LETTING GO OF YOUR LITTLE ONES: When preschoolers or kindergartners set off on the first day of school, parents should try to relax. Don’t mistake your own worries for your child’s, warns L. Steven Sternberg, a psychologist who directs the U-M Children’s Center. Chances are young children aren’t worried about whether they have the right lunch box or the wrong kind of sneakers. Those are the kinds of concerns that bother older children and parents. Most children starting out in preschool or kindergarten enjoy school, and parents who are worried should make it a point to visit the school before the first day so they don’t transmit their own anxieties about separation to their youngsters. For more information, call Sternberg at (313) 763- 6784.

TO WORK OR NOT TO WORK AFTER SCHOOL: An after-school job isn’t necessarily the best way to learn the value of a dollar. According to Jerald G. Bachman of the U-M Institute of Social Research, working after school and then blowing the money earned on clothes, CDs and entertainment, engenders a sense of “premature affluence,” the development of spending styles teens can’t sustain. Once they’re on their own, away from the financial base of home, teens will have to unlearn the bad spending habits they’ve acquired. And working too many hours after school can endanger their academic performance and school- and community-based extracurricular activities. For more information, call Diane Swanbrow at (313) 764-7260.

MAKING THE STUDENT-PROFESSOR CONNECTION: Some 3,500 first-year students at U-M will plunge into small seminars with top faculty this fall. Major research universities have long been criticized for sending first-year students into large lecture halls where the professor is just a voice at the podium and the students passively take notes. The U-M is addressing that issue head-on by offering 160 first-year seminars. The seminars actively engage students in critical thinking and problem-solving and provide them with a personal and stimulating introduction to the University’s intellectual life. Seminar topics have ranged from “Primate Field Studies” to “Writing the Information Superhighway” to “Explorations in Number Theory” to “Poverty and Public Policy.” For more information, call Assistant Dean David Schoem at (313) 763-0238.

FEEDING THE MIND: Students, faculty and an international cast of researchers will meet to eat and talk about the meaning and power of food throughout history during the U-M’s “theme semester” this fall. The semester will include a conference on “Food in Global History” and public lectures ranging from “Dieting and Body Image in Contemporary Society” to “Dark Age Gastronomy.” Students can enroll in food-oriented courses, including “And Called It Macaroni: Food and Literary Naturalism in the United States” and “Food in Global History,” a study of how foods and cuisine are affected by trade, imperialism, marketing, religion and technology. Students also can sign up for courses in therapeutic nutrition, exercise and nutrition, and eating disorders. Prior U-M theme semesters have examined the nature of comedy, the nature of evil, and death and mortality. For more information, call Professor Raymond Grew at

TALK ABOUT IT! WRITE ABOUT IT! Art is more than just something to see and then forget, says William J. Hennessey, director of the U-M Museum of Art. A leisurely family visit to an art museum allows children to discover their own brain power and creativity by talking about the art—what they see, how it makes them feel. Hennessey reminds parents to enjoy art themselves—kids can be put off by museums when the very role models who take them there seem uncomfortable. U-M’s Museum of Art sponsors family activities from October to May to promote relaxed experiences with art, inviting children to write about the works they see. Hennessey can be reached at (313) 764-0395.

INOCULATING KIDS AGAINST VIOLENCE: Community violence hurts everyone. But children and their families are especially vulnerable. U-M psychologists Jeffrey Parker and L. Rowell Huesmann have designed an innovative program of workshops on violence prevention for Washtenaw County area schoolchildren. Now gearing up for its second year of operation, the program helps at-risk school kids make sense of the violence they see around them and on television, as well as developing the social skills they need to prevent violence at school, at home and in the community. Part of the SafeMichigan Children’s Initiative, the program is a joint effort of the U-M, the Washtenaw County Juvenile Court, the Ann Arbor Public Schools and the Michigan Department of Social Services. For more information, call Parker at (313) 996-5531.

ENCOURAGING GIRLS IN MATH: Too much praise for effort can push girls away from math, says Prof. Jacquelynne Eccles. She says that in commending their daughters for “trying so hard” in the subject, parents are unwittingly telling them they must compensate for their innate inferiority at math. With this mindset, girls will likely shy away from math as courses get more difficult. The U-M psychologist suggests focusing on young female students’ ability and competence rather than their effort. Both boys and girls must learn that failure is not an indication of lack of aptitude, but information about what one needs to learn and to work on. She hopes to see a change in the attitude that persuades parents and school counselors to let girls, more often than boys, drop out of math and science courses, thereby closing off a wide range of possible careers. Contact Eccles at

IMPROVING COLLEGE RETENTION: U-M, known for its strength as a research university, offers students the chance to do original research in partnership with faculty. About 900 first- and second-year students now participate in the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP), which began as a small program for 14 students in 1989. Originated to improve retention rates for minority students by involving them personally in the University’s intellectual life, it has been a remarkable success. The dropout rate for minority students in UROP is half that of non-UROP minority students (9 percent vs. 18 percent), and non- minority students at risk benefit as well. The program has been so successful that it has expanded exponentially to include students of all backgrounds. For more information, call UROP Director Sandy Gregerman at (313) 647-2768.

