With a global pandemic at our door— and so much fear and chaos in our society, it can be difficult to know how to function on a day-to-day basis. And, we are keenly aware of how this pandemic is compounding the impact on those in our society who are already suffering greatly from racism, classism, […]
These are challenging times in our country—a time when there is much division, polarization, and heartache in our communities. Wherever we are at this time, as educators we can continue to remember what our commitment is to young people—and how we can make a difference by creating environments where all students are served and where […]
The end of 2019 is upon us! Along with the celebratory activities of this time of year come increased stressors and pressure—from finals and end of semester projects to social events and family gatherings. And, this year, all of this pre-holiday activity is taking place in the midst of intense national and international politics and […]
It is that time of year again—graduations, end of year activities, spring fever, and the transition to summer. There is so much “happening” in the outer world for our students and schools, that it is hard to remember that a lot is also happening in the inner worlds of our students. What we know is […]
In the field of biomimicry, we borrow and learn from principles in nature to create systems and structures that are healthy, balanced, resilient, and sustainable. In this way, we could see a school community as a living system, rather than a machine made up of parts. Perhaps this organism is like an aspen forest, with […]
So often in our school communities, we think of making change by engaging a particular “approach” or program. And, in the field of “school reform”—we have often insisted on one approach or lens as being primary or most essential. This debate has often happened with SEL and Equity work—where, rather than seeing these frameworks as […]
Happy New Year! We hope this next calendar year brings much joy and fruition to you all. We will continue our series on the four strands of our approach: SEL, Cultural Responsiveness, Mindfulness and Whole Systems Thinking in February. This month, we are republishing our “Welcoming the Unwelcome” article from December– in hopes it can […]
Holiday stress. Climate change. Local and national political issues. At times we may survey the state of our schools and the world and wonder — how are we supposed to teach in the midst of all of this? Life is messy. The world is messy. And at times in our schools (especially during the holidays), […]
What a time on our planet and in our nation—climate crisis, supreme court justice hearings, #me too dialogues, and the mid-term election around the corner. With so much stress, tension, and challenge on a collective level—it is even more essential to take care with ourselves and to intentionally support and engage our students. To support […]
This blog on Emotional Capacity is the 6th of a six-part series on the Five Dimensions of Engaged Teaching. The season turns— and we settle back into school and a new cycle. Students and teachers alike arrive with stories and experiences from the summer. With all that is present politically, globally, and culturally— we are […]
