If you've noticed that the standard responses of many teachers and parents to the strong-willed and neurodivergent kids in their care only creates more problems - for everyone, then you really want to tune into this conversation with Kirk Martin. Kirk is a master at providing deeply effective and easily implemented strategies that actually make life better for everyone - - - in the classroom and at home. I can confidently assure you that this conversation will exceed your highest expectations for providing wise and practical solutions. Please fill out the poll that coincides with this episode and/or send in your question for Kirk to address in the next conversation he and I share.
How we see the kids in our care, (whether they’re in our classroom, our Afterschool facility or our home), how we see them… determines how much they can grow and develop as a result of our influence. Kahlil Gibran quote: Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself. They come through you but not from you, And though they are with you, yet they belong not to you. You may give them your love but not your thoughts. For they have their own thoughts. You may house their bodies but not their souls, For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams. You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you. For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday...
Here are the basic points from Larissa's article: Our words and actions must match. Reading options for students must be broadened to provide wider perspectives from other races and cultures. Conversations are necessary... even, and especially, the ones around 'difficult' topics. Listening is a big and necessary element for meaningful conversations. Have the courage (and flexibility) to explore new and different ideas. Self-reflection is essential... without self-reflection there is no way to recognize and catch our biases (which we all have... all of us.). Yeah, that's a tough one, but really important for moving forward. Media, used with critical thinking and discernment, can be a valuable resource. FACT: the work is never ending. And because 'whites' created the racist problems, it's on us to be proactive in its mitigation. Larissa's article for PBS ... https://www.pbs.org/education/blog/a-call-to-action-for-white-educators-who-seek-to-be-anti-racist More Resources, courtesy of Larissa: 'Raising White Kids' Author On How White Parents Can Talk About Race Confronting Anti-Black Racism Resources Death of George Floyd sets off massive protests The 1619 Project The 1619 Project Curriculum Teaching About Race, Racism and Police Violence Social Justice Booklist Social Justice Booklist - Young Adult Fiction Resources from Educolor
The 21st century with its previously unimagined challenges and colossal opportunities is where we've landed, and I’m wondering … has it become apparent to you, yet that those previously unimagined challenges and colossal opportunities are making it absolutely essential for all of us educators to rethink not only WHAT we teach but, far more importantly: HOW we teach. The time is NOW for us to be exercising even our youngest students’ natural born abilities, namely: critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity ~ often referred to as The 4 C’s...
This second episode about helping young children move through the times and the challenges that cause them to feel frustrated explores some of the not-so-obvious factors that are all part of the mix. Wendy's insights, as always, are heartfelt, honest, and academically sound.
3 Habits that get in the way of being the kind of listener that creates real connection and mutual respect with young students: Learn to appreciate how essential it is to be a fully present listener with your young students... even just for brief moments. .. and then consider the simple advice we share about how to break the habits that are getting in the way of your being a fully present listener.
Wendy Zacuto has always sought to integrate the finest wisdom of her mentors and the numerous educational approaches she has studied, with her own innate instincts about how real learning is elicited and nurtured in our youngest students. She is a Master Educator in the truest sense. Wendy requested that this interview be respectfully and lovingly dedicated to the memory of one of her most important mentors: Jeneé Gossard - about whom she shares much inspiration in this interview.
Creating Cultures of Thinking, by Ron Ritchhart, is a book so rich with benefits for every classroom in the world … including, most definitely, benefits for your young students’ social emotional learning and development, that it only makes sense to create at least one episode focusing on a number of Ritchhart’s main points about the words we introduce and use in our classroom that have subtle, yet POWERFUL impact if we use them intentionally and consistently.
Learn why a facilitation approach deepens young students' ownership of the social, emotional and life skills that make life happier, healthier and better for everyone - in the classroom, on the playground and beyond ...
Learning what really matters, discovering the value of one's own particular form of intelligence, heart and courage are the benefits Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man and the Lion received by taking on the challenges presented to them by the Wizard of Oz. Listen to this episode to find out what that has to do with Social Emotional Learning from the Kids' Own Wisdom perspective.
This episode will expand your perspective on the topic of APOLOGIES, and very likely confirm your own deepest insights about meaningful and truly effective APOLOGIES that genuinely benefit young children’s formative interactions. I am so grateful to long-time teachers Deborah Stewart and Bill Hotter for their contributions … different, each from the other, yet entirely and completely complementary … and both so wise.
It’s SO important to understand how praise effects young kids, and to distinguish between the kinds of praise that deepen and nurture kids' healthy self-awareness and self-esteem vs. the kind of praise that kids, even young kids, interpret as undeserved, therefore insincere, thereby making the person who gives the praise untrustworthy.
Building belonging in the classroom is one of the most important formative influences we can bring into young children's lives. For young ones, just starting out in the new adventures of preschool, kindergarten and first grade, discovering shared values, feelings and instincts with classmates and peers is a powerful approach to building the healthiest kind of belonging. The kind of belonging that - very long term - can help to neutralize feelings of isolation that, respected research has shown, are one of the deep-rooted influences that, so heartbreakingly, result - later on - in school shootings and student suicides.
Elisabeth shares with us from her heart, which is grounded in 25+ years classroom experience, along with parenting 3 children. Learn more about Elisabeth Stitt at: http://www.elisabethstitt.com/ http://www.elisabethstitt.com/harmony-at-home-online-parenting-class/ FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/joyfulparentingcoaching/ TWITTER: https://twitter.com/StittCoaching
Kids DO understand consequences, and they are capable of making choices that result in happier consequences more and more of the time… without constant reminders from us. They just need consistent opportunities to consider their own answers to the right kinds of questions, under the right kinds of circumstances, to activate and exercise their own critical thinking and collaborative problem-solving skills.
SELF-RESPECT is a healthy, ground-zero, foundational sense (which goes beyond ‘words and thinking’) to a core of spontaneously responding to the fact that each of us is worthy of being acknowledged, and worthy of being treated well, in spite of our imperfections. Healthy self-respect, cannot be forced, but it can be activated, engaged and it must be exercised for students' enduring social emotional development.
Children pick up on our attitudes and feelings towards them - no doubt about it. This episode’s topic is deeply personal for me… Our attitudes and feelings toward our students are central to what we do, who we are with our students, and how much gets accomplished every day in our classrooms. I hope you agree, but if you don’t, or if you’re on the fence, I hope you’ll listen and share your thoughts in the comments. Thanks!
Granted, sometimes it can look like children only care about what’s ‘FAIR’ for themselves, and not about what’s fair for others, but what’s really going on when we see those kinds of automatic reactions and behaviors from our young students? And what are the positive, long-term implications of enabling students to expand their personal definitions of FAIR?
Deborah gives us a fresh and important perspective on young children's challenging behaviors. Let us know what you gained from this interview, and if you think it would be a good idea to bring Deborah back - often. Include questions, if you'd like to.
Busting this myth requires us to recognize that there are many different ways to teach, because within every class there are many different ways that our students learn.