GETTING OVER THE ROUGH SPOTS: First-year college students are the least likely to seek psychological counseling. Why? Because even if they had problems in high school, they think the difficulties will all disappear when they leave home. Many are discouraged to find that college life is not so easy after all and that they may need some help making the adjustment. The first set of grades can set off a crisis that can lead to either hard work and ultimate success or depression and failure. Timely counseling can make a difference. Other common crises students face are the breakup of relationships, parental divorces, identity questions, and culture shock, particularly for international, rural or minority students. Parents who sense their offspring are “down” should encourage them to go for counseling to buoy them up and move them in the right direction. For more information, call Jerry Dowis, director of U-M Counseling and Psychological Services, at (313) 764-8312.

BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE: Save that photo of your first-born mounting the steps of the big, yellow bus on the first day at school for his or her wedding day. All photographs, from the 1850s to modern color snapshots, are susceptible to fluctuating temperature and humidity cycles, says Ann Thomas, head of the U-M Libraries‘ preservation support services. A closet in an air- conditioned room would be ideal; an attic is not. Frequently handled or displayed photographs should be copies, not the originals. Thomas also suggests storing negatives separate from their corresponding prints in case of disaster. Prints should be stored in acid-free enclosures or archival plastic sleeves within archival boxes. For more information on preserving family photos, contact Thomas at (313) 763-9615.

ANALYZING SOCIAL ISSUES BY THE NUMBERS: Manipulating the raw data is something most college freshmen don’t get a chance to do. But a new computer program developed by U-M demographer William Frey with funding from the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Education allows underclassmen to analyze social topics using the same U.S. Census data on which professional researchers rely. Among the topics Frey’s Social Science Data Analysis Network addresses are race and ethnic inequality, immigrant assimilation, marriage, divorce and cohabitation, poverty and family trends. For more information, contact Frey by e-mail ([email protected]) or check out the project’s homepage at http://www.psc.lsa.umich.edu/SSDAN/.

OPEN THE DOOR TO A CHILD’S FUTURE: Interested in tutoring a middle- or high-school student in math or science? Can you offer some hands-on computer technology expertise? The Southeastern Michigan Math-Science Learning Coalition has students and teachers who need your help. You can choose from a variety of school, community or university tutoring sites that fit your schedule and location. You can even “job share” a tutoring commitment with a friend or co-worker. Or volunteer for a career presentation to a school group or job shadowing for a future scientist. The program, coordinated by the U-M, brings together university, business, community, government and K-12 education resources for children and teens. For more information, access the Coalition’s Web site at http://www.eecs.umich.edu/mathscience or call Jeannine LaSovage at (313) 763-4918.

QUALITY INSTRUMENT = QUALITY SOUND: Playing the piano is a thrill that should be learned on a quality instrument, says Robert Grijalva, U-M assistant professor of piano technology. A youngster’s musical experience should be made exciting and interesting from the beginning and that parents can help by learning alongside their children. Children respond to their parents’ positive commitment to their musical learning experience, making it more likely that they will want to continue lessons. Grijalva emphasizes that there is no such thing as a beginner piano and that a quality instrument translates what little developed talent a child may have into a beautiful sound that will keep him interested in learning music. In contrast, says Grijalva, the flat tone of a junky “piano-shaped object” may bore children and leave them uninterested in further lessons or playing. For more information, contact Grijalva at (313) 764- 6207.

IT’S NEVER TOO LATE TO LEARN: Dust off those brain cells and participate in the Learning in Retirement Program for people 55 or older, sponsored by U-M Turner Geriatric Services. The program is one of the largest in the county, according to Ruth Campbell, a faculty associate at the U-M Institute of Gerontology and the associate director of social work and community programs at Turner. At the Distinguished Lecturer Series, starting Sept. 10, you’ll hear U-M faculty experts discuss Kabuki Theater, Shakespeare’s portrayal of the elderly and recent research on aging and survival. A special lecture series on immigration is also planned for fall. For more information, call (313) 764- 2556.

Jacquelynne EcclesCounseling and Psychological Services[email protected]http://www.psc.lsa.umich.edu/SSDAN/http://www.eecs.umich.edu/mathscience