The Whole Child School

You've gotten into the groove now and are building and strengthening relationships with kids.  But we all have tweaks we can make and pitfalls to avoid.  One I see at times is the temptation to shame.  So, what might that look like, and what is another option?  Let's talk.

When we first bring these strategies into schools, we will often hear questions such as "But why do we have to do this for all students? Why not just the ones that need it?" That's a great question!  I have some answers that hopefully will be satisfying - Let's talk.

We're into the thick of the semester now, and in spite of doing "all the things" and pulling out all your tricks, some kids still make poor choices.  What do we do then?  Are consequences just out the window with this Whole Child School approach??  Absolutely not.  It's time for Consequences - but what does that mean?  Let's talk.

We've all done it: we get heated, we flip our lid, the filter is gone and next thing we know we're shooting off our mouth - again!  How do we improve our responses?  Actually, how do we stop reacting and start responding?  Let's talk.

How often do you build pure fun into your schedule?  We know from our own adult experiences that we connect better through fun experiences and as a result learn more in those settings, but we seem to forget to provide those opportunities for our students.  How can you get started, though?  Let's talk.

You did everything according to plan! You've taken time to address your own well-being as the school year began (Ep. 1).  Then you began the year with the child in mind (Ep. 2) by communicating explicit expectations, considering how the environment may impact a student's learning, and even remembered continually that you never know where a child is coming from.  And yet... you still have disruptions in class - it isn't going according to plan!  Now what are you supposed to do, after the honeymoon?!  Let's talk.

As we kick off our time with students, what can we do to best support their success?  Academically we give them success criteria and let them know how they can earn the grades they want. But what about the non-academic expectations?  Do we explicitly teach them the expectations?  Do we let them know how they can be successful in the classroom and throughout the school?  Let's talk about what that could look like and how it can support our students' success.