What is “Dads Make a Difference”?

    A service-learning opportunity for teens that deals with fatherhood, parenting, and so on.

    Older teens, grades 10—12, teach younger teens, grades 6—9, about the importance of fathers in children's lives, the legal and financial responsibilities of parenting.

Teen teacher training goals & objectives

    The goal of the teen teacher training is to better understand the complex problems surrounding legal fatherhood in our society. By discussing what makes healthy families, explaining the meaning of paternity（父亲的身份）, and examining the risks people take in their lives, teens will develop the skills needed to make informed decisions in their own relationships and, finally, teach this information to others.

What's in it for me?

An opportunity to:

Learn life skills like communication, decision making, and problem solving.

    Get the chance to use knowledge in meaningful and effective ways.

    Develop leadership, planning, teamwork, time management, and organizational skills to help you in every aspect of your life.

    Forming lasting relationships with adult mentors（导师）.

Comments from teen teachers

    “ 'Dads Make a Difference' made me realize how permanent and expensive parenthood is.”

    “Speaking in form of groups and directing people in activities, I feel, is a valuable skill to have that I will use throughout my life.”

    “I wish I would have gone through this program when I was in Junior High. I know it would have helped me to really think about the future and to make good decisions.”

    “ 'Dads Make a Difference' has helped me to know the effects of my actions before I take them and I know what risks not to take to protect my future.”

    Disease, poverty, hate, love — Charles Dickens' stories opened his readers' eyes to the most important themes of his age. Two hundred years later, his stories still speak volumes across the world, proving that Dickens' legacy (遗产) was far greater than just "great-literature".

    February 7 marks the 200th anniversary of the writer's birthday. To mark this date, BBC writer Alex Hudson listed six things Dickens gave the modern world. Let's take a look at two of them.

    A White Christmas

    Dickens is described as "the man who invented Christmas"— not the religious festival, but the cultural aspects that we associate with the festive season today.

    In the early 19th century, Christmas was barely worth mentioning, according to critic and writer Leigh Hunt. The committee which ran the Conservative Party even held ordinary business meetings on Christmas Day — unthinkable in the West nowadays, when everyone but the most necessary workers takes at least three days off.

    Many people believe that Dickens' popular descriptions of the festive period became a blueprint for generations to come. In his classic novel, A Christmas Carol, he not only put forward the idea of snow at Christmas, but also painted a picture of glowing warmth —“home enjoyments, affections and hopes".

    In his biography of Dickens, Peter Ackroyd wrote:" Dickens can be said to have almost single-handedly created the modern idea of Christmas."

    "Dickensian" poverty

    Dickens was one of the first to take an honest look at the underclass and the poor of Victorian London.

    He helped popularize the term "red tape" to describe situations where people in power use needless amounts of bureaucracy (官僚作风) in a way that particularly hurts the weaker and poorer members of society.

    "Dickensian" has now become a powerful word for describing an unacceptable level of poverty. In 2009, when the president of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers in the UK wanted to talk about poverty in some areas of Britain, she did not use words like "terrible" or "horrific", but rather described it as "life mirroring the times of Dickens".

    Sixty-four-year-old Pierre Deom has spent his entire life close to the woods and fields that he loves. Twice a year, his magazine, La Hulotte, focuses on an animal or plant native to the French countryside.

    The 100th edition was published in November. The magazine counts more than 150, 000 subscribers in many countries, and is doing very well financially. Deom says it all began in January 1972, when he was teaching science in a one-room schoolhouse here." It upset me how the forests and swamps were beginning to be ruined. The word 'ecology' didn't really exist yet. Some friends and I wanted to call attention to the issue. So we said, let's educate the kids. They're ready to hear our message." So he took a step into the unknown, planning to publish his nature journal.

    Deom does all the research and writing and the illustrations (插图) of the magazine by hand. He combines science and humor in his writing and drawing to describe the daily life and sufferings of his creatures. Animals you might overlook or consider dull are magically and vividly brought to life in La Hulotte. "I try to write about animals and plants that are easy to find because I want kids to put on boots, take a magnifying glass, go to the woods and fields to observe and be amazed by what they find," Deom says.

    And it seems to work. Biologist Jerome Fournier began subscribing to La Hulotte when he was just eight years old. "For me it was the first contact with nature when I was a child. And maybe it's the beginning for my life of scientist. I think so."

