Essential Teaching and Learning

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 ...

Photo credit: Taipei 101 Wind Damper (c) 2019 Scott Freiberger By Scott B. Freiberger  We’ve seen the nascent news.   We’ve contemplated myriad upcoming conundrums and perceive what’s coming down the unpliable pike.   Get your game plan gloves on.   Decisions of gravity require heavy lifting.   In these turbulent times, this instructional coach and aspiring school leader delved into data-driven dialogue with several top school leaders , recognizing research-based, nouveau realities. Which prudent path should school leaders pursue to reimagine learning?   Here are five considerations for professional learning in the new normal. 1. Soft-Serve a Superabundance of SEL This is a tumultuous time for everyone: administrators, educators, and chiefly, children, and I had penned about the importance of infusing social-emotional learning (SEL) into curricula both here and there .   Now nearly  everywhere , children need to feel connected with authent...