Monday, May 16, 2022

Helping Children with Tragic Events in the News: PBS

https://www.pbs.org/parents/thrive/helping-children-with-tragic-events-in-the-news?utm_campaign=&utm_content=1652713221&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR3ASbKDe9AXurUqlxv5Lzrt9BaZr2K86CSO_o918Aro5Y8FHtsv2xT7dpY

EMOTIONS & SELF-AWARENESS SOCIAL SKILLS CHARACTER

Helping Children with Tragic Events in the News

Feb 12, 2018

In times of community or world-wide crisis, it's easy to assume that young children don't know what's going on. But one thing's for sure -- children are very sensitive to how their parents feel. They're keenly aware of the expressions on their parents' faces and the tone of their voices. Children can sense when their parents are really worried, whether they're watching the news or talking about it with others. No matter what children know about a “crisis,” it’s especially scary for children to realize that their parents are scared.

Some Scary, Confusing Images

The way that news is presented on television can be quite confusing for a young child. The same video segment may be shown over and over again through the day, as if each showing was a different event. Someone who has died turns up alive and then dies again and again. Children often become very anxious since they don’t understand much about videotape replays, closeups, and camera angles. Any televised danger seems close to home to them because the tragic scenes are taking place on the TV set in their own living room. Children can't tell the difference between what's close and what's far away, what's real and what's pretend, or what's new and what's re-run.

The younger the children are, the more likely they are to be interested in scenes of close-up faces, particularly if the people are expressing some strong feelings. When there's tragic news, the images on TV are most often much too graphic and disturbing for young children.

“Who will take care of me?”

In times of crisis, children want to know, "Who will take care of me?" They're dependent on adults for their survival and security. They're naturally self-centered. They need to hear very clearly that their parents are doing all they can to take care of them and to keep them safe. They also need to hear that people in the government and other grown-ups they don’t even know are working hard to keep them safe, too.

Helping Children Feel More Secure

Play is one of the important ways young children have of dealing with their concerns. Of course, playing about violent news can be scary and sometimes unsafe, so adults need to be nearby to help redirect that kind of play into nurturing themes, such as a hospital for the wounded or a pretend meal for emergency workers.

When children are scared and anxious, they might become more dependent, clingy, and afraid to go to bed at night. Whining, aggressive behavior, or toilet "accidents" may be their way of asking for more comfort from the important adults in their lives. Little by little, as the adults around them become more confident, hopeful and secure, our children probably will, too.

Turn Off the TV

When there's something tragic in the news, many parents get concerned about what and how to tell their children. It's even harder than usual if we're struggling with our own powerful feelings about what has happened. Adults are sometimes surprised that their own reactions to a televised crisis are so strong, but great loss and devastation in the news often reawaken our own earlier losses and fears – even some we think we might have "forgotten"

It's easy to allow ourselves to get drawn into watching televised news of a crisis for hours and hours; however, exposing ourselves to so many tragedies can make us feel hopeless, insecure, and even depressed. We help our children and ourselves if we’re able to limit our own television viewing. Our children need us to spend time with them – away from the frightening images on the screen.

Talking and Listening

Even if we wanted to, it would be impossible to give our children all the reasons for such things as war, terrorists, abuse, murders, major fires, hurricanes, and earthquakes. If they ask questions, our best answer may be to ask them, "What do you think happened?" If the answer is "I don't know," then the simplest reply might be something like, "I'm sad about the news, and I'm worried. But I love you, and I'm here to care for you."

If we don't let children know it's okay to feel sad and scared, they may think something is wrong with them when they do feel that way. They certainly don't need to hear all the details of what's making us sad or scared, but if we can help them accept their own feelings as natural and normal, their feelings will be much more manageable for them.

Angry feelings are part of being human, especially when we feel powerless. One of the most important messages we can give our children is, "It's okay to be angry, but it's not okay to hurt ourselves or others." Besides giving children the right to their anger, we can help them find constructive things to do with their feelings. This way, we'll be giving them useful tools that will serve them all their life, and help them to become the worlds' future peacemakers -- the world's future "helpers."

