Category: Mental Health
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A Multi-pronged Approach to SEL
Starting a new school year always prompts me to reflect on previous years. What can I do better? What do I need to implement? What do I want to continue? What’s different this year that needs to be addressed in a distinct way? One thing that I keep coming back to as a paramount need…
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Bringing a Fruit Roll-Up to a Knife Fight
I was not expecting to talk about fruit roll-ups and knife fights, but who knew how impactful and informative that would be? I had the pleasure of attending a Symposium on Teacher Wellness hosted by the Ontario Teachers Federation a little while ago and am still reflecting back on the learning that took place. I…
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Z is for Zen, Zoos and Zoodles
I’ve often heard the old saying lately ‘when life gives you lemons make lemonade’. I’m sure we can all agree we’ve had a fair bit more than lemons thrown at us this year, it’s been more like Jurassic Park run amuck, an outright zoo! What do you do with that? Make zoodles? I’ve long been…
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The Stress Kettle
Stress is kind of like a tea kettle.The water is our resources. The heat is stress. There are many days where the heat never even gets turned on and our well of resources remains stable. Some days the heat is on low and only for a short time – pretty easy to handle.Other days the…
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Learning About Ourselves and the World
The participants of the global collaborative project, Single Voices, Global Choices, have been immersed in a multitude of learning experiences focused on the many international days of recognition. October and November have offered rich experiences to learn about ourselves and others ranging from investigating our own mental health and wellness to understanding the issues faced…
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Learner Variability
What is the one constant in education today? Well, it varies. Something I’ve spent a lot of time on lately is learner variability. This focus grew out of my interest in supporting social emotional learning. In learning about supporting student’s emotional health and incorporating practices and strategies to encourage social-emotional growth I began looking carefully…
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Sharing Plenty
The Single Voices, Global Choices project officially launched at the beginning of September and teachers around the globe have been working with their students exploring topics around one or more international event/events created by the United Nations and other organizations. September saw the International Day of Charity, International Literacy Day, World Suicide Prevention Day, the…
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Y is for YOU and other Y’s
YOU John Hattie, in his ground-breaking work Visible Learning, concluded that teachers are among the most powerful influences in learning. He found that a “teacher’s beliefs and commitments are the greatest influence on student achievement” (Hattie 25). Teachers do this by constantly evaluating and assessing, not just students, but their teaching methods and the effectiveness…
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“X” Marks the Spot
I began writing this series a year and a half ago to explore the many considerations we need to contemplate regarding the changes that will occur in the next decade and what our students will need to be successful in that time-frame and beyond. Access, happiness, mental well-being, reflection, patience, social-emotional learning, and mindset are…
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W is for Wonder
won·der/ˈwəndər/ noun 1. a feeling of surprise mingled with admiration, caused by something beautiful, unexpected, unfamiliar, or inexplicable. verb desire or be curious to know something. feel doubt. Wonder is an interesting word full of star-struck awe to curious exploration to inexplicable confusion. More than anything right now, I vacillate amongst all three wonders. Perhaps…
