Youth Advocacy
The goal of education is wonder, the importance of supporting unpaid caregivers, and the critical role of reading to our children are all a part of this week’s review.
Youth Advocacy
Year 3, Week 28 (166 total reports)
11.05.2023-11.07.2023
REVIEW and ANNOUNCEMENTS
The goal of education is wonder, the importance of supporting unpaid caregivers, and the critical role of reading to our children are all a part of this week’s review.
This Week’s Top Links
11.07.2023
How Trauma Can Affect Your Window of Tolerance
https://www.verywellmind.com/window-of-tolerance-7553021
Trauma is something I have read about and studied for years, even decades now, in my work with adults and children. Still, there is always something new and interesting when I dig in deeper. I appreciated this article for it’s special emphasis on the hyperarousal and hypoarousal windows of tolerance linked to trauma. If you know of someone who has unresolved childhood adversity resulting in a reduced window of tolerance, this is a good article to review.
10.07.2023
Emotionally Intelligent People Use a Brilliant 4-Word Phrase to Be Present, Remember More, and Learn From Every Moment
https://apple.news/Ab0jiHhKLRVS-46PR7XNNJQ
I usually gloss over articles that have titles like, “Brilliant 4-Word Phrase,” but I read through this article and did, indeed, find the phrase brilliant. It would make for a good mantra, if you don’t already have one and is linked to the Japanese mindfulness concept of Ichigo Ichie.
09.07.2023
One in five US employees serves as an unpaid caregiver
https://apple.news/AXBNts9kGTkC6qeGl1Ltc0w
This is yet another signal of the importance of considering a Basic Living Wage. In areas where this program has been applied it has been shown to improve wellness in the population and enhance the economy. Conservatives would like us to believe that a program like this would feed a laziness among people and reward them for not working. But the truth is it just makes sense and even more sense given the immigration policies pushed by the right. The only ones who do NOT want a program like this are the richest of the rich who fear having to pay their fair share of taxes and even lose their privileged status as non-payers. Their fear is also based on losing a population-base that wouldn’t be slave-laborers working for non-living wages for their corporations. Research does not support the conservative bias against these programs and whoever thinks that unpaid caregivers don’t work hard has never had to do the actual work.
08.07.2023
Poverty is linked to poorer brain development – but reading can help counteract it
No doubt the strongest tool in our toolbox for preparing young people for a healthy adulthood is assisting caregivers to lavish children with reading time. Rather than banning reading times in libraries we should be increasing funds to make them happen. Who benefits from less reading time for our children?
07.07.2023
How to Be More Alive: Hermann Hesse on Wonder and the Proper Aim of Education
https://www.themarginalian.org/2023/07/06/hermann-hesse-wonder-butterflies/
I’m an avid fan or Hermann Hesse and have devoured his writings since my teenage years. I was homeless from 16 to 25 and lived primarily in bus stations as I traveled across the US. Reading Siddhartha was as inspiring to me as reading JRR Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. I even visited his childhood home in Calw, Germany. Hesse is the grandfather of Servant Leadership and the depths of his writings could be a lifelong endeavor for some.
06.07.2023
Recovery high school provides ‘accountability, safe space’ amid rising drug use
https://apple.news/A25TSyUpGRYWssHt2kiy7JA
Recovery High Schools offer the most comprehensive approach to educating young people today. I spent the thirty years of my career working in and consulting with such schools and some of my best life-experiences occurred within them. I found the teachers and administrators to be extra mindful of the needs of the young people, dedicated to both their education, but also their well-being. With the education system in recovery globally (post-COVID) and often lost for direction, I could heartily recommend the standards of recovery high schools sit at the heart of creating a newly imagined education model.
05.07.2023
Frederick Douglass’ ‘July Fourth’ Speech Continues To Reveal America’s Hypocrisy Following Supreme Court’s Discriminatory Rulings
The utter crassness and blatant racism of this bought-and-paid-for Supreme Court has set the United States back a hundred plus years. It is no longer a judicial branch of the government as designed by the framers of the Constitution. It is a Conservative-Christian, Republican policy-setting tool of the wealthy. Its rulings in women’s rights, higher learning, LGBTQ rights and sheltering hate speech have given both a black eye and a crippled leg to the US globally. Many of the justices should have decals like Formula One Race Cars marking who have bought them and paid for their decisions.