Helpful Hints

Do your best to keep the television off, or at least limit how much your child sees of any news event.
Try to keep yourself calm. Your presence can help your child feel more secure.
Give your child extra comfort and physical affection, like hugs or snuggling up together with a favorite book. Physical comfort goes a long way towards providing inner security. That closeness can nourish you, too.
Try to keep regular routines as normal as possible. Children and adults count on their familiar pattern of everyday life.
Plan something that you and your child enjoy doing together, like taking a walk, going on a picnic, having some quiet time, or doing something silly. It can help to know there are simple things in life that can help us feel better, in good times and in bad.
Even if children don't mention what they've seen or heard in the news, it can help to ask what they think has happened. If parents don't bring up the subject, children can be left with their misinterpretations. You may be really surprised at how much your child has heard from others.
Focus attention on the helpers, like the police, firemen, doctors, nurses, paramedics, and volunteers. It's reassuring to know there are many caring people who are doing all they can to help others in this world.
Let your child know if you're making a donation, going to a town meeting, writing a letter or e-mail of support, or taking some other action. It can help children to know that adults take many different active roles and that we don't give in to helplessness in times of worldwide crisis.

Fred Rogers Productions was founded by Fred Rogers in 1971 as the non-profit producer of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood for PBS. In the years that followed, it not only created hundreds of episodes of this much-loved program, but also extended Fred’s values and approach to other efforts in promoting children’s social, emotional, and behavioral health and supporting parents, caregivers, teachers, and other professionals in their work with children. Fred Rogers Productions continues to build on Fred’s legacy in innovative ways through a wide variety of media and engages new generations of children and families with his timeless wisdom. The company’s highly-rated, award-winning children’s series include Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, Peg + Cat, and Odd Squad. For more information, visit www.fredrogers.org or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Ed Surge: Students Have Different Thinking Speeds. Inclusive Teaching Means Realizing That.

From: https://www.edsurge.com/news/2022-04-05-students-have-different-thinking-speeds-inclusive-teaching-means-realizing-that?utm_campaign=EdSurgeSproutSocial&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&fbclid=IwAR3yfHbq_29Me25cA_0UCYzeeRjOaeN2RJDQm_iweR0Bs3vlrmgPQ3A7fcA

EDSURGE PODCAST

Students Have Different Thinking Speeds. Inclusive Teaching Means Realizing That.

By Jeffrey R. Young Apr 5, 2022

This article is part of the guide The EdSurge Podcast.

Many classroom environments favor a certain kind of thinker, usually the students who are quick to recall a fact when the instructor asks a question. But that’s not the only type of mind, and it’s not even always the best kind of mind for learning.

“Research has shown that shy learners—the ones who sit in the back and they don’t really say anything—they can be slower learners, but they’re actually the most flexible and they can be the most creative problem solvers,” says Barbara Oakley, a professor of engineering at Oakland University who works at translating the latest brain research into practical advice for teachers and learners. She even has a book she co-authored on the topic, called “Uncommonsense teaching: Practical Insights In Brain Science to Help Students Learn.”

And she argues that teachers should think about the diversity of thinking styles they have in their classrooms—and she has some tips on how to make adjustments for it. It’s actually good advice for understanding how those around us might see the world differently.

For this week’s EdSurge Podcast, we talk with Oakley about why she thinks inclusive teaching means understanding the variety of learning speeds and styles of students.

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts, or use the player on this page.

Monday, April 11, 2022

Teacher

Sunday, April 3, 2022

Classroom Management Tips for New Teachers, From a New Teacher

From: https://www.edutopia.org/article/classroom-management-tips-new-teachers-new-teacher?fbclid=IwAR1x2u2KGSUGXxVsZLilFel6BY19eLz9OzaxLBezuaG6CY2aj3GIDIoFi5w

NEW TEACHERS

Classroom Management Tips for New Teachers, From a New Teacher

A first-year elementary teacher transformed her classroom with a focus on social and emotional learning—and a little help from Penny the Positivity Penguin.

By Hallie Marie McErlain

March 31, 2022

kali9 / iStock

Earlier this year, I was monitoring the hallway as students switched classes after lunch. The boys in the bathroom were making a slight ruckus, but it wasn’t out of hand (yet).

Another student came to stand next to me, asking “Ms. McErlain?” as she tried to get my attention.

“What’s up?” I asked, barely glancing at her, mostly keeping an eye on the boys’ bathroom.

The student was silent, so I finally turned my attention to her.

“Something happened in the cafeteria,” she said, as the tears started rolling down her face. “Everyone surrounded me and called me names.” I asked if it was OK to give her a hug as I requested support from my administration and school counselor.

When I finally finished teaching that day, I went home discouraged. I realized that my classroom wasn’t the happy place I wanted it to be. As a first-year teacher of fourth grade, I had entered the workforce with rose-colored glasses and big dreams of impacting the lives of my students—but I had no idea how to really change their lives. While my college professors preached meeting Maslow’s hierarchy of needs before teaching Bloom’s taxonomy, I didn’t know specific and practical ways to build relationships and community. That night, I came up with four immediate ways I could change the climate of my classroom by prioritizing social and emotional learning.

