Essential Teaching and Learning

                                                                                                       (c) 2022 Scott B. Freiberger By Scott B. Freiberger With cerulean, carmine, and chalky holiday lights sparking sensations of splendor rife with family life and frolicking friends, November is a terrific time to reflect and rejoice.   With resolve and ingenuity flowing freely from fresh autumn air, now would be a propitious time to provide students with a voice to articulate appreciation for the scholarship, seasonal sentiments, and magic-like merriment that they experience.   Advancing an attitude of gratitude is also particularly poignant to model for young minds.   ...

By Scott B. Freiberger   (C) 2021 Scott B. Freiberger For many students, these past few years have been far beyond banal (an austere advisory from the U.S. Surgeon General should be a clarion call to inform us all).   Disconnected from daily school life and largely separated by screens, it’s imperative for students, especially in buildings, to build a basic sense of belonging, keep kindness in their consciousness, and encounter intercultural connections.   Tens of terrific tenets, such as establishing self-efficacy, augmenting self-awareness, setting great goals, co-acting, co-functioning, cooperating, and collaborating, need to be mindfully modeled and explicitly instructed. Research [also] affirms that access to interconnected resources will further improve school climate…[and] student equity .   Here are five concepts to cultivate a compassionate school culture via a largely mental health lens.   1. Highlight Health, Safety, and Clear Communication in ...