This Week’s Links
11.07.2023
How Trauma Can Affect Your Window of Tolerance
https://www.verywellmind.com/window-of-tolerance-7553021
Four steps to free yourself from resentment
https://apple.news/A9fKlLLUYR7WISdJu-oE12Q
Dopamine, serotonin and more: The chemicals that make us feel happy and how they work
https://apple.news/AMsA-yi_-QlGARerHSNMl6g
Teachers Aren’t the Solution to America’s Literacy Crisis—Parents Are
The Mental Health Benefits of Forgiveness
Children of highly religious mothers are more likely to internalize their problems, study finds
10.07.2023
Emotionally Intelligent People Use a Brilliant 4-Word Phrase to Be Present, Remember More, and Learn From Every Moment
https://apple.news/Ab0jiHhKLRVS-46PR7XNNJQ
How 'Arthur' masterfully taught kids about PTSD and 9/11
https://boingboing.net/2023/07/10/how-arthur-masterfully-taught-kids-about-ptsd-and-9-11.html
Instead of banning AI, schools should use it to enhance learning
09.07.2023
One in five US employees serves as an unpaid caregiver
https://apple.news/AXBNts9kGTkC6qeGl1Ltc0w
Why We Achieve
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/anxiety-in-high-achievers/202307/why-we-achieve
‘Democracy is at risk’: inside the fight for supreme court reform
https://www.theguardian.com/law/2023/jul/09/supreme-court-reform-conservative-justices
‘We should all be viewing this as a five-alarm fire’: Threat of disinformation escalates ahead of 2024
This is the one skill you need to improve right now, no matter what job you’re in
08.07.2023
Poverty is linked to poorer brain development – but reading can help counteract it
The Neuroscience of Nurturing
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-gift-of-adhd/202307/the-neuroscience-of-nurturing
07.07.2023
How to Be More Alive: Hermann Hesse on Wonder and the Proper Aim of Education
https://www.themarginalian.org/2023/07/06/hermann-hesse-wonder-butterflies/
The gravitational pull of supervising kids all the time
https://apple.news/Ai38nEAGmTcepJdnipCsycA
06.07.2023
Recovery high school provides ‘accountability, safe space’ amid rising drug use
https://apple.news/A25TSyUpGRYWssHt2kiy7JA
Teachers, Try This: Use Restorative Justice to Solve Student Conflicts
Why Letting Your Kids Be Bored is Actually a Gift
https://www.sheknows.com/parenting/articles/2799715/boredom-good-for-kids/
Emotionally Intelligent People Use These 4 Words When They Meet People They Don't Remember Meeting (But Who Remember Meeting Them)
05.07.2023
Frederick Douglass’ ‘July Fourth’ Speech Continues To Reveal America’s Hypocrisy Following Supreme Court’s Discriminatory Rulings
Reimagining student engagement as a continuum of learning behaviors
The Art of Wabi-Sabi: How to Embrace Imperfection
https://thetaoist.online/the-art-of-wabi-sabi-how-to-embrace-imperfection-9c3a530ab100
This Year I'm Just Not In the Mood for Life, Liberty, and All That
https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a44430715/independence-day-not-in-the-mood/
Dante’s “Divine Comedy” isn’t only about religion. It’s a political statement.
https://bigthink.com/high-culture/dante-divine-comedy-italy/
Disinformation Researchers Lament 'Chilling' US Legal Campaign
https://www.barrons.com/news/disinformation-researchers-lament-chilling-us-legal-campaign-675c946
Youth Advocacy
Growing from conflict, moving past hubris and arrogance in our politics and media, creating a society of open-mindedness and visceral compassion for our children.
Youth Advocacy
Year 3, Week 10 (164 total reports)
28.06.2023-04.07.2023
REVIEW and ANNOUNCEMENTS
Growing from conflict, moving past hubris and arrogance in our politics and media, creating a society of open-mindedness and visceral compassion for our children.
This Week’s Top Links
04.07.2023
How to see conflict as a benefit
https://corp.smartbrief.com/original/2023/07/how-to-see-conflict-as-a-benefit
Seeing conflict as an opportunity for personal and/or relational growth requires an open mindset and it doesn’t have to be a shared approach. A close-minded person can make conflict very difficult, but not impossible. If even one of the parties sees the disagreement as a way to expand their understanding, they can make a difference in the relational balance. This article does a good job at examining the necessary aspects of making conflict beneficial at home, in the workplace, and personally (after all, we all have inner conflicts we could grow from).
03.07.2023
The Triumph of the Age of the Idiot
https://eand.co/the-triumph-of-the-age-of-the-idiot-85c3ede7fa32
I wouldn’t go so far as to admit the “idiots” have triumphed, but there are certainly a lot of unethical and unjust people in places of power. This isn’t new, Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote his “theory of stupidity” ten years after Hitler came to power. Of course, theories of Narcissists being drawn to positions of power date back much farther than that, Aristotle spoke eloquently about this in his book, Rhetoric, however the Greeks called it, “Hubris.” Dating farther back, Solomon writes in Proverbs, “When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom [Proverbs 11:2].”
02.07.2023
Compassion Is More Than Niceness
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/soul-console/202307/compassion-is-more-than-niceness
The word for Compassion in Greek is almost gross, it means that your stomach turns to water. When compassionate people see injustice it hits them on a visceral level. They “Have to Act.” Compassion without action is simply niceness, it is akin to “feeling sorry” for someone, which is another form of victimization. Almost like being lost in a forest, the “kind person” consistently goes in a circle believing they’re getting somewhere. They might feel exhausted, but it’s really just emotional depletion and nothing useful has been accomplished.