4 IDEAS THAT ARE WORKING FOR ME

1. Soft starts: Traditionally, when students arrived in the morning, they were expected to get straight to academic work. In my first semester, I noticed that my students were off-task, ignoring their morning work and acting out. I saw that they needed a space for connection before starting their day.

Now, when you walk into my classroom in the morning, you hear students quietly chatting and music playing for the first 20 minutes. I create a weekly choice board that includes drawing, reading, and writing prompts to ease students into the day. The entire vibe of the classroom has shifted from chaotic, restless energy to a calm environment, where students get what they need to start their day off right.

Courtesy of Hallie Marie McErlain

2. A good friend for the whole class: As I was brainstorming ways to change my classroom environment, I found a stuffed animal that I spontaneously named Penny the Positivity Penguin. I brought her in on a whim, and was astonished to see Penny’s impact. Although the childhood magic of stuffed animals has somewhat faded by fourth grade, Penny has become part of the class. We write her letters, and she responds. She tries to write neatly, even though it’s difficult to hold a pen with her wings. When students are working hard, she hops up to their desk to observe more closely. She’s become a positive role model.

3. Community circle: Community circle is one of my favorite things (and my students love it too). I started holding a community circle because I noticed the negative ways my students talked to each other. We needed to practice respectful language. At the beginning of class, students meet on the floor in a circle for 10 minutes. Every day, we go over our community circle guidelines. We use Penny the Positivity Penguin as our talking device to help regulate turn taking.

Here are our guidelines:

We respect each other by not talking when someone else is holding the penguin and by looking at the person who is talking.
We respect ourselves by waiting for others’ attention and by speaking loudly, because our words matter and others deserve to hear our ideas.
We respect Penny, because she is a penguin and she doesn’t know how to fly, so we’re going to gently pass her and never throw her through the air.

Next, we greet the person sitting next to us. This changes daily. Sometimes we say, “Hola, Hannah.” Other days, we use compliments like “You are so smart, Daniel.” We try greetings in languages related to our students’ cultures or languages they’d like to learn. Then, we answer a funny question, like “What kind of superpower do you wish you had?” We usually end with a more serious question, such as “What’s something you admire about the person next to you?”

4. Quick check-ins: I started creating Google Forms to check in with my students. I post these forms at least twice a week, with an emotion check-in and then an open-ended question, such as, “Which three words best describe you? What’s something that’s really difficult for you? Anything else I should know?” Then I say, “I’m always here for you. If you need a hug, I’m here. If you need to share something (whether it’s your feelings or a silly fun fact), I’d love to hear.”

These check-ins have also become a place where students can tell me about their genuine selves. When a student used the Google Form to share that they were worried about the war in Ukraine, I realized that I wanted to work harder at creating a relationship with my quieter, more reserved students. I hate that it took me until February to learn that one of my students loves playing piano. Another student described himself as stupid, and I realized that this brilliant kid has low self-esteem. I’ve learned so much about my students through these simple check-ins.

There are a variety of classroom management strategies that can help first-year teachers find their footing. However, these are the four that have significantly altered my students’ attitudes and openness toward me. I had to discover my own ways to connect with students beyond what was taught in my education classes. I wish I had started building these relationships sooner, especially as I discover more and more of my students’ interests and challenges. If you’re in the same spot I was, it’s not too late: Find your own Penny the Positivity Penguin and use her as a springboard to transform your classroom culture.

5 Strategies for Developing a School Wide Culture of Healing: Mind/Shift

From: https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/59008/5-strategies-for-developing-a-school-wide-culture-of-healing?fbclid=IwAR2dSPAE_nFlHpanMIwSKLDst0bPH01a-ih88MCcbQwQnUmYJ_Vy-fRmdCM

5 Strategies for developing a school-wide culture of healing

Nimah Gobir

Feb 7

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(Shivendu Jauhari/ iStock)

If a child goes to the doctor because they have a tummy ache and they throw up on their doctor, the doctor doesn’t say, “This kid needs discipline!” The doctor asks questions. “What did they eat? Do they have a fever? They get curious about what's toxic in that child's system so that they can most appropriately treat it,” said Dr. Shawn Ginwright, founder of Flourish Agenda and professor of education at San Francisco State University. The same goes for when children who have experienced trauma act out. “They emotionally throw up on teachers,” he said. “That means schools need to have a wider array of tools.”

