Blog

Mindfulness is a way of paying attention to the present moment without judgment, says Amy L. Eva, an education content specialist for the Greater Good Science Center at the University of California—Berkeley . Over time, individuals develop the ability to detach from whatever they are dealing with so they are not coming down on themselves often, she says. That could be especially important for students who worry about grades. Educators interested in incorporating mindfulness into their high...

Information is everywhere, making it impossible to package. Collaboration and networking underpin life, and constant communication is the norm, even for plants . Each time you check your smart phone you tap into a global brain. And when you finally put down the phone, you shake your head: So much going on . In fact, the tightening weave in the global network means that never has there been an era in human history in which so many people learn together. What will replace the old model? There...

JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI — Juan Cloy remembers being suspended when he was at Provine High School in the 1980s. He and several friends got in a fight with some kids from the neighborhood at school. Everyone involved got suspended. Of course, the idea of suspension is for kids to stay home, but none of the boys did. He and his friends went outside and walked around the corner to find the boys they got into a fight with in a car. “One of the kids pulled a gun out on us,” he said. “… [T]here was no...

[Editor's note: This was post on Saturday, Nov. 28, 2017 in the Hutchinson KS ACEs Connection community site. The board of education meeting was on Nov. 23, 2017.] On Monday night the Hutchinson Public Schools Board of Education approved a resolution in support of the district being trauma informed. The board voted 7-0 to "support the training and implementation activities currently addressing the trauma-informed schools’ philosophy and commend the entire staff as they move toward creating...

The days of students sitting in rigid rows at stationary desks may be a thing of the past as Madison area teachers raise money for treadmills, yoga ball chairs and pedal bike desks for their classrooms. Dane County teachers are using DonorsChoose to fund “flexible seating options” that allow students to remain comfortable and mentally engaged while moving their bodies if they need to. This year, “fidget spinner” was the tenth most searched term on Google, referring to the toys some kids like...

While other students in Auburn Junior High School have been bound to their desks Tuesday afternoons this school year, Kristi Newton's health class has been doing yoga. The yoga provides physical exercise but the purpose of the class goes beyond that. Newton began using yoga as a way to cope with the unexpected death of her brother-in-law, Peter Thomson, around four years ago. She eventually thought that since yoga helped her get through her loss, it might be able to help her students deal...

I used to hate summers and holidays as a kid because it meant too much time at home and too much time, unstructured, with people who weren't safe. For me, that was my biological father, my first step-father and two step-siblings and I didn't hate long breaks and time away from school. I loved September and when Christmas break was over. This isn't a post about what happened to me as a kid. It's a reminder for teachers that home can be hard and what you do, allow, see and witness, even...

In Southern Oregon, Janai Mestrovich, MS, Early Learning & Child Development, labels her curriculum Empowering Superkids. The focus is on pre-K and Kindergarten kids and teaching them to know her/himself and tap inner resources of mind/body/emotions/breathing and have skills to make good choices and feel like a SUPERKID. Teaching self awareness, self respect and communication/collaboration are essential towards resiliency. Janai has developed and taught the Superkid Guidebook over a 40...

M ost states have laws mandating health education in primary and secondary schools, but New York will be the first to emphasize mental health instruction for all grades. The move follows legislation signed into law in 2016 and slated to take effect in July 2018, in time for the new school year. The first signs of mental health problems begin, on average, at about 14 years old, yet the average age that individuals seek help is 24. School-age children are particularly vulnerable, with 8...

L.A. Unified mental health experts say that self-care is the key to not simply surviving but thriving during the holidays and other times of stress. This means slowing down and taking time for yourself. Stretch your muscles before you get up in the morning, stick to your exercise routine and take time to take a deep breath and slow down. Through a grant from the California Endowment , funded by the David Lynch Foundation , students and staff at Gage Middle School are practicing...

On an early fall evening, hundreds of students, ranging from 1st-graders to high school seniors, filed onto the stage of a cavernous auditorium at a San Francisco Bay Area high school. One by one, they marched to the microphone to state their name and their milestone in achieving perfect attendance for at least a year: Some had made the goal for four years, some for seven years. One girl, a recent graduate, received a trophy in absentia, for 12. Twelve years without a single tardy, let alone...

Taking her seat at the end of a long table, the leader of a Southwest Detroit elementary school was clearly rattled by the bad luck of having been called first. “Good morning,” she said, as she glanced down at her notes, then up at the colleagues and bosses who stared back at her from around the hot and crowded room. “Sorry, I’m very nervous,” she said through a shaky voice before launching into a list of facts about her school. [For more on this story by ERIN EINHORN, go to...