New Normal in Parenting

New Normal In Parenting

Flora Huang and Ebony Tyler are two education/social service professionals, raising children during this pandemic. Ebony has two boys, 14 and 16, as does Flora, 5 and 16. Like many parents, they are dealing with the difficulties of raising children during this very trying time, as being placed in quarantine has brought on a new set of challenges. Both have felt the same frustration as if too many educators and service providers are acting as if we are still in a pre-pandemic environment, and they know that other parents are feeling the same. Like us on Facebook: @NewNormalinParentingPodcast

  1. 01/06/2022

    The Specialized High School and Gifted and Talented Episode

    As a follow-up to our College Admissions episode, we discussed the Specialized High School Admissions Test (SHSAT) and the Gifted and Talent admissions process, and what parents have been adjusting during this pandemic. We sat down with Allison Shillingford, founder of Navigate the Maze to Achievement, a non-profit organization created to prepare Black and Latin middle school students for the high school admissions process. We discuss the distinction between the for-profit and non-profit test prep programs, whether the SHSAT is relevant, and how we can continue to achieve real equity and inclusion to allow for more under-represented students (Black, Latin, low-income students, etc.) to attend the Specialized High Schools. We also discuss how the Specialized High Schools and Gifted and Talented programs are special education programs that were designed for neurodivergent children, a concept often not discussed in the SHSAT and G & T debate.   To learn more about Navigate the Maze to Achievement and the work they do prepare students, not just for the SHSAT but making sure they thrive in their new high school environment, visit their Website: www.ntmanyc.org  To read some of the think pieces written by Flora on this subject, which she mentions in the episode, click on the links here and here. You can also read her testimony to the City Council of New York and a hearing held by New York State Senators, Robert Jackson and John Liu, here.

  2. 12/23/2021 ·  Bonus

    The Mental Health Episode: Holiday Edition

    Trigger and Content Warning: Anxiety, Depression, Suicidality, Holiday Stress, PTSD   The holidays can be a joyful time of year for many families, but we also know that it can also bring on stress and anxiety for others, and, for some, it can even be triggering for those who have endured painful memories during the holidays. For others, it may even bring on feelings of depression and loneliness, as they see others enjoying the holidays with friends and families, and, as one of our guests pointed out, you can be together with someone and still feel lonely. As we approach our second year of dealing with the holidays during the pandemic, many of those feelings have been escalated even further.   We were joined, again, by Rebecca Anuru, Founder and Lead Facilitative Consultant of Dream Keep Consulting and Karmita Morgan-Randall, Co-Chair of the Citywide Oversight Committee of the Coordinated Children's Services Initiative (CCSI), who were our guests for the first Mental Health Episode we launched in August, and shared what they are hearing from families. We were also joined by Brett Scudder from the Scudder Intervention Services Foundation, Inc. (SISFI) and The Suicide Institute, who shared his own experience with surviving a suicide attempt and what he is hearing from the clients he works with and the current statistics on suicide and suicide attempts. Mr. Scudder started SISFI because he pointed out that the programs designed to address mental health concerns can often be more triggering than the mental health issue itself andsought to reform the system.  Despite all of these dire statistics, we wanted to record this podcast to let people know that you are not alone, and there are organizations out there who are willing to listen. We are also hoping that social service and education professionals listen to this episode to get a better idea of what some of the families you are working with might be going through right now and how a little empathy can go a long way.  To learn more about SISFI, visit their Website at: www.sisfi.org   To learn more about Dream Keep Consulting, visit their Website at: www.DreamKeepConsulting.com Clarification: About 25% of the Common Cold are caused by Coronaviruses, not SARS CoV2 - the virus that causes Covid-19. Rhinoviruses, another RNA virus, accounts for most causes of the Common Cold, about half, while Adenoviruses, a DNA virus, are the third most common cause of the Common Cold. DNA viruses do not mutate as much as RNA viruses, which is why there are less strains of Adenoviruses than Coronaviruses and Rhinoviruses.

  3. 11/22/2021

    The College Admissions Episode

    The pandemic has thrown everything off course, creating these "natural experiments" that have shifted every part of our lives and made us rethink the validity of certain procedures we have taken for granted for years. The college admissions process is no exception. Parents and their children are now questioning the importance of getting into a "highly rejective school", a term coined by our guest featured in this episode. As more schools have made the decision to become test-optional, it has reinvigorated the debate about the relevance of exams such as the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and the one offered by American College Testing (ACT). We also discuss issues of equity and how we can make the process fairer for teens with the potential to do well and thrive in these academic environments but may not be born with the same advantages and privileges that many of their peers have to allow them to compete in a level playing field.  We sat down with test prep expert and college consultant, Akil Bello - Senior Director of Advocacy and Advancement of Fair Test, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping institutions of higher learning and the public understand the implications of standardized exams and their influence on our society. He is sought after by many media outlets such as Forbes magazine and was featured in the Netflix documentary, Operation Varsity Blues. There are no easy answers, but Akill helps us put everything in perspective.  To find out more about Akil and his work, follow him on Twitter: @akilbello. To support the work at Fair Test, visit their Website:  www.fairtest.org  They also provide a list of test-optional schools:  www.fairtest.org/university/optional As always, please share this episode with others if you found it informative and helpful.

  4. 10/29/2021

    The Transition Services Episode

    This episode follows up on our previous episode, which focused on Navigating the IEP process. In this episode, we discuss services to help children transition into adulthood, especially those with IEPs or Section 504 accommodations,  whether they are looking to enroll in college, enter the workforce, or attend vocational training. We were joined by Taniqua Hunter, Business Relations Representative, and Erica Samedy, District Transition Coordinator, who have over 40 years of career and vocational counseling, combined. We discuss how the pandemic has made it difficult for some young adults who wanted to continue their studies or go out to work but were not ready to because of fears of getting Covid. We discussed how the quarantine made vocational training particularly difficult for certain trades such as cosmetology and plumbing, how remote learning worked for some students with disabilities while did not work at all for other students, and we discuss how some students with certain learning differences can thrive in certain professions such as adults on the Autism spectrum who can do well as coders and electricians and why it is beneficial and the law for employers to make the accommodations for someone with that disability. We also discuss how telecommuting can be a perfect accommodation for someone with a disability as well as those who do not have one. We hope you tune in as both Taniqua and Erica provide us with some very helpful information for your teen who is moving closer to adulthood. Feel free to share your thoughts on our various social media platforms, as we want to hear from you.

About

Flora Huang and Ebony Tyler are two education/social service professionals, raising children during this pandemic. Ebony has two boys, 14 and 16, as does Flora, 5 and 16. Like many parents, they are dealing with the difficulties of raising children during this very trying time, as being placed in quarantine has brought on a new set of challenges. Both have felt the same frustration as if too many educators and service providers are acting as if we are still in a pre-pandemic environment, and they know that other parents are feeling the same. Like us on Facebook: @NewNormalinParentingPodcast