This weekend, I took my two daughters to the zoo in Los Angeles, where I live. As we stood looking over the tiger enclosure, my 11-year-old turned to me and explained that she was feeling conflicted. She was having fun, she said, but she recently wrote a paper for school about the problems that animals in zoos face, and learned that some people believe that zoos shouldn’t even exist.
Dear Leaders: SEL Actually Matters. A Lot. Emotions are running high across American public education in 2022. Pundits set on stoking the country’s divides are calling it a culture war.
One of the most quintessential questions as schools and families are coming out of the pandemic: How much is too much screen time? During the remote learning phases, it was clear that if teaching and learning could happen on computers, then that was a productive way to spend instructional time. But now that kids are …
The Highest of Highs and the Lowest of Lows The final dress rehearsal for the annual high school musical. An incredibly shy and hesitant ninth-grader was asked to stand on a chair and stop a brawl happening in one scene of the annual musical. After some encouragement from the director, the ninth-grader met the expectations …
Teaching mindfulness to energetic children can be challenging, but it’s worth the effort. Studies show that the earlier young students learn to manage their thoughts, emotions, and actions, the better off they will be. Mindfulness benefits children in many ways including improving self-awareness and emotional regulation, which leads them to build stronger relationships and greater …
Five Mindfulness Activities Teachers Can Put in Place in the Classroom Read More »
Looking for fun and easy ways to teach and incorporate mindfulness into your classroom? Get started today with these six simple strategies! But first, what is mindfulness and why is it worth teaching into the classroom? Mindfulness is the ability to be present in the moment and aware of one’s thoughts and feelings. Teaching children …
Six Easy Ways for Educators to Incorporate Mindfulness in the Classroom Read More »
What is empathy? And, how can you teach empathy to kids? Is it even possible to teach empathy? We’re here to tell you “yes, yes it can”. Before we get into that, let’s take the time to truly understand what empathy means. “Empathy” has been somewhat of a buzzword in recent years, and, like any …
Nine Critical Empathy Skills to Teach in the Classroom Read More »
Valentine’s Day kicks off a spring season of love. We take stock of our relationships, whether platonic or romantic, and seek creative ways to display our affection. In January Harvard researchers Robert Waldinger and Marc Shultz released new takeaways from the longest study on human happiness, which underscores the vital role relationships, or as they …
Behavior and learning are deeply connected, so it is imperative to consider both when structuring our environments, planning instruction, and working with students. Teachers can certainly attest to learning being impacted either positively or negatively by the emotions of their students. Then again, like the causality dilemma regarding the chicken or the egg, is it …
How to Teach Essential Life Skills in the Classroom Read More »
Human connection is our best hope for peace and wellness. Understanding others helps us better understand ourselves while seeking balance and future-oriented solutions. There are significant issues facing humanity and we must work together to find solutions; collaboration is more powerful than just connecting or cooperating. As teachers, we have the opportunity to inculcate this …
Thanks to You, We’re Connecting Classrooms Everywhere in Exciting, New Ways! Over the past few years, we have been tested unlike any time in our recent history. From global discord to the pandemic to economic instability, our society has accommodated many changes that have caused extreme stress and uncertainty. Our education system, our schools, and …
