What do young children need to be successful in school? Most people would say learning the ABCs and counting to 10. However, other important cognitive skills also are important. Inhibition (also sometimes labeled “inhibitory control” or “impulse control”) is a skill that is very important for children’s early success in school.
For some, summer already feels likes it’s over and the school bell is about to ring. For others, the start of school feels like it is barely on the horizon and that many long summer days are in between. Regardless of how you are feeling about the start of school, there are some easy things that you can do to make the transition into school easier for your Kindergartener. The way that children start school can contribute to establishing a positive trajectory in school. It is a good investment of a bit of your time over the summer to help get their school year off to a great start. Here are 7 Things to do this summer to get your child ready for Kindergarten:
Are you a K-12 teacher, administrator, school support staff member or parent that feels concerned, confused or panicked when you hear a student make a threat? The following information will help you understand the 5 W’s related to threat appraisals, the safety process and help you create a plan of action to avoid major catastrophes now and in the future.
Kindergarten screening is a way to gauge your child’s current functioning and growth. It is a brief evaluation or assessment of several developmental domains of functioning in young children that typically takes place prior to the beginning of kindergarten. Although there are myriad benefits to kindergarten screening such as providing accurate estimates of your child’s functioning, informing you and professionals of areas of strengths and challenges, and assisting in planning interventions if necessary, it is not routinely conducted in the United States perhaps because it is not required. As the benefits of kindergarten screening continue to emerge, however, school systems may be more open to begin or enhance their kindergarten screening procedures. As a parent or caretaker, here’s what you should know.
Kevin, a bright, enthusiastic second-grader, has tremendous difficulties in school. He can’t seem to pay attention to his teacher’s instruction, gets distracted easily by activities around him, has trouble staying still in his seat, and often bothers his classmates by talking to them during work time or calling out without permission. As a result, Kevin gets very little work done and is getting increasingly further behind in math and reading. Kevin’s teacher and parents are very frustrated and blame each other for Kevin’s difficulties. Unfortunately, Kevin’s situation is very typical for children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD); a condition that affects between 5 to 10% of students in the US.
We have all heard stories about teachers who have been assaulted and continue to work in fear that they may be victimized by one of their students. In fact 80% of teachers in a nation-wide survey reported being victimized at least once within the current or past school year.
There are different reactions to this occurrence, ranging from
But what if you are a teacher in that school because you care? You know that these students need help and you are trying to do your part. What if you have managed classrooms full of students for years, but this time is something different? Then what?
It is true that there is a growing understanding of how trauma and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) not only affect the brain and learning, but can lead to numerous behavior challenges, including aggression and impulse control. It is also a fact that for many years, male students of color, students with disabilities, and LGBTQ students have been disproportionately disciplined more frequently and more harshly than their peers, prompting the U.S. Departments of Justice and Education to release guidance on promoting supportive and preventative approaches to school discipline. Trauma-informed and restorative practices in education and justice are becoming more widely used and have been acknowledged for their role in stemming what is referred to as the school-to-prison pipeline and building a more resilient and compassionate community. These are all important and necessary education and juvenile justice reforms and programs that should be implemented and replicated across the country. But what if you are a teacher right now, going to work today, knowing that you might face another physical or verbal threat from one of your students?
The American Psychological Association (APA) has been examining the issue of violence against teachers and has developed numerous resources to highlight and bring awareness to the issue, as well as to promote long-term solutions to the problem facing teachers today.
NEA Healthy Futures has been working to educate our members about the myriad challenges facing students today, dealing with unprecedented levels of poverty and toxic and environmental stress. Member survey data confirm that most educators do not always identify or fully understand the different learning disabilities and behavioral disorders that can lead to disruptive behaviors. We also know that each of us comes to a situation with our own internal biases that can affect our response to different behaviors. Teachers and school-employed personnel need to understand how to identify behavior issues, but also how to respond to and de-escalate aggressive behaviors. Suspension, expulsion, and involvement in the criminal justice system are not effective discipline tools and do not solve the problem. NEA is working to train our members in greater awareness of mental health issues and have developed a training on Addressing Behavior Challenges (ABC) throughout the school environment.
The shortage of quality teachers in high needs school districts and with high need populations has long been a serious challenge. Keeping quality teachers once you succeed in drawing them to the profession is a whole other challenge. We need to continue to do all we can to support and empower teachers with the proper skills and resources to address the needs of their students. This can be in the form of additional training and professional development, but can and should also be in the form of more school-based mental health professionals (school psychologists, school counselors, and school social workers) and other specialized instructional support personnel (SISP) to work with students to address any number of barriers to teaching and learning and to consult with school staff on how to approach and prevent challenging and even violent behavior.
Our teachers and school employed professionals deserve to be treated with respect; they deserve to work in a safe and supportive environment, just as much as our students deserve to be taught in a safe and supportive environment. Take action and speak up for the students and teachers who need more support, training and resources to address complex student issues and prevent violence in our schools and communities.
Attachment parenting took a beating after the May 2012 issue of Time Magazine with its controversial cover picture of Jamie Lynne Grummet nursing her 3-year-old son. If the cover wasn’t inflammatory enough, the title, “Are You Mom Enough?” added further fuel to anti-attachment (aka anti-helicopter) parenting outrage. The implications of this cover story were that there’s something wrong with parents (especially mothers) who coddle their children or at least become too involved in their upbringing.