01.07.2023
Here’s What Happened After Affirmative Action Ended In These 4 States
The research doesn’t bear out the decision of the Supreme Court to end Affirmative Action, higher learning still remains largely a whites-only privilege. Wealthy white families send wealthy white children to the most exclusive institutions and they, in turn, become wealthier white families. Conservative politicians (which includes a number of the Republican-Appointed Justices) have a reason to fear higher education. The more education a person has, the more likely they are to vote liberal. Keeping education away from minorities and “WOKE” books away from children is part of a historic strategy for autocrats to retain power.
30.06.2023
Around 30,000 prisoners soon to be eligible for free college with Pell Grant expansion
https://apple.news/ALxz26VrMSJG9ILSr7EtR_Q
When I come across people who don’t think that prisons should be used to enhance the lives of inmates, I like to remind them that the majority of people in prisons will be their neighbors again one day. Prisons are not vacuums, they are institutions of learning, but often the learning is about improving criminal techniques or expanding criminal connections. Introducing education to prisoners addresses both of those issues and has been proven to lower recidivism.
29.06.2023
Study finds link between extracurricular arts activities and improved grades
This is one of many studies that should lead us to move from STEM-Based curricula to STEAM based ones. Personally, I don’t think the arts should be extracurricular. It should be an imbedded part of education, not something offered at a family’s expense or something that a child needs to do at 0700 in the morning before school begins. The benefits are immense and arts and music have been proven to complement and deepen learning.
28.06.2023
Reading for fun linked to cognitive performance and mental wellbeing in children
Children learn to love to read because someone they loved read to them. It is not reading to learn, it is reading to relate, reading to love, reading for the sheer pleasure of reading; no agenda, no point other than to enjoy the moment and feel loved in it. In short, reading for fun. We should do everything we can to open our libraries for sheer fun reading experiences.
This Week’s Links
04.07.2023
How to see conflict as a benefit
https://corp.smartbrief.com/original/2023/07/how-to-see-conflict-as-a-benefit
When Unrealistic Expectations Become Resentments
The Supreme Court Has Proven Itself Illegitimate. It's a Rubber Stamp on Extremism | Opinion
03.07.2023
The Triumph of the Age of the Idiot
https://eand.co/the-triumph-of-the-age-of-the-idiot-85c3ede7fa32
MIST Test Reveals Troubling Reality: Younger Adults More Susceptible to Fake News
Bisexuality has nearly quadrupled in the U.S.
https://bigthink.com/the-present/bisexuality-nearly-quadruples-us/
AOC: Supreme Court Rulings Show 'Creep Towards Authoritarianism'
02.07.2023
Compassion Is More Than Niceness
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/soul-console/202307/compassion-is-more-than-niceness
Highly sensitive person: What it is, traits, signs you are one
https://apple.news/Ak1fHk99dSoqJgeJEBFZvNg
Why is America not the lawless, gun-free, socialist wasteland Republicans warned us about?
‘Who are you trying to help?’: Buttigieg slams DeSantis over LGBTQ-focused ad
https://apple.news/AQsxjuUV4TDK6TcUlbJMGJg
01.07.2023
Here’s What Happened After Affirmative Action Ended In These 4 States
Here's what happened when affirmative action ended at California public colleges
Adorable Story Behind School's 'Bench Of Friends' Will Make Your Eyes Dribble
https://apple.news/AHnLEHRQSQ3akmG8UyxnF5w
8 Signs of Emotional Maturity
https://www.verywellmind.com/signs-of-emotional-maturity-7553316
The Power of Saying No: The New Science of How to Say No that Puts You in Charge of Your Life
One Thing GOP Presidential Candidates Agree On: Marginalized Americans Should Suffer
30.06.2023
Around 30,000 prisoners soon to be eligible for free college with Pell Grant expansion
https://apple.news/ALxz26VrMSJG9ILSr7EtR_Q
How to Give Students More Agency in Class Without Losing Control
Neuroscience Says 3 Simple Approaches Can Help You Live a Happier, More Successful Life
https://apple.news/AyBRXTkiWTJOFtar8jIq7uQ
Measuring Mastery, Not Seat Time: Here's How Schools Can Make It Work
29.06.2023
Study finds link between extracurricular arts activities and improved grades
Childhood Reading Habits Boost Brain and Mental Health in Teens
https://neurosciencenews.com/child-reading-teen-mental-health-23545/
28.06.2023
Reading for fun linked to cognitive performance and mental wellbeing in children
Childhood Poverty's Impact: Reshaping the Brain's Communication Pathways - Neuroscience News
https://neurosciencenews.com/white-matter-child-poverty-23536/
What Parents Need to Know About Teen Suicide
https://www.parents.com/teen-suicide-what-parents-need-to-know-7552788
Teacher turnover and Burnout
9 big ideas to bolster the teaching profession and boost student learning
https://www.chalkbeat.org/2023/6/28/23775695/teacher-turnover-morale-crisis-solutions-pay-support
Youth Advocacy
Diversity and freedom of choice are being branded as Anti-American by Far Right authoritarians creating their own fear-based plots in democracies around the world. At stake; the lives of many young people.
Youth Advocacy
Year 3, Week 09 (163 total reports)
21.06.2023-27.06.2023
REVIEW and ANNOUNCEMENTS
Diversity and freedom of choice are being branded as Anti-American by Far Right authoritarians creating their own fear-based plots in democracies around the world. At stake; the lives of many young people.
