Blog

By Jennifer Rubin, The Washington Post, November 14, 2021 According to GOP politicians and right-wing media, a battle is raging between American parents and schools trying to impose mask requirements and other protections against covid-19. And mainstream cable news outlets suggest that shouting matches are breaking out all over the country and that school closures contributed to Democrats’ travails in this month’s elections in New Jersey and Virginia . In the real world, however, there may...

By Reema Amin, Chalkbeat New York, November 11, 2021 Brooklyn elementary school teacher Andrea Castellano was initially happy about New York City’s plan to screen students for their social-emotional health. She thought it was important to understand how children were faring, as they returned to classrooms full-time after two school years in a pandemic marked with illness, death and isolation. But Castellano quickly changed her mind when she saw examples of the 43 questions that teachers...

Please join us for our new series Education Upended: Talking Out of Turn . This monthly series will feature a conversation facilitated by Lara Kain, PACEsConnection Education Consultant , with special guests on education related current events and hot topics. We will use a trauma-informed and PACEs science aware lens to examine what is going on K-12 education, what needs changing, and strategies being used in the field to disrupt harmful policies and make positive changes in the system.

Collective efficacy occurs when teachers in a school believe that, as a team, they have the power to help their students learn more effectively—and this belief is based on their own shared experiences of success. A culture of collective efficacy does not simply happen; it is built intentionally. I have learned this in my work at Lead by Learning , a nonprofit connected with the Mills College School of Education that partners with schools and districts to foster collective efficacy. At the...

Shelley Paul and Jill Gough had heard that doodling while taking notes could help improve memory and concept retention, but as instructional coaches they were reluctant to bring the idea to teachers without trying it out themselves first. To give it a fair shot, Paul tried sketching all her notes from a two-day conference. By the end, her drawings had improved and she was convinced the approach could work for kids, too. “It causes you to listen at a different level,” said Jill Gough,...

By Lynsdey Bonomolo, October 28, 2021, For Ed Source With students across California returning to classrooms earlier this autumn, it’s become undeniable that the ongoing pandemic is exacerbating systemic issues that long pre-date Covid-19 . As in many similar districts, Black students in Los Angeles County schools face unique and serious equity barriers, and many teachers are not equipped to address the disparity in access to opportunities that are obvious in their own classes. [Please click...

By Judith L. Pace and Wayne Journell, EdSource, November 2, 2021 I n Texas, teachers who once taught controversial issues in history and politics are now afraid to do so . Political attacks on school board members across the country also threaten those in California . State laws banning critical race theory in schools are censoring educators and the curriculum. Does this mean the time has passed when teachers can engage students in open discussion of controversial issues, which we know is a...

Trauma-informed teaching isn’t just about reaching students who have a history of adverse childhood experiences and may have specific learning needs as a result. It’s also about managing the emotional reactions that both students and teachers may have when sensitive topics are introduced into the classroom. AN APPROACH TO TEACHING STUDENTS ABOUT INDIGENOUS PEOPLES When teaching the history of the Americas, excessive empathy for Indigenous peoples often impedes inquiry and learning. This...

Sharpen announces a free emotional wellness toolkit for educators.

By Turnaround For Children, October 28, 2021 After 17 years of teaching, 3rd grade teacher Lindsay Kiernan is getting to know her students like never before. “Having that sense of belonging and attachment are the building blocks to healthy developmental relationships, they’re what every child needs to be successful in the classroom,” she said. “This has become my number one priority.” Ms. Kiernan teaches at P.S. 340 in the Bronx, a school that partnered with Turnaround for Children to pilot...

Established in 2006 by Dr. Debbie Reese of Nambé Pueblo, American Indians in Children's Literature (AICL) provides critical analysis of Indigenous peoples in children's and young adult books. Dr. Jean Mendoza joined AICL as a co-editor in 2016. Please visit the website by clicking here, https://americanindiansinchild.../best-books.html?m=1 American Indians in Children's Literature is used by Native and non-Native parents, librarians, teachers, editors, professors, and students. It is...

Throughout the past year, the United States has undergone a reckoning on the issue of race in America, and racial justice and racial inequity are at the forefront of public discourse. This focus on racial justice and racial inequity has spurred the question: How do we talk to young people, specifically high school students, about race in the classroom? Teaching about race and social justice can create more empathy among students by getting them to think from a perspective different from...