Learning to read? Think outside the cage.

Problem #1: Many children are shy about reading out loud. They know they'll be stopped and corrected if they mispronounce a word. But what if they had a listener who never corrected them, and loved hearing their voice? Problem #2: When dogs are brought to a shelter, the animals usually crouch fearfully in the back of their kennels. But dogs most likely to be adopted are always relaxed in the front of their kennels, trustful of humans. Last December, the Humane Society of Missouri found a way to solve both these problems.

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Boys and girls who want to "help" at the Humane Society can join the Shelter Buddies Reading Program. All they need to bring is a book, or two. The program coaxes dogs into trusting humans by having children sit in front of the kennel of a dog they want to read to. As the dogs slowly adjust to the presence of humans, they move forward until they are sitting in front of the child. But the dogs never interrupt the readers or correct them. Children are also encouraged to give a treat to dogs who make it to the front of the kennel by the time they finish their book. The program has been a huge success. The Humane Society's assistant director, JoEllyn Klepacki, says results have been "just amazing."

A video about "working mom guilt"

Jessica O'Dowd returned to work after several months of maternity leave. She felt she wasn't doing as good a job at work as before her pregnancy, and she wasn't being as good a mom after returning to her job. She expected all this to be confirmed at her annual performance interview, where she admitted frankly that she felt "spread thin."

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We're not sure if Jessica knew it, but her interview was filmed by Chicco, a global maker of baby products. What happened after she "confessed" her faults will warm your heart. Have a tissue handy and turn up your sound before watching www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rL7lCv7zRE You might want to share this post with any moms you know who have returned to work full-time.

Saving India, one drop at at time

Aabid Surti of Mumbai (Bombay), India, recalls that his childhood was spent "on the pavement. There was a fight for every drop of water. Every bucket we had to fight for. And that legacy stayed with me." Since then, he's written 80 books and seven plays, hosted 16 exhibits of his paintings and won a National Award for his short story collection. Now he's 80, but has no plans to retire. Why not? "Once, when I went to a friend's place, I saw a tap leaking, and it hurt me," he says.

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So in 2007 he started a one-man NGO called "Drop Dead." Here's how it works. "We target a big building, especially in the ghettos of Mumbai, every Monday. If the building secretary agrees, we put up posters that say Drop Dead. People see them all week. On Saturday we distribute our pamphlets explaining our work and why we will visit their homes on Sunday. Finally, on Sunday, we go and fix the leaking faucets."  In the first year, he visited 1,666 houses on Mira Road and repaired 414 leaking taps free of charge. Is your faucet dripping?

Policeman combines prayer with action

As reported in The Christian Science Monitor, Mark Ross learned last Sunday that his 15-year-old sister had died in a fatal car crash. Ross needed to get from Indiana back to his home in Detroit to grieve with his family, so he asked a friend to drive him. The friend agreed, even though his license was suspended. They were zipping across Ohio when highway patrolman Sgt. David Robison pulled them over for speeding. The driver was arrested for driving without a license. This left Ross with no way to get home to his family.

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"I explained to the officer that my sister had died and that I needed to get back to my mother asap," Ross later wrote on Facebook. "I broke down crying and he saw the sincerity of my cry. He reaches over and began praying over me and my family." But Sgt. Robison didn't just talk the talk. He also walked the walk. He drove Ross 100 miles to a restaurant in Detroit where his family met him. Ross said, "Everybody knows how much I dislike cops, but I am truly grateful for this guy. He gave me hope. It was so overwhelming it kind of took me away from my own reality." Ross's family was so touched by Sgt. Robison's kindness that they invited him to attend the girl's funeral.

The hymn with only seven notes

Pastor Martin Rinkart ministered in the walled city of Eilenburg-Saxony during the horrors of the Thirty Years War of 1618-1648. As Eilenberg became a overcrowded refuge for the surrounding area, its residents suffered epidemic and famine. For example, during 1637, the year of the Great Pestilence, Rinkart conducted 4,480 funerals -- between 40 and 50 each day -- including a service for his wife, who died of starvation. Surrounded by suffering and death, he wrote a prayer of gratitude for his children. Today it's a popular hymn called "Now Thank We All Our God."

The hymn has only seven notes, making it very easy to sing. Knowing its history, you may enjoy hearing it sung by the congregation of beautiful Beverly Minster (shown above), a parish church in the market village of Beverly, in Yorkshire, England. To see the church and hear the hymn (following some brief comments), visit www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItfKjxkXhMk

Guidance counseling at its best

September 28 started off like a normal day at Sycamore Middle School in Cheatham County, Tennessee. Guidance counselor Molly Hudgens (shown below) was ready to greet students at her office when a 14-year-old boy walked in. He explained that he wanted to kill some teachers and a police officer, but not students. She asked if he had a gun, and he showed her the .45 caliber semi-automatic handgun with two loaded magazines which he had in his waistband. He said he came to her because she was the only person who could talk him out of it.

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"I'm not surprised. She's the type of person that would be easy for her to get through to somebody. She has a very loving, caring, motherly personality," said Hudgens' friend Jessica Williams. Hudgens has taught at Sycamore Middle School since 1999. She started as a language arts teacher and joined the counseling department in 2006. She has a Master's degree in school counseling. She and the student talked for about 45 minutes before he agreed to give her the gun. The student was then arrested by a school resource officer. No shots were fired and there was no struggle. The next day, Hudgens said modestly, "Yesterday my previous training and experience granted me the opportunity to help a student in need, while protecting our school family as well." No classes were interrupted.

The man who saved the world

Stanislav Petrov was a lieutenant in the Soviet army on September 26, 1983. The cold war was at its peak, and Petrov was on duty at the Serpukhov-15 bunker near Moscow. His job was to watch the satellite early warning network and let higher-ups know if any missiles were approaching the Soviet Union. At 40 minutes after midnight, computers indicated one American missile was approaching. Petrov assumed it was a false alarm. The Americans would never attack with just one missile. A short time later, computers spotted a second missile and then a third. If he failed to report these missiles, they would destroy Moscow in 22 minutes. If he did report them, Russia would launch its own missiles toward the United States under the "Mutual Assured Destruction" (MAD) policy followed by both nations. Petrov decided to regard all the computer readings as false alarms.

Under extreme pressure, he made the right decision, but it defied military protocol. Petrov was not punished, but neither was he rewarded, since his actions revealed imperfections in the Soviet military system and cast his superiors in a bad light. He was no longer considered a "reliable" officer and was reassigned to a less sensitive post until he retired. Today he is a pensioner, living in relative poverty. He does not regard himself as a hero. He says, "I was just doing my job." But other disagree. In 2004 the Association of World Citizens gave him its World Citizen award and $1,000, and in 2006 he was honored at the United Nations.