Sweet of the Week!

There is nothing like the sweet combination of chocolate and peanut butter.  One day I was looking for a non-traditional cupcake to make and came across these chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter icing from Barefoot Contessa's, Ina Garten.  

They are heavenly! The cake is very moist and the addition of coffee in the recipe adds a hint of deep flavor.  The icing is not too sweet, just perfect.  If you do not have time to bake from scratch, try with a devils food cake mix, but don't nix the frosting, its too good to miss!   As soon as you bake, cool, and begin frosting take a taste of that melt- in- your-mouth goodness and enjoy!

Spring Break- Fordham Rowing

Spring break has come and gone.  I am sorry I haven't posted in a while. I was unable to write a post during the break because I was rowing my days away.  Our team went on our training trip to Richmond, Virginia where we practiced on the James River at Robious Landing. 

The life of a Fordham rower is filled with early mornings, long and strenuous practices, meticulous attention to technique and skill, and an optimistic conviction of each race and the overall season.  

Our home rowing course is on the Harlem River at Peter Jay Sharp Boathouse in Swindler Cove Park.  This break we traveled down to Richmond, Virginia to row on the James River at Robious Landing.  Fordham rowers are used to the early morning hustle and bustle of city sounds and sights.  The James was a refreshing change, a spring revival for the team after a long winter training inside on the ergometers.  The James river is picture-esq, gorgeous and peaceful.  Rather than the feeling of waking up with the city during rush hour, it was like waking up alongside nature and animals that live deep along the river.  

The days were filled with morning and afternoon rows, with runs or extra practices in between. Overall it was a very productive trip and the boats are starting to come together.  Starting this past week until the middle of May our schedule is filled with races each weekend.  It is an exciting time for the Fordham Rowing team!  The season is just starting and we are hopeful. We are determined to live up to our potential and hopefully will exceed it.   The hard training has started and must continue to have a successful season!

Its official...

U2 will be at Fordham tomorrow morning.  The stage is up and last min preparations are being done.  

Get excited Fordham!!!

"Promise Neighborhoods" modeled after "Harlem Children's Zone"

President Obama stressed how critical education is for Americans in his State of the Nation. I have highlighted the "Serve America Act" and gone over the basics of the plan which President Obama has laid out. A lot of the attention has gone towards higher education, however President Obama has stressed that k-12 is one of the most significant proposals in which he wants to put more money into early childhood education.

The money would go towards a program called "Promise Neighborhoods." This is modeled after the successful New York program called " Harlem Children's Zone." Obama's program would provide a "rigorous k-12 education" to poor urban kids. The program would also provide many services for the families. These services include, health care, parenting classes, nutrition, family counseling, and preschool.

What is the "Harlem Children's Zone"?

"Harlem Children's Zone" originally began in 1970 but became what it is today starting in 1997. "The agency began a network of programs for a 24-block area: the Harlem Children's Zone Project. In 2007, the Zone Project grew to almost 100 blocks and served 7,400 children and over 4,100 adults".

"Harlem Children's Zone" has introduced several of the most innovative programs. "In 2000, The Baby College parenting workshops; in 2001, the Harlem Gems pre-school program; also in 2001, the HCZ Asthma Initiative, which teaches families to better manage the disease; in 2004, the Promise Academy, a high-quality public charter school; and in 2006, an obesity program to help children stay healthy."

Mr. Geoffrey Canada is the President and Chief Executive of "Harlem Children's Zone." He has been a part of the program for over 20 years and has become a nationally recognized figure for his work serving children, families, and his passionate advocacy for education reform. "The National Book Award-winning author Jonathan Kozol called Mr. Canada, "One of the few authentic heroes of New York and one of the best friends children have, or ever will have, in our nation."

Other information is provided in detail here at the website.

Below is a video explaining the project. Enjoy!

"Serve America Act"

The table above describes the four major sectors of the service corps programs that will allow Americans to seek resources for opportunities.  

In President Obama's State of the Nation, he announced the bipartisan legislation called the "Serve America Act."  It was introduced by both Senator Orrin Hatch(R-UT) and Edward M. Kennedy (love him)( D-MA) as a bill to expand national and community service opportunities for all Americans.   

What will this bill do?

It will create multiple education and financial grants and fellowships which will support and provide opportunities for a variety of Americans to seek higher education through service projects at a cost they can manage.  

How will this be funded?

These fellowships and grants will be funded both privately and publicly as a means of creating sustainable financial solutions for Americans to meet the rising costs of education.  

What is the goal?

The goal is to make college more attainable to every American by creating opportunities to get involved in the community.  This encourages a renewed spirit to serve the nation in the current and future generations.

Who Supports this?