This Week’s Top Links
27.06.2023
Attacks on queer & trans rights are a dire sign for democracy
https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2023/06/attacks-on-queer-trans-rights-are-a-dire-sign-for-democracy/
If we looked at the high rates of suicide among LGBTQ+ youth, we might begin to see that the MAGA Right’s focus on destroying WOKE and attacking laws protecting decisions made by trans youth, their parents and medical professionals is akin to child abuse. It is not hyperbole when Montana Representative Zooey Zephyr says her colleagues voting for laws restricting gender-affirming care have blood on their hands. Legally attacking freedom of choice is not the “American Way,” nor is it patriotic. It is authoritarian and a tactic used historically by multiple dictators in creating the fear that brought them to power.
26.06.2023
It doesn’t matter if a girl identified as a cat (she didn’t). The issue is how post-truth politics exploits it
https://apple.news/AtTrz1hy1RgGFpouYC6pvQg
This article nails the real problem in politics and the media today, the exploitation of conspiracy theories, one politician (Robert Kennedy, Jr.) is building his entire platform on promoting conspiracy-based fears. It’s clear that his pseudo-run for president is a right-wing GOP effort to divide the Democratic vote. Like many MAGA Republicans and the GOP, they have no platform beyond the promotion of fear and scarcity. Their intent is not to govern, but to divide and destroy democracy for autocrats.
25.06.2023
Disbelief, anger among relatives of Greek shipwreck victims as millions spent on Titan rescue effort
https://apple.news/AhBhABjxlSmOE52BR_J0z7A
I would be remiss this week, if I didn’t include something about the Greek Shipwreck that claimed over 80 lives and all the the women and children on board. The lack of resources and media attention as the media focused on the tragedy of the Titan Submersible. No doubt both are tragic. But the lack of attention and resources committed to solving the Immigration issue around the globe is a clear sign of injustice.
24.06.2023
How "Cognitive Defusion" Can Help With Anxiety
The concept behind this article became the “discussion of the week” between my wife and I at our little Yucatan home, Casa Contenta. We thought of the power of Cognitive Defusion for the many friends we have suffering from anxiety. Perhaps your family (or staff) can discuss this concept and brainstorm about ways to help people who are anxious implement mechanisms of cognitive defusion.
23.06.2023
'Anti-Dopamine Parenting' Can Reduce Or Redirect Kids' Cravings
https://www.scarymommy.com/parenting/anti-dopamine-parenting
This concept, Anti-Dopamine Parenting,” is currently in the news a great deal as researchers examine the draw of eDevices and Social Media. Adults and children in our society seem to be addicted to racing from one dopamine releasing event to another with no room for breathing in between. Until we discern the impact of dopamine addiction in our own lives and its impact on our behaviors, we certainly cannot co-regulate the rush our children feel when they chase after sugar highs or social media “likes.”
22.06.2023
In Montana, 16 young Americans are fighting for their environmental rights
Montana is one of three states (Montana, New York and Pennsylvania) that have a Constitutional right for Environmental Protection, in fact it states, “Article IX -- ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES. Section 1. Protection and improvement. (1) The state and each person shall maintain and improve a clean and healthful environment in Montana for present and future generations.” The 16 young people in this story, are focused on forcing their State Legislators to attend to this State-Granted Right as Montana plots its future energy plans.
21.06.2023
4 Charts That Explain How People Slide Into Homelessness
https://apple.news/Asqff3JvSRcGnel4nRRuT8Q
The slide into homelessness is a tragedy, but it is not a mystery. This article helps us understand the precursors to homelessness in a majority of situations and how compassionate groups can work to prevent the “slide.”
This Week’s Links
27.06.2023
Attacks on queer & trans rights are a dire sign for democracy
https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2023/06/attacks-on-queer-trans-rights-are-a-dire-sign-for-democracy/
Disbelief, anger among relatives of Greek shipwreck victims as millions spent on Titan rescue effort
https://apple.news/AhBhABjxlSmOE52BR_J0z7A
Small Ways Leaders Can Build Schools Where Everyone Feels Like They Belong
What is racial battle fatigue? A school psychologist explains
An Age-By-Age Guide to Talking to Kids About Race
https://lifehacker.com/an-age-by-age-guide-to-talking-to-kids-about-race-1850460959
Just Action: How to Challenge Segregation Enacted Under the Color of Law
Is Your Child Overstimulated? Here's What to Do.
https://www.parents.com/overstimulation-in-kids-how-to-deal-with-sensory-overload-7550046
26.06.2023
It doesn’t matter if a girl identified as a cat (she didn’t). The issue is how post-truth politics exploits it
https://apple.news/AtTrz1hy1RgGFpouYC6pvQg
This Church Is Going Viral For Their Openness And Their Sign Game Is Epic (96 New Pics) Interview
https://www.boredpanda.com/clever-signs-clackamas-united-church-of-christ/
Why are so many young people cutting off their parents?
