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.”

    My grandfather grew up in war-torn Europe. When German soldiers occupied his hometown, the thriving city of Tarow, Poland, he refused to obey them and eventually joined the Soviet army to fight for his country's freedom. “Stand straight, stand tall,” he told himself.

    After the war, in 1947, he boarded a boat for Manhattan. He was hungry and suffering from seasickness. All alone in a new country, he was frightened about his future. Still, he marched head-on into the hustle of the streets of New York. Soon he met other European immigrants, each of them trying to find his or her own way. If they could do it, why couldn't he? “Stand straight, stand tall,” he would remind himself.

    Thanks to the help of a loyal and trusting friend, my grandfather gained a jewelry booth on Canal Street, New York City. He once told me how nervous he was on that first day of work. He was not only trying to learn this tough new business, but also a new language.

    To his surprise, the men in neighboring booths－who could have taken advantage of him－offered their help and advice. Within months, my grandfather was commanding his spot behind the counter, selling diamonds and cultured pearls as if he'd been doing it his whole life.

    Stand straight and stand tall.

    In later years, my grandfather would take both my mother and her sister down the aisle at their weddings. As he stood with each of them, he thought about their new beginnings, and of the adventures and journeys they would experience together. He also thought about the children who would one day carry on his family name.

    I am so proud to be one of those children. Listening to my grandfather's remarkable experiences has changed the way I view my own life.

    Over millions of years, African penguins have developed a keen sense of where to find food. Once they're old enough, they set off from the shores on which they were hatched（孵化） for the first time and swim long distances in search of tasty fish like anchovies and sardines. But they don't search directly for the fish themselves. When African penguins head out to sea, they look for areas with low surface temperatures and high chlorophyll（叶绿素）. Because those conditions signal the presence of algae（藻类）. And lots of algae means lots of plankton（浮游动物）, which in turn means lots of their favorite fish. Well, that's what it used to mean.

    Climate change plus overfishing have made the penguin feeding grounds a mirage（海市蜃楼）. The habitat is indeed plankton﹣rich, but now it's fish﹣poor. Researchers call this an "ecological trap." "It's a situation where you have a signal that previously pointed an animal towards good﹣quality habitat. That habitat has been changed, usually by human pressures. The signal stays, but the quality in the environment gets worse."

    Richard Sherley, a zoologist at the University of Exeter and his team used satellite imaging to track the African penguins from eight sites along southern Africa. Historically, the birds benefited from tons of fish off the coasts of Angola, Namibia and western South Africa, but now they're going hungry.

    "I was really hoping we'd see them going east, and finding areas which the fish had moved to but it ends up being quite a sad story for the penguins." said Richard.

    The researchers calculate that by falling into this ecological trap, African penguin populations on South Africa's Western Cape have declined by around 80 percent.

    Some research groups are exploring the idea of moving them to a place where they can't get trapped, like the Eastern Cape. But Sherley thinks that a solution in the long run means making and carrying out rules to create more sustainable（可持续的） fishing industry, which needs public support.

    There's been a lot of talking about white-and-blue collar workers, and you may have even heard of gold collar workers, but lately a new color of collar is making its way into China's urban vernacular(土话)—green. Green collars say no when work is life and life is work. They choose to get out of the fast lane(车道), and explore new ways of living "green".

    Living green doesn't mean someone is working as an environmentalist, biologist or scientist. Instead it is more of a lifestyle choice. A typical green collar is well educated like a white-collar but physically tough like a blue-collar, likely born in the 70s or 80s of the last century and living in one of China's big cities, with a monthly income well above 5,000 yuan(about US $700).

    The life of a green collar may go something like this: Turn off the mobile phone after work, eat only healthy food rich in vitamins, go on hikes every weekend, and like to help the underprivileged.

    Green collars even have their own club. In Beijing, the Green Collar Club is for people who share a "be happy, healthy and helpful" spirit. The club often holds charity parties and uses the donations for environmental protection and poverty relief(摆脱贫困) projects in China.

    "They are successful in their careers, but do not miss the pleasures in life. They have a lot of money, but do not fall slave to it." said Zuo Shiguang, one of the founding members of the club.

    For many students who desire to move around but not far freely, one of the most common vehicles is the bicycle. For such a seemingly simple invention, its story is not that simple.

    Most historians trace its origin back to 1817, when a German nobleman named Karl von Drais invented a wooden, two­wheeled machine that riders moved forward with their feet. His invention became popular in both England and France, where it eventually became known as the velocipede. Unfortunately, it was eventually banned as a danger to pedestrians and was rarely seen after the early 1820s.

    Things were quiet for several decades until the bicycle development took off in the 1860s. An important milestone happened in Paris in 1863 when pedals were added to the front axle (轴). This occurred in Pierre Michaux's workshop, but it's unclear whether he or his employee, Pierre Lallement, should be given credit for the innovation Lallement moved to the United States, where he obtained a patent for "improvements in velocipedes" in 1866. These new machines proved to be popular, and the name "bicycle" had come into use by 1869. However, many people referred to them as "bone shakers", which described their clunky ride due to a heavy wooden frame and steel wheels.

    In the 1870s, "high wheelers" or "penny­farthings" became popular. However, with a large front wheel and a much smaller rear wheel, they could be dangerous, if riders had to stop suddenly, as they would "take a header" when their momentum (动量) carried them over the front wheel onto their heads. Eventually, English inventor John Kemp Starley designed a "safety bicycle" with two same small wheels, a chain drive, and a set of gears. With tires added in and brake systems bettered in the following decades, bicycle production had skyrocketed to over one million bicycles by 1899.

    Mass production of bicycles increased their popularity greatly, since they became affordable for the average person. Over the course of the 20th century, manufacturers continued to improve the features and design of bicycles as new technologies appeared.

    If you wear glasses, chances are you are smarter. Research published in the famous British journal Nature Communications has found that people who displayed higher levels of intelligence were almost 30 percent more likely to wear glasses.

    The scientists studied the genes of thousands of people between the ages of 16 and 102.The study showed intelligence can be connected to physical characteristics. One characteristic was eyesight. In out of 10 people who were more intelligent, there was a higher chance they needed glasses. Scientists also said being smarter has other benefits. It is connected to better health.

    It is important to remember these are connections which are not proven causes. Scientists call this correlation. Just because something is connected to something else does not mean one of those things caused the other. And it's worth noting that what constitutes intelligence is subjective and can be difficult, if not impossible, to measure.

    Forget genes though. Plenty of proof shows wearing glasses makes people think you are more intelligent, even if you do not need glasses. A number of studies have found people who wear glasses are seen as smarter, hard-working and honest. Many lawyers use this idea to help win their cases. Lawyer Harvey Solves explained this. Glasses soften their appearance. He said sometimes there has been a huge amount of proof showing that people he was defending broke the law. He had them wear glasses and they weren't found guilty.

    Glasses are also used to show someone is intelligent in movies and on TV. Ideas about people who wear glasses have begun to shift. People who do not need glasses sometimes wear them for fashion only. They want to look worldly or cool. But not everyone is impressed by this idea, though. GQ magazine said people who wear glasses for fashion are trying too hard to look smart and hip (时髦的). However, that hasn't stopped many celebrities from happily wearing glasses even if they do not need them. Justin Bieber is just one high-profile fan of fashion glasses.