The bipartisan legislation is supported by Senators Mikulski, McCain, Dodd, Cochran, Reid, Gregg, Durbin, Wicker, Murray, Snowe, Kerry, Lincoln, Cardin, Rockefeller, Schumer, Whitehouse, Menendez, Bayh and Landrieu.  

The section called  "Learn and Serve America"  includes :

Youth Engagement Zone Program: Authorizes the Corporation to make direct competitive grants to eligible partnerships to carry out service-learning programs with secondary school students and out-of-school youth to address specific community challenges and to improve student engagement (incl. graduation rates).  Partnerships include at least one local education agency serving a low-income population with a low graduation rate, and either a State Commission, a state education agency, or a community-based agency, and may include others.  Grantee must assure that, within 5 years, service-learning will be a mandatory part of the curriculum in all secondary schools served by the local education agency.  

o   Grant Amount: $250K - $1M; Grant Period: 5 years

o   Authorizes appropriation: $20M for 2009, increasing to $40M in 2013. 

 Campuses of Service - Authorizes CNCS, in consultation with the Secretary of Education, to annually designate up to 30 institutions of higher education as “Campuses of Service” from institutions nominated by State Commissions (limit 3 per Commission).  A designated Campus of Service would be able to apply to CNCS for funds to implement strategies to encourage students to pursue careers in public service and would be permitted to nominate additional individuals for “ServeAmerica Fellowships” (described below).  Designations are based on, among other criteria, the institution’s record of student engagement in service and service-learning and the percentage of Federal Work Study funds being used for community service positions.

o   Authorizes appropriation: $10M for 2009 and thereafter through 2013.

·      Longitudinal Study on Service-Learning Programs: Directs CNCS to procure an independent entity to conduct a 10-year longitudinal study on the benefits/ impact of service-learning programs (incl. impact on academic achievement, student engagement, and graduation rates).

Sweet of the Week!

I hope you were all able to try the Magnolia vanilla cupcake recipe, and if not by baking it, by picking one up and enjoying at the bakery.  This week I want to suggest the chocolate cupcake recipe from Magnolia.  This one is my favorite!  I also found out that one of my classmates, Trina, wrote about her love for Magnolia on her blog, and this is her fav as well!   I'll have to make them soon and bring them in to class for a treat! 

This recipe is very similar to the vanilla ones, but be careful with chocolate, when overcooked it burns easily.  Make sure you pay attention to the time and temperature of your oven.  Also it is up to you whether you want to use vanilla or chocolate buttercream frosting.  My fav is chocolate with vanilla frosting, and cream cheese frosting is also super delish!  You may just have to make them a couple times and figure out which you enjoy the most! 

Obama on Education- State of the Senate

“Dropping out of high school is no longer an option.  It's not just quitting on yourself, it's quitting on your country and this country needs and values the talents of every American.”    President Obama said this during his address to congress in the State of the Nation on February 24th.   During the address, he established his agenda for the coming years.  One of the most important issues was Education.  He spoke in depth about the challenges and solutions being made to encourage and increase education in the United States and its critical impact on the Nation's economic future.     

President Obama said that in the  global economy of today, education is not an option but a prerequisite.   There are alarming high school drop out rates and school budget cuts on the local and state level.  This has created a drop in rankings internationally in math and science.  President Obama believes that the country needs to expand its promise of education for every child.  With his policies he wants to "Ensure that every child has access to a complete and competitive education from the day they are born to the day they begin their career."  

One of the policies helping to do so is called the "Serve America Act"  This will increase national and community service opportunities for Americans.  President Obama spoke of how the price of tuition is rising and with the state of the economy it is becoming harder and harder to make ends meet.  According to CNN.com "The cost of attending college has risen nearly three times the rate of the cost of living, according to a December 2008 report from the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education." 

The "Serve America Act" it encourages the youth and citizens to be involved in volunteering for their communities.  Those who are willing to volunteer in their neighborhoods, or serve the country, will be able to afford higher education.  He also stated that they will work hard to provide the support that all young Americans need to complete a college education.   He stated that  this year they will make college more affordable to 7 million more students.  

Obama created a goal that by 2020 the United States will once again have the highest proportion of  college graduates in the world.  But the emphasis to learn and embrace education should not just be in a school environment, it needs to start in the home.  Parents need to encourage reading, educational games, and homework in order to help their children do well in school and have the strive to continue on.  

 I believe that Obama's policies will help to expand both younger and higher education, which will in turn help the economic future of this country.  Parents, children, young adults, and adults who do not have higher education must take the incentive to get involved and become educated.  School is hard work, but the hard work does pay off.  This will lead to a career that can support a family and loved ones who then will have the opportunity to gain a great education and a wealth of knowledge. I believe it will work,  I just hope it works better than "No child left behind..."