https://apple.news/Aj-gAYbdnRwa1HTelwIG25g
‘Phubbing’ is harming our closest relationships – here’s why and how
https://apple.news/AFPF6Qkp7QOadmJNtkGNZPg
25.06.2023
Disbelief, anger among relatives of Greek shipwreck victims as millions spent on Titan rescue effort
https://apple.news/AhBhABjxlSmOE52BR_J0z7A
Barack Obama shares the No. 1 tactic he uses to maintain a positive mindset
https://apple.news/A6LCvl9GgTg-LlTGa2ufldQ
Conservative evangelicals boo Chris Christie after he delivers a speech on character that was rooted in biblical and Christian teaching
He walked away from his evangelical roots to escape feeling suffocated
https://apple.news/A5TXv224iRzCWkjfA7kIEVA
Putin Is Caught in His Own Trap
https://apple.news/A0awUHIkTSaGpcoeWy_jyYQ
24.06.2023
How "Cognitive Defusion" Can Help With Anxiety
What Teaching Is All About
https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/what-teaching-is-all-about/
23.06.2023
'Anti-Dopamine Parenting' Can Reduce Or Redirect Kids' Cravings
https://www.scarymommy.com/parenting/anti-dopamine-parenting
One year after Roe v. Wade’s reversal, warnings about abortion become reality
https://apple.news/AwHS6BmTSSWegtnrKNvwfLw
How to Use Music as a Powerful Tool to Help You Focus, According to a Harvard Neuroscientist
On Mindfulness: Finding Peace Within
https://thetaoist.online/on-mindfulness-finding-peace-within-7f0e15b8b3e9
22.06.2023
In Montana, 16 young Americans are fighting for their environmental rights
The 1 Thing Therapists Say Harms Your Happiness The Most
https://apple.news/AvvP02deDTZyrNCcRWlTysQ
Take on the World with These 10 Inspiring Books
https://nextbigideaclub.com/magazine/take-world-10-inspiring-books/43274/
The "alpha male" myth, debunked
https://bigthink.com/series/legends/alpha-male-myth/
Mom goes viral for creating 'How To Be A Person' summer camp—because it's genius
https://www.mother.ly/news/viral-trending/how-to-be-a-person-camp/
21.06.2023
4 Charts That Explain How People Slide Into Homelessness
https://apple.news/Asqff3JvSRcGnel4nRRuT8Q
6 strategies to manage conflict with emotional intelligence
https://bigthink.com/the-learning-curve/6-strategies-manage-conflict-emotional-intelligence/
How the ancient Greeks kept ruthless narcissists from capturing their democracy – and what modern politics could learn from them
Ron DeSantis wants to reshape Florida’s universities. It could lead to a massive ‘brain drain’
Youth Advocacy
The power of myth to control the culture. The power of awe to change the world. How do we replace the dominant myth of the 0.01% who want to further their own insatiable greed?
Youth Advocacy
Year 3, Week 08 (162 total reports)
07.06.2023-13.06.2023
REVIEW and ANNOUNCEMENTS
The power of myth to control the culture. The power of awe to change the world. How do we replace the dominant myth of the 0.01% who want to further their own insatiable greed?
This Week’s Top Links
20.06.2023
Our Tribal Future: How to Channel Our Foundational Human Instincts into a Force for Good
This review reminds me of a favorite book of mine, “Sapiens; A Brief History of Humankind,” by Yuval Noah Harari. I have that book in both hardcover and audio form and will probably do the same with this book. It’s relevance lies in the examination of myth and myth-keeping, ritual, camps and tribes. It is especially pertinent at a time when the richest 0.01% are trying to buy a myth that supports poverty as a necessary economic policy. It is essential that we decode these myths for what they are; the root of the big businesses of war, healthcare, racism and poverty. The only thing that will change an embedded myth is an alternative one. The human race goes from myth to myth and the ones with the strongest myths control the conversation. Ask what the dominant myths are today and what would you like to see them be.
19.06.2023
Awe can alter our sense of self and open us to new possibilities – could it help save the planet?
I’ve firmly believed and taught that “Awe” is truly what our education system should be focused on growing. Not success, not intelligence; but the heart-felt inspiration of how amazing life can be. A healthy child brings “Awe” to his/her first day of school. And—all too often—we spend years trying to quell it. Awe is, well… messy. It’s unpredictable, it has its own schedule and is difficult to assess. It is also difficult for a person, steeped in today’s education system, to teach awe. This article, written by Nanda Jarosz, the Executive Director of the University of Sydney, is an inspirational look at the power of the emotion of awe to change the world, literally, the world and our climate. Imagine schools filled with AWE: Awesome Wonder-Building Experiences. It makes me ask myself, “What can I do today to increase awe in the world around me?”
18.06.2023
GOP Is Trying to Slash Food Aid to Kids Who Are Already Struggling to Access It
This article is a perfect example of the 0.01% buying a legal and political system to further the myth where poverty is acceptable, even preferred, as an essential tool of the economy.
