Seeking shelter from the flurries and wind on an unusually cold Nashville day, I duck into a bookstore to await the arrival of my lunch partner, a former camper enrolled as a freshman at Vanderbilt University. Prominently displayed on a nearby shelf is a large book emblazoned withthe title Heroes just above the black and white photographs of John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Muhammad Ali. I have been thinking a lot about heroes lately, because I’m in town to talk about mentoring to camp directors attending the annual conference of the American Camp Association. So, I’m intrigued.
What – or who – is a hero, anyway? Would young people today identify as one a national political figure, a civil rights crusader, or a sports legend? Given the relatively newfound propensity to build up public personas only to then tear them down, my guess is probably not.
Succession offers “user’s guide” to small and family owned businesses through the stages of planning, employment. and ownership policies, shareholder meetings, family health emergencies, business planning, and alignment/engagement of employees. Covering both the positives and potential pitfalls inherent in the planning and implementation process, Succession represents a realistic roadmap to one of the more difficult periods of business ownership.
Stephen’s new book, IMPACT – An Introduction to Counseling, Mentoring, and Youth Development, offers insightful commentary on the important role of mentors in the lives of children and teens. While it specifically addresses camp counselors, it is equally relevant for all key youth influencers, including parents, teachers, and coaches. …
This is an important time in teenagers’ lives — when they will develop driving habits that can be good and bad. Parents need to take an active role in helping teens develop safe driving behaviors because teenagers are involved in more car accidents than any other age group. …
The Parents League Review is an annual literary journal with articles on parenting and education.
Child and Youth Development features eighteen articles that have been carefully selected from past editions of Camping Magazine, including Rites of Passage: Camp Pays Off in Youth Development, Happiness, Health, and Safety,” written by SADD Chairman and CEO Stephen Wallace. The contributing writers are recognized as authoritative voices in the field of child and youth development. Produced in cooperation with the American Camp Association. …
This new book gives high school students the inside scoop on figuring out who they are and where they want to go by offering teens the kind of comprehensive, down-to-earth advice they need and want. …
LOVE THAT BOY is a uniquely personal story about the causes and costs of outsized parental expectations. What we want for our children—popularity, normalcy, achievement, genius—and what they truly need—grit, empathy, character—are explored by National Journal’s Ron Fournier, who weaves his extraordinary journey to acceptance around the latest research on childhood development and stories of other loving-but-struggling parents. 
Reality Gap paints an alarming portrait of a modern-day adolescence filled with potentially deadly behaviors carefully hidden from the view of parents and other adults. But it is also a book about hope and inspiration, pointing to the incredibly powerful role that parents and other mentors can play in the lives of young people and highlighting the tremendous contributions that many teens are making to their families, schools, and communities. …