TL;DR: Connections create the foundation of positive relationships. Positive relationships form trust with students and increase success. When difficult situations occur, positive relationships will make a difference. In today’s world, schools are often seen as prioritizing compliance over connections. Let’s reverse that! Prioritize connection over compliance instead! Compliance is necessary for maintaining order and safety. However, it can create a power … Read More
Heart of Education: Classroom Families
TL;DR: Children may have a hard time recognizing their talents and skills. Educators can build students’ conflict resolution toolkit with stress reduction tools and empathy practice. Open each class with an activity that grounds students into the present moment. There’s a reason educators call students their “kids.” If schools are microcosms of society, then the classroom is a representation of … Read More
Educators Are Saving the Day: 4 Ways to Fill Their Cup
TL;DR: It’s easy to get lost in the daily grind and forget to see one another. Personalized small talk breaks the cycle of obligatory conversation. Small, personal tokens go further to create value than mass appreciation. Small Gestures to Show Appreciation The smallest gesture can be powerful when it shows us we’re seen—not as teachers, specialists, or principals, but as … Read More
The Uncomfortable Truth About School
TL;DR: Students forget most of what they “learn” in school. Acknowledging this gives us the freedom to focus on powerful learning experiences. Wrestling with the impermanence of some school “learning” challenges our core values as educators. What is Learning, Really? Educational thought leader Will Richardson loves to invite teachers to share their definitions of learning. His observation: most of us … Read More
Episode #180: Will McDonough
Recently named one of the Global Forum on Education and Learning (GFEL) “Top 100 Visionaries in Education” for the year 2020, Will McDonough is an educator, author, diversity practitioner, speaker and thought leader who was raised in a one-room schoolhouse in the mountains of northern New Hampshire. As the child of a street performing juggler/storyteller and a teacher of the … Read More