17.06.2023
9-year-old girl accused of being 'trans' at track event hopes to inspire change
https://apple.news/AKrGsKWGmRJGZFMdWNu4Gfg
(Disclaimer: I changed the sequence of these two articles to make more sense). This girl was at an athletic event in BC when an adult approached her and questioned her gender. The adult (a grandparent of another child at the event) didn’t think she looked “feminine enough” and questioned whether she should be competing as a girl. There are a variety of stories on social media about what happened after. But the essential issue becomes apparent in the next article below. The gender police are coming.
16.06/2023
Whether you’re trans or not, the gender police are coming for you too
https://apple.news/AGMfdnEe5SeShWcJ0dFuFoA
This article asks the question, “What if this behavior goes unchecked?” Will females have to start carrying cards to prove their identity? Some GOP governors have already floated the idea in their States (testing grounds for Federal programs) demanding that women athletes submit menstruation records to schools, government and insurance companies. As one writer has penned, “What is the word for a person who is only known by their reproductive abilities? Livestock.”
15.06.2023
Empty seats at high-school graduations reveal toll of gun violence: “We’re losing our kids”
https://apple.news/Ap8bkI4GWRbi3VDI5EexN7Q
This was the most poignant article of the week to me. Some parents of children killed in shootings across the United States are standing in for them at graduations. Ten years after the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, it is a national disgrace that no significant change in gun laws have occurred and that, rather than decreasing, deaths from guns have become the No. 1 killer of children in that country. Who continues to profit from the myth around guns and what politicians have those myth-makers bought? We need to follow the money, find the myth-makers and take away their political power. At the top of the NRA’s contributions is Senator Ted Cruz who always comes up with deceptive ways to hide the causes of gun violence.
14.06.2023
The Right Response to Threats of Political Violence
https://apple.news/A2sgisiTgR4KfGWB92ePGVw
Threats of violence swirl around the indictment of Donald Trump and there are vociferous calls for violence from political hacks like Kari Lake, Andy Biggs and Clay Higgins as well as the former toddler-in-chief himself. So far, the calls have largely been unanswered and/or defused, perhaps because those who responded to the previous calls to violence on January 6th have watched their co-conspirators go to jail while their no-show leaders were safely observing from a distance. Maybe they have realized that these pseudo-leaders charge from the back of the crowd, unlike Civil Rights leaders who led from the front of their people and often took the first blows for justice. Cadaverous leaders, like Josh Hawley, who can’t seem to stop disgracing himself (see his tweets on Juneteenth), were filmed calling for violence than literally running in the opposite direction when his minions responded.
This Week’s Links
20.06.2023
Our Tribal Future: How to Channel Our Foundational Human Instincts into a Force for Good
Supercharge Your Emotional Intelligence by Understanding the 12 Skills That Make Up EQ
Josh Hawley Gets Holy Hell After Juneteenth Claim About Christianity And Slavery
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/josh-hawley-christians-slavery_n_6490fd94e4b048eb91179b17
19.06.2023
Awe can alter our sense of self and open us to new possibilities – could it help save the planet?
Morality Is for Trump What Colors Are to the Color-Blind
https://apple.news/Ar_uX4zHnRIuyS5rg27Ye0A
18.06.2023
GOP Is Trying to Slash Food Aid to Kids Who Are Already Struggling to Access It
The Path to Happiness Is Narrow But Easy
https://apple.news/AStHvil-rSemc1aA5uwItYQ
17.06/2023
Whether you’re trans or not, the gender police are coming for you too
https://apple.news/AGMfdnEe5SeShWcJ0dFuFoA
How LGBTQ+ people can protect their mental health during a traumatizing Pride season
Why the search for meaning is not a job for science — or religion
https://bigthink.com/the-well/search-meaning-not-science-religion/
How LGBTQ+ people can protect their mental health during a traumatizing Pride season
16.06.2023
Empty seats at high-school graduations reveal toll of gun violence: “We’re losing our kids”
https://apple.news/Ap8bkI4GWRbi3VDI5EexN7Q
Is the Bible the Most Dangerous Book Ever Written?
Get Inspired with These Quotes and Turn Your Day Around Now
https://thetaoist.online/get-inspired-with-these-quotes-and-turn-your-day-around-now-6017c92de2c2
15.06.2023
9-year-old girl accused of being 'trans' at track event hopes to inspire change
https://apple.news/AKrGsKWGmRJGZFMdWNu4Gfg
Empty seats at high-school graduations reveal toll of gun violence: “We’re losing our kids”
https://apple.news/Ap8bkI4GWRbi3VDI5EexN7Q
Is the Bible the Most Dangerous Book Ever Written?
