The Family Stories That Bind Us 

I thought the article to be inspiring and very true, especially within my own family. The more a person is aware of the family history, the more able they are to with-stand trials and tribulations throughout their lives. Just as Dr. Dikes wife, Sarah said' “The ones who know a lot about their families tend to do better when they face challenges.” The study proved that the more they knew about their own family's struggles the stronger they were emotionally, which I feel to agree with their findings. Especially, when they found children to have a stronger sense of control over their own lives and that they were able to face challenges.
I believe the findings to be true because I used myself as the example; after an infidelity within my marriage,  I divorced my husband. Knowing that my grandmother had faced the same circumstance when she was younger, gave me courage to continue with my life. I figured if she had been able to continue raising her eight children, a midst a civil war, why couldn't I? And so began my own challenges, but there was a new found courage within me that had not been there before. Feeling brave came from knowing what my family had gone through, and realizing that I could also come out stronger, because I knew I had a strong support system! If then, children are made aware o their family's own struggles and how they overcome them, they too could develop self-confidence.
For my classroom I would try to devise a meet-greet for my students and their family's. A get-together for all to meet one another, learn about each others backgrounds, traditions and struggles faced in the United States. It would be held once a month and it would supplement parents with information about resources within the community that could assist them, information on how to best communicate with their children, advise them of what is expected of them and their children within a school setting and a place where they could make connections with their children, teachers and their community.

For more information (Twenty questions asked for the study): http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marshall-p-duke/the-stories-that-bind-us-_b_2918975.html