    What's amazing is its approach. The magazine has realistic drawings and also a little cast of cartoon creatures who comment on things and give a different views. You can read it as an adult or a child; it can be understood on two different levels. So scientists, regular people and children all get something out of it. "It's extraordinary." Fournier says, who works at the Museum of Natural History in Paris, where he says La Hulotte has a crazy following.

    A nation's humor is linked to the historical development of the country. How funny somebody finds a certain thing depends on many things including ages, personal experiences, levels of education and locations. Therefore, humor is something that is not always transferable (可转移的) in another country.

    What about when both countries speak the same mother tongue? Does that mean they will then share the same sense of humor, or can differences still take place? Let's take the example of Britain and America. Time and time again, people say that Brits and Americans don't "get" each other's sense of humor. It is often argued that one of the most common differences between the British and American sense of humor is that Americans don't understand irony (反话). Simon Pegg explores this topic in depth in his article What Are You Laughing At? He concludes that this statement isn't true and I agree with him.

    In fact, Brits use irony on a daily basis while Americans don't. I think Americans understand British irony (most of the time anyway); what they don't understand is the need to use it so frequently. When Americans use irony, they tend to say that they are "only kidding". They feel the need to make a joke more obvious than Brits do. Maybe this comes from a fear of offending (冒犯) people.

    The American sense of humor is generally more slapstick (闹剧的) than that in Britain. I think this arises from a cultural difference between the two. Their jokes are more obvious and forward, a bit like Americans themselves. British jokes, on the other hand, tend to be more subtle. This may stem from the fact that British culture is more reserved (矜持的) than American culture.

    Over the past century, an alarming number of animals have become endangered or even extinct. Below are some animals whose numbers have been rapidly dropping in recent years.

    Panda Bear

    One of the biggest reasons contributing to the decline in the panda species is the destruction of its natural habitat. Farmers in China have gradually been claiming more and more of the land. As a result, pandas are forced to move away to places where it is hard to find bamboo for food.

    Green Turtle

    The green sea turtle species has survived for several millions of years, so you might wonder why it's only becoming endangered now. A major cause is the change in climate and temperature, which both affect the hatching rates of turtle eggs. Climate changes also cause violent weather and rising water levels to flood areas where turtles usually go to lay their eggs. Apart from this, oil spills and other poisonous pollution, as well as increased fishing activities can cause sickness, or even death to the green turtles.

    Cheetah

    Cheetahs are famous for being the fastest animal on land but even they can't run from some of the larger threats that have harmed them. Like the panda bears, cheetahs have gradually been losing their natural homes due to humans claiming land and developing in those areas. To make matters even worse, smaller animals move away when these areas are occupied, which means that the cheetah has less food! Don't forget that other large animals, such as lions, are also fighting for any food that they can find, so occasionally young cheetahs end up as prey too.

    Indian Elephant

    Elephants are extremely intelligent animals and also the largest mammals that live on land. Sadly, in Asia many elephants were killed so that people could remove their tusks to use as decorative objects. While this practice has been banned now, some people still illegally continue. Forests in India have also been steadily destroyed and elephants are sometimes killed when they end up on human territory.

    Tomorrow brings to a close of the second school term of the 2018 academic year and the start of the winter school holidays. Following a busy examination period, this is a much needed break for many students across the province.

    Wednesday, January 6: Ice Skating

    Welcome to the world of ice for our first cold-weather event of the season! Whether you are a professional ice skater or this will be your first time on the ice, you are guaranteed to have a fantastic time!

    Wednesday, January 13: College Preparedness 2.0

    Although most of the stress of applying for college this year is out of the way, this College Preparedness workshop will help you take other things into consideration. Application deadlines for financial aid are drawing near and we are bringing in the experts to help you through all of the specific details. This workshop will help to best prepare you for scholarships, work study, and student loans that will make paying for college easy as A-B-C, Do-Re-Mi, and 1-2-3.

    Wednesday, January 27: Ecological Risk Assessment of Your Life/Home

    There are so many warnings out there about what you should and should not put in your body and use in your home. This workshop helps make sense of it all. Come to figure out how to live your healthiest possible life without spending a ton of money.

    Wednesday, February 3: Winter Survival in Any Situation

    Living in the outdoors with minimal equipment is a skill and an art. It is particularly challenging when the outside temperatures reach winter lows. The winter survival workshop will show you some old tricks of the trade for surviving outside in cold temperatures and how to make primitive fires.

    Wednesday, February 10: Best Friend Ever

    High school is temporary, but the friendships you make can be forever. How do you make a relationship last? Learn how to be the best friend you can be in this interactive workshop.