Blog

For the Special Issues in Grieving and Loss class that I started last month, I was asked to write an informal paper and explain why I chose to enroll in this class, what outcomes I expected and what my goals were. Three years ago, I enrolled in the M.S. in Guidance and Counseling program at STU after one of my students attempted suicide, and nothing had been done by support staff or administration who had been informed of his intentions, to prevent it. I’ve been wanting to take the training...

Meg's nap meant she missed an in-class essay, but she turned it in that night. "I didn't beat her up about it. Didn't have to," he wrote. "In a different room, Meg may have been written up for sleeping in class and given a zero for missing and essay, but she wasn't in a different room; she was in my room." "I think too often the biggest thing that people forget about high school students is that they are kids," Syrie says. "They're kids — kids who are having to grow up way too fast and are...

Cousins says she is “not a book person.” During her childhood of dealing with family strife, which took her to towns across rural Maine, rarely staying at a school for longer than a year or two, learning was never a priority. “It was never something I looked forward to — all day, every day,” she said. She dropped out shortly after her 16th birthday. But last summer, Cousins’ mother-in-law told her about Threshold, a program developed by a Maine charter school aimed specifically at students...

A proposal to expand California’s ban on “willful defiance and disruption” suspensions in early elementary grades — so it includes all grades K-12 — is expected to be a topic of discussion as state lawmakers and the governor’s office work to hammer out a final budget deal. This issue could be part of the budget talks for two reasons. First, Gov. Jerry Brown surprised youth and civil rights advocates working on the issue by including an extension of the current law , which only covers grades...

When Tramischa Cole , a homeless 24-year-old mother of one, stumbled across a Civicorps flier in 2015, she didn’t expect to be accepted into the Bay Area’s only accredited high school and job training program for 18 to 26 year olds. It’s not that Civicorps had a waiting list: Cole was worried her parenting responsibilities and lack of housing would be an issue. “I told them I’m homeless and I don’t have child care,” Cole said. “I thought everything I was telling them would be something to...

Mrs. Sarah Kanter has been the school counselor at Bells Mill Elementary School in Potomac, Maryland for 11 years and she has made it her mission to cut bullying off at the pass….before it starts. Mrs. Kanter developed her own framework that introduces and reinforces bullying prevention at crucial ages. For second graders at Bells Mill, Mrs. Kanter gives lessons on kindness, empathy and how to make good choices. Kids learn the difference between playful teasing and teasing that turns into...

by Dr. Melissa Sadin and Nathan Levy with Theo Sadin “Teachers’ Guide to Trauma is full of insights and each insight is flawlessly aligned with good teaching practices. There’s a tenderness to the book which makes you keep returning to its pages-not unlike the tenderness a teacher feels each time she helps a student succeed.”- Susan E. Craig, Ph.D. Author of Reaching and Teaching Children Who Hurt , Trauma Sensitive Schools: Learning Communities Transforming Children’s Lives , and...

Research has consistently shown that positive school climate is a strong predictor of school safety. When students have healthy peer relationships , teachers they trust , and school policies that they perceive as fair , they are more likely to feel safe in the school and less likely to misbehave. Building a sense of community among students and adults in schools may reduce the risk of school violence. The presence of school counselors and partnerships with community organizations can help...

A student throws a chair at a teacher. A typical chain of events follows this incident: The student is removed from the classroom—perhaps sent to the principal's office or escorted by safety officers in the school—and then receives a prompt out-of-school suspension. When the student returns to the classroom, it's likely that nothing was done to repair the relationship with the teacher. And thus, the cycle of misbehavior and stricter punishment continues. This type of retributive justice, or...

For many, the memories of being bullied as a child — or bullying — linger through adulthood. But how many people take action? It took nearly 60 years, but Chicago-area resident Bruce Smit decided to seek out the two little girls he tormented as a child at Monee Elementary School. And it turned out that the sisters, Lorraine O'Kelly and Kathleen Rys , still live in the area, and were willing to meet with him . The trio — the bully and the bullied — join Here & Now 's Robin Young to talk...

I watched a few of the intro webinars to this course and it looks like a great training from the Center for Adolescent Studies. https://centerforadolescentstudies.com/bars/ 4-Weeks: May 29th - June 26th, 2018 (and a 2-week grace period to finish all lessons to get your certificate of completion) Online: Completely online; login whenever you want each week to access the course material (mostly video presentations, approx. 2 hours per week) Learn: Critical skills for building relationships...

Depression-Related Feelings Among Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual Youth, 2013-2015 An alarming 61% of youth who identify as gay, lesbian or bisexual have felt depressed in the previous year in contrast to 29% of their peers who identify as straight. These students, who are in grades 7th, 9th, or 11th grade or are in non-traditional programs, felt so sad or hopeless almost every day for two weeks or more that they stopped doing their usual activities. Disparities among youth who experience...