Volume XIII | Issue 2 | Fall 2013
Cover Story

When I was a younger mother (a long time ago), I was worried about my 15-year-old son. He was defiant. He was a marginal performer at school and lacked motivation. I kept thinking: Should we be more tolerant or more strict? Believe me, if I had known what to do, I would have done it. 

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Community Vitality is a storytelling publication published since 2000. Send article ideas, questions or requests for past issues to communityvitality@tfff.org.

© 2000-2021 The Ford Family Foundation. Anne Kubisch, President; Mandy Elder, Editor; Megan Monson, Assistant Editor

Photo of a group of people, with blanks where men appear.

‘Where are the men?’ asks Institute Director

When I was a younger mother (a long time ago), I was worried about my 15-year-old son. He was defiant and frequently angry. In my search for understanding, I stumbled upon the book "A Fine Young...  Read More

Father walking in the woods with his two sons

The problem(s) of men

Warning. I’m about to say something that’s politically and socially charged: We need to pay more attention to men. In every period of adult life today, it is men, not women, who carry most of the...  Read More

Josh Savey sits in the chambers of Oregon government.

A town leader at age 15

Myanmar, formerly Burma, is in the news a lot now as its democratic reforms open it up to the world. Nearby in Bangkok, Thailand, Reedsport native Josh Savey, is working as a law clerk. He's...  Read More

Anne Kubisch stands smiling

Anne Kubisch: New president, CEO

Anne Kubisch has spent much of her career studying the best ways to create healthy communities. In her 19 years at the Aspen Institute in New York, Kubisch’s role was as a researcher and a distiller...  Read More

A list of words

Survey: What our readers say

Gender roles in leadership are a critical issue today — it’s why we devoted both the Spring 2013 and this issue of Community Vitality to the topic. We turned to our readers, people on the front lines...  Read More

Man with wife waving to crowd

Providing wisdom and guidance

As I have moved through different phases of my life, the important role that mentors have played has become ever more apparent to me. As a society, we have grown to appreciate the need for both males...  Read More

A town of log buildings covered with snow

Lessons learned from the Far North

The young man could not have been over 15 years old, dressed in jeans and a light jacket although the temperature was 20 below. His black hair flowed in the wind as he drove a powerful snowmobile...  Read More

A teen-age boy rows a boat while his father fishes

Encouraging boys and men to step up

Scott Eastman works with volunteers daily and says the organization he operates runs “off the backs” of those individuals. Eastman, 37, is the executive director of the Siskiyou Family YMCA in Yreka...  Read More

Father and son stand on a grassy field.

Between generations

Newberg High School student Dylan Beam sees a distinct difference between the way he operates in leadership situations and the way his dad, David Beam, leads. The father-son team are currently...  Read More

A man on a stage gestures, with an inset of a book cover

A tough time to be a boy

It’s a tough time to be a boy. In the not-so-distant past, gender roles in society were well defined: Men were expected to be the decision-makers, the breadwinners, and the leaders. Society has...  Read More

Fewer men on campus

The coming-of-age film American Graffiti provides a nostalgic portrait of teenage life in 1962. The movie follows two recent high school graduates and longtime friends, Curt and Steve, on their final...  Read More

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