Sticky post

Teaching Empathy: From Me to We

My recommendation to elementary school teachers interested in enhancing their students’ empathic capacities is to begin with a deep and meaningful study of “self.” Explicitly teach your students how to identify and name their own emotions and associated sensations. Support your students as they begin to consider the cognitive, affective, and perceptual perspectives of their peers within your classroom. With time, widen the lens to consider multiple points of view across local, regional, and global scales. Finally, expand to include a multispecies perspective. Continue reading Teaching Empathy: From Me to We

Didn’t address Black History Month? It’s not too late to have an impact!

As we come to the end of Black History Month, I take off my teacher hat and put on my dad hat. I have three kids who are truly empathetic to the world (though strangely, not to each other). They want to fight injustice anywhere they see it—in bullying, inequalities, or in the environment. My wife and I have tried to help them see that … Continue reading Didn’t address Black History Month? It’s not too late to have an impact!

3 Ways My Students Are Going to Save the World in 2018—and Yours Can Too!

It’s beyond sad that as a nation and around the world, we don’t look forward to the next year, we fear what comes next. Fixed pic.twitter.com/uUTmyNYBEa — lil zyrtec (@dorseyshaw) December 6, 2017 When I was a kid, I remember looking forward to the new year. We saw it as a new beginning—a chance to right wrongs and improve ourselves. But in today’s climate, too … Continue reading 3 Ways My Students Are Going to Save the World in 2018—and Yours Can Too!

How to Refresh & Incorporate Pluralism/Social Justice in 5 Easy Steps

It’s December and already the chill in the air makes us yearn for books, fires, and cozy spaces to sleep!* The alarm of a teacher who is feeling this tired when it is only December is real. The exhaustion of our profession, as well as keeping up with our own lives, and the news, has taken a toll on many of us. Nevertheless, we know … Continue reading How to Refresh & Incorporate Pluralism/Social Justice in 5 Easy Steps