November 28, 2009

From Addict to Inspiration

You may believe that anything is possible once you hear the inspiring story of Brenda Combs, who went from being a homeless addict to earning a Masters Degree, and becoming a top teacher who was honored at the White House. Then - do boys and girls think differently in school? One expert thinks so, and she has tips for parents to help their boys do better in the classroom. And when you donate money to charity, you like to think that most of your money is going to the charity your money is supposed to help. But one watchdog group found a shocking fact about charities for veterans.

Episode Segments:

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The Inspiring Story of Brenda Combs Brenda Combs shares the story of how she became a crack addict living on the street, and how she eventually got clean and sober. She is now an award-winning teacher of underprivileged third and fourth graders. She discusses the difficulties faced by those who are homeless or addicted, and offers advice to parents.
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Teaching the Male Brain Girls generally outperform boys in school, and females now outnumber males in college attendance. Abigail James, author of Teaching the Male Brain consults in the area of gendered teaching for school systems and universities. She discusses the reasons behind the educational gender gap and believes that teachers must make a concerted effort to teach boys differently than girls.
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Knowing Where Your Charity Money Goes Daniel Borochoff is Founder of the American Institute of Philanthropy, a charity watchdog group Mr. Borochoffs group monitors the fiscal responsibly of charitable organizations and finds that the two worst performing categories are Veterans/Military and Crime/Fire Prevention. Many groups give less than a third of the money raised to the causes they champion.
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