Helping Students Manage Stress, Set Goals, and Feel Connected In early October, I reviewed Paul Tough's new book, How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character. I saw implications for policy, funding, and teacher preparation, as well as lots of actions that administrators and teachers could take based on Tough's research. Here are some ideas. Less Stress One aspect of Paul Tough's book that I appreciated was all the brain science made reader friendly. So what can we do, in the classroom, to mitigate the stress that our students arrive with? This video shows a school-wide meditation program in urban San Francisco that drastically reduced the school's truancy and suspension rates. What's Your Mission? Here's some interesting information from Tough's book: people tend to use three strategies when setting goals. I did a lot of goal setting with my students. Cultivating Group Identity Many of us know that group identity can have powerful affect on our performance. Exploring Systemic Change I like what Tough says about stress.
A dozen important brain based concepts - The Second Principle Creating a brain based classroom – A dozen important concepts and teaching strategies every teacher (and parent) should know about how the brain learns best ©Leslie Owen Wilson, Ed.D. 2014 Contact Leslie Download a PDF version of A dozen important brain based concepts L. This page is dedicated to a dozen specific concepts from the most recent literature on brain based learning (educational neuroscience). Are in direct contradiction to traditional or historic teaching practices;Are currently missing from many schools or classrooms;Are important accommodations to students’ cognitive processing;Could radically change teachers’ presentation methods and the ways in which instruction is designed or delivered;Have the potential to help children be better students, as well as help them remember and retain information. After each idea I have included a segment entitled – What needs to change? Please, if you find this information useful, pass it on to other educators, and to parents. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Sites That Help Kids Do Good close(x) Don’t Miss Out You’re all set! Look out for our weekly updates soon. Connect with us Jump to navigation "Best of" Lists "Best of" lists Get age-appropriate ideas and inspiration for every interest: Poll Did this specific Top Picks list help you decide to do any of the following? Let your child watch/play/read/listen to a particular media title 41% (800 votes) NOT let your child watch/play/read/listen to a particular media title 14% (274 votes) Buy, rent, or download a particular media title 24% (472 votes) Did not impact my decision 22% (426 votes) Total votes: 1972 Learning ratings Best: Really engaging; great learning approach.Very Good: Engaging; good learning approach.Good: Pretty engaging; good learning approach.Fair: Somewhat engaging; OK learning approach.Not for Learning: Not recommended for learning.Not for Kids: Not age-appropriate for kids; not recommended for learning. Find out more Share this List FavoriteSign In or Sign Up to add favorites Sites That Help Kids Do Good We Give Books Kiva
Dr. Anthony Muhammad • New Frontier 21 Anthony Muhammad is one of the most sought after educational consultants in North America. As a practitioner of nearly twenty years, Dr. Muhammad has served as a middle school teacher, assistant principal, middle school principal, and high school principal. Dr. Dr. If you are ready for a powerful transformation in student performance call (248) 974-4828 to discuss how we can tailor our services to meet your school’s needs. The archive for all of Dr. Resilience: The Other 21st Century Skills Due to the interest of my post The Other 21st Skills, I decided to individually discuss each of the skills or dispositions I proposed that are in addition to the seven survival skills as identified by Tony Wagner. This post focuses on resiliency. The first post focused on Grit: The Other 21st Century Skills. Some would categorize Grit and Resiliency as the same skill, but it is my belief they are involve two different, but interconnected, skill sets. While grit focuses on persistence, resilience is about bouncing back in the face of challenges and/or failure. Some of characteristics or dispositions of Resilience include: Bouncing BackManaging EmotionsAwareness of Strengths and AssetsPassion-Driven FocusResourcefulnessSense of Personal AgencyAbility to Reach Out to OthersProblem-Solving Skills Resilience is the process of adapting well in the face of adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats or significant sources of stress. Resilience research clearly reveals the following key points: Like this:
Dr. Anthony Muhammad - Podcast: Help Students At The First Sign Of Trouble 68: Dr. Anthony Muhammad | Help Students At The First Sign Of Trouble | Galvanize Your Resources Through Motivation, Professional Development, and Modeling To Produce Productive, Healthy, Educated Students | Struggling Students Don’t Need Pity, They Need Help Download Podcast Here Dr. Anthony Muhammad is one of the most sought after educational consultants in North America. Dr. Dr. About EducatorsLead: Educators Lead is a podcast created to help launch educators into the next level of leadership. Educate. www.educatorslead.com
How to Help Kids Overcome Fear of Failure A couple of weeks ago, a New York Times op-ed asked the question, “Are kids too coddled?” In other words, shouldn’t we let them fail once in awhile so they develop some backbone? Or don’t they just need more grit? The answer is not that simple because human beings are not that simple. According to UC Berkeley professor Martin Covington, the fear of failure is directly linked to your self-worth, or the belief that you are valuable as a person. Fortunately, the research also provides tips for educators to help students deal with feelings of failure—and help them to fulfill their true potential. The Games We Play to Avoid Failure Covington’s years of research found that one way people protect their self-worth is by believing they are competent and making others believe it as well. Hence, the ability to achieve—and the quality of performance that reveals that ability—is critical to maintaining self-worth. 1. 2. 3. 4. Overcoming the Fear of Failure 1. 2. 3.
