexisting inequalities and reveals why some students are harder hit than others.

Adolescenceâ€"beginning with the onset of puberty and ending in the mid-20sâ€"is a critical period of development during which key areas of the brain mature and develop. These changes in brain structure, function, and connectivity mark adolescence as a period of opportunity to discover new vistas, to form relationships with peers and adults, and to explore one's developing identity. It is also a period of resilience that can ameliorate childhood setbacks and set the stage for a thriving trajectory over the life course. Because adolescents comprise nearly one-fourth of the entire U.S. population, the nation needs policies and practices that will better leverage these developmental opportunities to harness the promise of adolescenceâ€"rather than focusing myopically on containing its risks. This report examines the neurobiological and socio-behavioral science of adolescent development and outlines how this knowledge can be applied, both to promote adolescent well-being, resilience, and development, and to rectify structural barriers and inequalities in opportunity, enabling all adolescents to flourish.