Get Inspired with These Quotes and Turn Your Day Around Now
https://thetaoist.online/get-inspired-with-these-quotes-and-turn-your-day-around-now-6017c92de2c2
8 Things Parents Of Kids With Learning Disabilities Need To Understand
Forget the influencers. Here come the 'deinfluencers'
https://apple.news/AazbrT-suSci_pYTUv00FQg
How to Help Guide Your Teen Through the Overwhelm of High School
https://lifehacker.com/how-to-help-guide-your-teen-through-the-overwhelm-of-hi-1850540899
Learning Bias, Not Distrust: The Unseen Hurdle in Embracing AI Algorithms - Neuroscience News
‘Hoard evidence of your greatness’: 10 ways to be much more confident at work
https://apple.news/AQtE_ZyniQgOOPpYWJzw0zA
14.06.2023
The Right Response to Threats of Political Violence
https://apple.news/A2sgisiTgR4KfGWB92ePGVw
The ‘Single Greatest Hindrance’ to Learning
https://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/archive/2023/06/smartphones-high-school-children/674389/
Leadership lessons from Ted Lasso
https://corp.smartbrief.com/original/2023/06/leadership-lessons-from-ted-lasso
40 Positive Affirmations To Share With Your Kids To Build Their Confidence
https://www.romper.com/parenting/affirmations-for-kids
The Anti-Woke Crowd Is Teaching American Kids to Be Saps and Suckers
https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a44185771/american-history-high-school-protests/
How to Proactively Defuse Tension on Your Team
https://hbr.org/2023/06/how-to-proactively-defuse-tension-on-your-team
Use 'Social Stories' to Help Kids Navigate Big Transitions
https://lifehacker.com/use-social-stories-to-help-kids-navigate-big-transition-1850531574
How Can A Simple, 2-Step Mindful Gratitude Practice Change My Life?
Youth Advocacy
Topics this week: People turn to fear to govern when they actually have no substantive platform to offer voters. A Finnish Philosopher and Psychologist offers insights into the meaning of life.
Youth Advocacy
Year 3, Week 07 (161 total reports)
07.06.2023-13.06.2023
REVIEW and ANNOUNCEMENTS
Topics this week: People turn to fear to govern when they actually have no substantive platform to offer voters. A Finnish Philosopher and Psychologist offers insights into the meaning of life.
This Week’s Top Links
13.06.2023
I Finally Asked My Second-Grader What Happens in Her Lockdown Drills. It Broke My Heart.
https://slate.com/human-interest/2023/06/lockdown-mental-health-students-parenting.html
A father is reading his 7-8 year old a bedtime story and the story leads to a discussion about active shooter drills in schools. It is heartbreaking to think that the No. 1 cause of death of children in the US are guns and that this is a problem that can be addressed. Instead, a minuscule fraction in congress ignores the pleads of its own voters and continues to distract citizens from the real issue. guns, Guns, GUNS! The real question we should be asking (of ourselves and our “representatives”) is, “Who profits from keeping gun laws the way they are?”
12.06.2023
Hateopia: The Great Migration of Racists to the South
https://williamspivey.medium.com/hateopia-the-great-migration-of-racists-to-the-south-840ebe3b6ec6
At the root of hate is fear. It is important to isolate the voices that are promoting fear in our country and using it to stoke authoritarian responses to division and hate. When I was sitting in the Anne Frank house in Amsterdam and listening to the voice of Hitler, it reawakened in me the realization of how far back hate-based people have used fear to isolate populations. It is unremarkable that their list of primary enemies are always so familiar; immigration, racism, anti-LGBTQ. People turn to fear to govern when they actually have no substantial platform to offer voters. Don’t let their malicious diatribe lead you into believing they know how to govern or even have a majority. If those authoritarian representatives had a majority, they wouldn’t be so adamant about re-writing voter laws.
11.06.2023
I’m a psychologist in Finland, the No. 1 happiest country in the world—here's the real meaning of life
https://apple.news/ABBfoK5-zR7GCRn4lecbzUQ
This article is filled with gems that you could meditate on for weeks (perhaps for a lifetime). I love the author’s (Frank Martela) quote of the Finnish statement, “Speech is Silver, but Silence is Golden.” Take the time to reflect on this writers’ insights, you’ll certainly be glad you did.
10.06.2023
What does it mean to really ‘belong’?
https://www.fastcompany.com/90905920/what-does-it-mean-to-really-belong
DEI & B (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging). Research is reminding us the premiere importance of belonging in learning organizations. If you want to build open-minded entities where continuous learning is a primary quality, belonging at all levels is the factor you want to emphasize.
09.06.2023
A Racist Society Is Detrimental to Your Health
https://apple.news/Aier3H2mmT9OBpDPbUqrlQQ
From depression to cancer, the impact of racism is a weight around the neck of any society (or entity) that doesn’t honestly address it. It is important to look at the economics of racism from a standpoint of how it impedes all members but also from a perspective of who it benefits economically. Who benefits the most from having a permanent underclass and pitting groups of the population against each other? To research this question, begin by examining who received the biggest tax cuts under the Trump administration.
08.06.2023
Republican attacks on trans people smack of fascism
https://apple.news/AC5Y4Ds5VSJykLlhSY4E_4w
Republican attacks on trans people are not novel, nor are they unprecedented. They have been a common theme in the playbook of authoritarian regimes for ages. Currently, the vitriol is becoming so heated that it is life threatening and many people are leaving states such as Florida to insure the safety of their trans children. But it’s not just southern States, states such as Indiana and now Idaho have politicized hatred towards young people exploring their gender identity as well. Will the US continue to listen to the siren calls of hatred and violence towards large swaths of people who are diverse?