School Culture Definition The term school culture generally refers to the beliefs, perceptions, relationships, attitudes, and written and unwritten rules that shape and influence every aspect of how a school functions, but the term also encompasses more concrete issues such as the physical and emotional safety of students, the orderliness of classrooms and public spaces, or the degree to which a school embraces and celebrates racial, ethnic, linguistic, or cultural diversity. Like the larger social culture, a school culture results from both conscious and unconscious perspectives, values, interactions, and practices, and it is heavily shaped by a school’s particular institutional history. Students, parents, teachers, administrators, and other staff members all contribute to their school’s culture, as do other influences such as the community in which the school is located, the policies that govern how it operates, or the principles upon which the school was founded. Reform Debate
Brave (Age 4+) What Having a “Growth Mindset” Actually Means Scholars are deeply gratified when their ideas catch on. And they are even more gratified when their ideas make a difference — improving motivation, innovation, or productivity, for example. But popularity has a price: People sometimes distort ideas and therefore fail to reap their benefits. This has started to happen with my research on “growth” versus “fixed” mindsets among individuals and within organizations. To briefly sum up the findings: Individuals who believe their talents can be developed (through hard work, good strategies, and input from others) have a growth mindset. “Growth mindset” has become a buzzword in many major companies, even working its way into their mission statements. I already have, and have always had, a growth mindset. Even if we correct these misconceptions, it’s still not easy to attain a growth mindset. To remain in a growth zone, we must identify and work with these triggers.
DIY app (Age 9+) How Does Poverty Influence Learning? Editor's note: This piece was adapted from Turning High-Poverty Schools into High-Performing Schools by William H. Parrett and Kathleen M. Budge. People in poverty are as diverse as people in any other socioeconomic class. They present, like other groups, a wide array of values, beliefs, dispositions, experiences, backgrounds, and life chances. As educators, in order to be responsive to the needs of our students, it is helpful to consider the constraints that poverty often places on people's lives, particularly children's, and how such conditions influence learning and academic achievement. Health and Well-Being These factors are interrelated, and one factor can compound another. Language and Literacy Development Children who live in poverty often come to school behind their more affluent peers in terms of literacy and language development. Material Resources Poverty often places constraints on the family's ability to provide other material resources for their children as well. Mobility
The Case Against 8 A behind-the-scenes look inside the historic case to overturn California's ban on same-sex marriage. The high-profile trial first makes headlines with the unlikely pairing of Ted Olson and David Boies, political foes who last faced off as opposing attorneys in Bush v. Gore. The film also follows the plaintiffs, two gay couples who find their families at the center of the same-sex marriage controversy. Five years in the making, this is the story of how they took the first federal marriage equality lawsuit to the U.S. Supreme Court. "A STIRRING civil rights film that is both cogent and emotionally charged…grips from start to finish…" - The Hollywood Reporter "An emotional tour of HISTORY IN THE MAKING…" - Indiewire "A well-made, moving, informative history" - RogerEbert.com "Engrossing and emotional..." - The Los Angeles Times " Lucid, balanced and relentlessly informative. Are you interested in inviting the filmmakers or characters in the film to attend your event?