Dan Blanchard, Author and Inner-City Social Studies teacher talked with Lon Woodbury about how elders, and especially grandparents, are a tremendous resource for helping raise children that is much underused in our society. The theme for the show addressed the question of what use are grandparents in today's fast paced society.
Dan Blanchard's Bio
Dan Blanchard is a prize-winning author and public speaker. He grew up as a student-athlete and has been a two-time Junior Olympian Wrestler, as well as a two-time Junior Olympian Wrestling Coach. Although at first enthusiastic about sports, he has actually completed twelve years of university and earned a total of seven degrees. Today, he teaches Civics in Connecticut's largest urban senior high school and functions as a consultant for the University of Connecticut's student writing program. As a writer, he has written 2 very popular books on adolescent leadership, "Feeling Lucky?" and "Feeling Good." Meanwhile, his third publication in the Granddaddy's Secrets series, "Feeling Strong!" is scheduled to be launched this year.
Exactly What Use Are Grandparents?
As a teacher, coach, writer, and presenter, Blanchard really feels that it is his responsibility to positively influence our young people every chance that he can get, and in the Struggling Teenagers interview on Los Angeles Talk Radio, he outlined the many ways that young people these days are clearly missing out on the privilege of learning from the experience of their elders, as used to be the norm in earlier cultures.
In the U.S., with its emphasis on youthfulness, there is a mixed attitude toward the elderly. While there is a small group of people who respect the elderly, understanding that they are a valuable resource for future generations based on their years of experience, many young people are quite dismissive of older teachers and coaches, feeling that they are somehow anachronistic. However, Blanchard pointed out that it is not until people are in their fifties and sixties that they have a much better grasp on how to live more sensibly. The belief young people have about how much they know is not really tempered by years of experience. As people get older, they come to realize how little they knew in earlier years.
Numerous subjects were reviewed on the subject of the role of the aged in today's global village, including the electronic divide between the generations, the indispensable task of mentoring and coaching to learn things without the pain of trial-and-error, and exactly how the fundamental idea of "it takes a community to raise a child" has gradually diminished from the American social consciousness. On one hand, older individuals appear to be shying away from social involvement due to the fact that they don't feel valued by young people, while on the other hand, these older folks are not as willing to take part as volunteer coaches or to join civic companies as in previous generations.
Toward the last 15 minutes of the radio show, Blanchard shared his philosophy behind the series of books on Teen Leadership. He hopes that the principles of right living outlined in his books will stir a social change in youth, and serve as an alternative voice to the media's focus on negative role models who are misleading youth with their bad behavior. The book series offers a clear answer to the question of what use are grandparents.
Dan Blanchard's Bio
Dan Blanchard is a prize-winning author and public speaker. He grew up as a student-athlete and has been a two-time Junior Olympian Wrestler, as well as a two-time Junior Olympian Wrestling Coach. Although at first enthusiastic about sports, he has actually completed twelve years of university and earned a total of seven degrees. Today, he teaches Civics in Connecticut's largest urban senior high school and functions as a consultant for the University of Connecticut's student writing program. As a writer, he has written 2 very popular books on adolescent leadership, "Feeling Lucky?" and "Feeling Good." Meanwhile, his third publication in the Granddaddy's Secrets series, "Feeling Strong!" is scheduled to be launched this year.
Exactly What Use Are Grandparents?
As a teacher, coach, writer, and presenter, Blanchard really feels that it is his responsibility to positively influence our young people every chance that he can get, and in the Struggling Teenagers interview on Los Angeles Talk Radio, he outlined the many ways that young people these days are clearly missing out on the privilege of learning from the experience of their elders, as used to be the norm in earlier cultures.
In the U.S., with its emphasis on youthfulness, there is a mixed attitude toward the elderly. While there is a small group of people who respect the elderly, understanding that they are a valuable resource for future generations based on their years of experience, many young people are quite dismissive of older teachers and coaches, feeling that they are somehow anachronistic. However, Blanchard pointed out that it is not until people are in their fifties and sixties that they have a much better grasp on how to live more sensibly. The belief young people have about how much they know is not really tempered by years of experience. As people get older, they come to realize how little they knew in earlier years.
Numerous subjects were reviewed on the subject of the role of the aged in today's global village, including the electronic divide between the generations, the indispensable task of mentoring and coaching to learn things without the pain of trial-and-error, and exactly how the fundamental idea of "it takes a community to raise a child" has gradually diminished from the American social consciousness. On one hand, older individuals appear to be shying away from social involvement due to the fact that they don't feel valued by young people, while on the other hand, these older folks are not as willing to take part as volunteer coaches or to join civic companies as in previous generations.
Toward the last 15 minutes of the radio show, Blanchard shared his philosophy behind the series of books on Teen Leadership. He hopes that the principles of right living outlined in his books will stir a social change in youth, and serve as an alternative voice to the media's focus on negative role models who are misleading youth with their bad behavior. The book series offers a clear answer to the question of what use are grandparents.
About the Author:
Find out more about Struggling Teens. Lon Woodbury has the recorded the entire interview on hisL.A. Talk Radio show for people to listen to at any time.
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