Back to School: How Teachers Can Support the Social-Emotional Needs of Elementary Students As a new school year begins, elementary educators across the country are preparing classrooms with fresh bulletin boards, sharpened pencils, and carefully planned lessons. But while academic readiness is a key focus, another crucial element deserves equal attention: the social-emotional well-being of students. For young children, the transition from summer
Why 'Whole Child Teaching' Isn't Actually Obvious So, isn't it obvious that teachers teach the whole child... not half, not one third, not one quarter. Isn't this a redundant, over-used term!?!? If only it were that simple. While the concept of teaching the "whole child" might seem like educational common sense,
Trauma Sensitive Children Did you know that at least half of all children, ages birth to eight years, in the United States have been exposed to one type of trauma? (Bartlett &Steber, 2019) Did you know that young children exposed to five or more significant adverse experiences in the first three years
To Walk or Not To Walk first written June 2, 2024 Yesterday I had the opportunity to formalize my doctoral degree by participating in the hooding ceremony. I am glad I did. I wasn’t going to. You see, I defended my dissertation almost one year ago, and I felt kinda silly walking after so much
I Teach because... I spent four 8-hour days unpacking standards for a school district. Throughout the arduous process, I reflected on teaching some thirty years ago before ‘no child left behind’ and ‘teach the standards’ became a thing. We had learning objectives, pacing guides, and criteria that had to be met for student
It's My Mission My mission is to empower children. Through my words and actions, children will know they are unique and worthy individuals deserving of love, respect, and dignity. They will know they matter. Every child is teachable. Every child can learn. In my class, each child will feel safe and know they
