Working in education takes a specific kind of courage. Educators constantly face the question: Am I competent at what I do? Am I relevant? In 2009 I published Owning Up, a curriculum that was a combination of social emotional learning, bullying prevention, and media literacy. But
Understanding child development and - most importantly - how children learn, is undoubtedly one of the fundamental necessities of good teaching. The field of neuroscience is constantly expanding; we learn more about our students everyday. It's important that teachers keep up with the latest discoveries
Recently, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) took a step towards recognizing the importance of social emotional learning (SEL). Signed into law last December, it allows for a broader definition of student success that now includes “nonacademic” factors such as student engagement, school climate, and
Our sense of self provides the foundation for how we respond and react in every situation we face. When we feel good about who we are and stress knocks on our door, we are more likely to make positive choices. When we feel horribly about
Why the “Soft Skills” are the Hard Skills, and Why they are Essential for Students’ Academic Success Dear Colleagues, For all of the rhetoric about ensuring that students are “college and career” ready, the reality is that our schools are still focused almost exclusively on students’ academic
Behavior informs us, like a flag on the field, that something is internally amiss. Consider the student who “forgets” homework or puts the dissected frog in Amy’s lunch box. Those are your yellow flags. Now consider the student who beats up a classmate “just because”
I recently received a book proposal on how best to incorporate social-emotional learning (SEL) into student report cards. Oh, how excited I was to see something like this being proposed! And oh…I then thought…how many teachers will be dismayed by having more to teach and