Character Therapy: A Novel Way to Teach Students to Triumph over Trauma (Edutopia featured article)

With teen suicides and school shootings on the rise, educators are searching for interventions for students at risk of taking lives—both their own and others’—as well as for ways to prevent troubled youth from becoming maladjusted adults who also take lives. This cycle of hopelessness and hurt must end, but how do we teach all …

We’re All Developing at Something (Education Week featured article)

Sometimes the most impactful ideas that help reshape and improve your teaching come in small packages. That is how I feel about this little gem of an article written by Peg Grafwallner for Literacy and NCTE, the official blog of the National Council of Teachers of English. Struggling Reluctantly is Peg’s eloquent argument that when …

Communication Skills for Students and Teachers (Edutopia featured article)

The longer I teach, the more I realize my rapport with each student is based on how effectively I speak with them, both publicly and one on one. When I express empathy, my students’ thoughts, feelings, and experiences are validated. Through my words of warmth and acceptance, each child becomes an integral part of our …