Here in New York City, we’re coming up on the annual Department of Education’s Respect for All Week. From February 10-14, K-12 school activities promote positive school climates, including the National No One Eats Alone Day on Friday, the 14th (which,…
To honor my favorite holiday, Thanksgiving, of course, I wanted to share a few things that make me feel grateful. (There are tons more but my guess is that you may be thankful for short posts!) Talking with Parents During…
In the absence of love and belonging, there is always suffering. – Brene Brown If you’ve ever been excluded, you know what a powerful and negative impact it has on the soul. If you were excluded as a child, you…
Dear Elementary PTA President (a.k.a. Superhero in Mom Jeans – or Dad Sneakers), Schools wouldn’t be a community without you and we need strong communities to help raise resilient, happy kids. Thank you for stepping up. Without your efforts to…
Remember Harold Kushner’s best-selling book, When Bad Things Happen to Good People? Sometimes those “people” are our children. It would be wonderful if we lived in a state of nirvana but, unfortunately, we have to function in the real world…
I feel so much pain for what he must have been feeling and had no one to help him through. I’d have fought the world to the death had I known…why didn’t he come to me? Why couldn’t I see…
If I have one piece of advice for every single elementary school and every single parent, it is to make teaching leadership a priority offline…and ONLINE. Start early. Common sense says that if we wouldn’t let a child cross a…
Teen uses tweets to compliment his classmates A simple concept with a powerful result, especially since it’s teenage boys who are sticking up for others online. Courage comes in all ways. Sometimes it takes guts to be nice. It’s the…
If so, you have a fantastic opportunity to pay them back. Facing History and Ourselves, an awesome organization that devotes itself to teaching kids how to be “upstanders,” is offering a $5,000 grant to an educator who has inspired kids…
(Warning. Be prepared for two things. These are the words of a girl who took her own life last week — about a month after she posted this. She was also a “cutter” and there is a photo of her…