Social-emotional learning practices are just some of the tools making their way into more classrooms to help students manage trauma and relationships during pandemic schooling. Even so, the general understanding of trauma – and therefore the responses to trauma – is often limited. “While the term ‘trauma-informed care’ is important, it is incomplete,” wrote Ginwright. One of its shortcomings is that it leads people to think of trauma as only an individual experience instead of thinking about it in terms of systems or contexts. “We need to have a broader perspective of how the environment – where young people live and play – can be traumatizing,” said Ginwright. Another way many trauma-informed models fall short is that they are often deficit-based and focus on what is going wrong in a child’s life rather than looking at areas of possibility.

To respond to the broader conditions of trauma, Ginwright developed healing-centered engagement (HCE), a strength-based social-emotional learning strategy for educators and caregivers. A healing-centered approach to addressing trauma requires a shift from asking a person, “What happened to you?” and instead asks, “What’s right with you?” Based on Ginwright’s research with young people and families for over 30 years in the San Francisco Bay Area, the healing-centered engagement model builds on trauma-informed care by focusing on development across five key principles: culture, agency, relationships, meaning and aspirations.

Culture

Racism, classism and discrimination based on sexual orientation and immigration status can be stressors for young people and their families. “[Identity] is oftentimes the first area of harm that young people experience,” Ginwright said. However, healing-centered engagement focuses on culture and identity as pathways to healing. “We need to engage in restorative conversations about various types of identities that young people bring into our community programs or schools,” said Ginwright.

For example, many students of color are told that they need to work twice as hard as their white peers, which may lead to stress, shame and anxiety. Instead of reinforcing the idea that students of color can’t be their authentic selves, schools may find it helpful to explore self reflection as a healing practice. They can set aside time for students to answer questions like, “How has your connection to a community or identity helped you through a hard time?” or “What are some healing practices rooted in an identity or community you belong to?” Strengthening introspection not only fosters healing, but leads to better decision making abilities and healthier relationships, said Ginwright.

Agency

Focusing on agency, youth voice and specific actions develops students' ability to respond to traumatic environments. “Research shows that when we engage in action or some form of improving a problem, we find that action in and of itself facilitates a sense of well-being,” said Ginwright. Whether it's making meaningful changes in their neighborhood or school, agency cultivates a sense of purpose and collective engagement. “We can act and respond in productive and collective ways to improve the environment where we live, work and play,” said Ginwright. “It provides us with a sense of control over what may be perceived as an uncontrollable situation.”

Transactional or Transformative Relationships

In school settings, according to Ginwright, relationships fall into two categories: transactional or transformative.

Transactional relationships are related to the title or status a person has. For example, being a principal isn’t void of power dynamics with regards to staff. “Transactional relationships are effective and efficient relationships, but they're not sufficient for healing,” said Ginwright. “Transactional relationships are easy to break because they are not about people. They’re about titles.”

Transformative relationships, however, may require adults to learn how to be more vulnerable with each other and in turn cultivate a safe environment for students . Transformative relationships, he said, are built on pieces of our humanity. “And when we let our humanity spill out on each other, we create a bond that matters.”

At Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District, administrators are using HCE to take steps in addressing chronic absenteeism with their students.

Assistant superintendent McCabe said reaching out to students to learn more about why they aren’t able to show up to school revealed that many chronically absent students live in low income parts of the district and are more likely to experience persistent stress. “We think that part of [the solution] is really developing strategies to build authentic connection with our students and their parents and through those authentic connections help to reengage kids,” said McCabe. One strategy the district has used to create more transformative relationships is doing a check-in at the beginning of conversations with students. “The questions might be something like, ‘Share with the group the best thing that has happened this week’ or ‘What are you most proud of,’” said McCabe. “We are a few months into really using this technique and staff members have shared that they feel like their conversations, even those that might be challenging conversations, are more meaningful and more productive.”

In McCabe’s district, they aren’t just strengthening relationships in the classroom. They’re building rapport among staff too. McCabe said her colleagues start every meeting by grounding the team with a breathing exercise. “It would take maybe three minutes of a one-hour meeting, but every time I’m like ‘Okay, I’m here.'”

Meaning

Being caught up in the daily grind can make people who work with kids lose sight of why they engage in this work in the first place, which is to build community, facilitate healing and wellbeing, and support young people in the restoration of their humanity. “We have to remind ourselves of the purpose that we're engaged in when we are working with young people. We also have to remind young people of the broader, bigger, deeper purpose of their engagement.” Ginwright said, upholding the meaning in healing-centered engagement simply means that there is ongoing focus on the things that matter.

Aspirations

COVID has made being a teacher and being a student incredibly difficult. However, it’s just as important to continue to envision a possible future, said Ginwright.

Lesley University New Teacher Community

Monday, May 16, 2022