07.06.2023
Amanda Gorman’s Book Sales Skyrocket Following a Ban on Her Poem in a Florida School
https://mymodernmet.com/amanda-gorman-banned-books/
https://www.geeky-gadgets.com/best-chatgpt-prompts/
In an article last week, the Florida woman who pushed for the ban on Amanda Gorman’s poetry admitted she didn’t even like reading. Today—truly a historic day in US history—as Trump faces a Federal indictment in South Florida, it is important to ask how many of those protesting against his arrest have even read the 37 Federal Crimes Trump is accused of in the indictment against him. It is no mystery that ignorance (and hatred) are the children of illiteracy and why the ultra-conservative GOP wants to regulate what young people in our schools and universities are allowed to read. An informed public is harder to deceive.
This Week’s Links
13.06.2023
I Finally Asked My Second-Grader What Happens in Her Lockdown Drills. It Broke My Heart.
https://slate.com/human-interest/2023/06/lockdown-mental-health-students-parenting.html
No One Knows Exactly What Social Media Is Doing to Teens
https://apple.news/AxaJ7e1DxRnCtqG_x0UtJkg
Parents take advantage of summer to teach kids 'how to be a person' skills
12.06.2023
Hateopia: The Great Migration of Racists to the South
https://williamspivey.medium.com/hateopia-the-great-migration-of-racists-to-the-south-840ebe3b6ec6
Schools Are Trying to Do Too Much (Opinion)
https://www.edweek.org/leadership/opinion-schools-are-trying-to-do-too-much/2023/06
The Sociology of AI!
https://medium.com/data-and-beyond/the-sociology-of-ai-4d9693a4bc68
All the ways AI is going to change (not steal) your job
https://www.fastcompany.com/90907188/all-the-ways-ai-is-going-to-change-not-steal-your-job
Mapping Emotion Recognition in Children
https://neurosciencenews.com/emotional-recognition-children-23432/
11.06.2023
I’m a psychologist in Finland, the No. 1 happiest country in the world—here's the real meaning of life
https://apple.news/ABBfoK5-zR7GCRn4lecbzUQ
Great Books Can Heal Our Divided Campuses
https://apple.news/A4BeeH-VcRayLH0GNLwsnBQ
Don’t Try to Be Happy; Try to Feel Joy and Gratitude
https://www.algemeiner.com/2023/06/09/dont-try-to-be-happy-try-to-feel-joy-and-gratitude/
Eastern philosophy says there is no “self.” Science agrees
https://bigthink.com/the-well/eastern-philosophy-neuroscience-no-self/
10.06.2023
What does it mean to really ‘belong’?
https://www.fastcompany.com/90905920/what-does-it-mean-to-really-belong
It Takes Courage to Change
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-main-ingredient/202306/it-takes-courage-to-change
Neurotypical vs. Neurodivergent: What’s the Difference?
https://www.purewow.com/family/neurotypical-vs-neurodivergent
A Taste of How It Feels to Be Free: Pioneering Psychoanalyst Karen Horney on Our Inner Conflicts, the Psychology of Hopelessness, and the Path to Wholeness
https://www.themarginalian.org/2023/06/07/karen-horney-our-inner-conflicts/
Age of AI: Everything you need to know about artificial intelligence
09.06.2023
A Racist Society Is Detrimental to Your Health
https://apple.news/Aier3H2mmT9OBpDPbUqrlQQ
National Affairs: Guns at the Pride Parade
https://apple.news/AoAMI5A0pSxu6wgie-aLNeA
More kids and teens are getting anxiety medication without therapy, report finds
https://apple.news/A_J_Z0PMfQUiFeoBCyVP_VA
For kids exploring social media, here are three steps the surgeon general wants parents to take
https://apple.news/Ax2LHmtU_SL-goTJvupcLSg
08.06.2023
Republican attacks on trans people smack of fascism
https://apple.news/AC5Y4Ds5VSJykLlhSY4E_4w
‘It’s been a total witch-hunt. It takes its toll’: the LGBTQ+ families fleeing red states
https://apple.news/AD_5kANEtQPGGc394EIkIlQ
We need to rethink discipline in schools
https://apple.news/A2xeNh8HSQYKI56_ZEMEzUQ
07.06.2023
Amanda Gorman’s Book Sales Skyrocket Following a Ban on Her Poem in a Florida School
https://mymodernmet.com/amanda-gorman-banned-books/
Winning the Long Game in Parenting
Get Phones Out of Schools Now
https://apple.news/AW2b6NKaaSG-KELdQRWk8Nw
Don’t Want Students to Rely on ChatGPT? Have Them Use It
Youth Advocacy
Don’t be fooled. The world is not as hateful as the Evangelical, Ultra-Conservative, Right is trying to make it seem. Sadly, it only takes a small group with a fear-filled message to flood the airwaves today.
Youth Advocacy
Year 3, Week 06 (160 total reports)
17.05.2023-06.06.2023
REVIEW and ANNOUNCEMENTS
Don’t be fooled. The world is not as hateful as the Evangelical, Ultra-Conservative, Right is trying to make it seem. Sadly, it only takes a small group with a fear-filled message to flood the airwaves today.
This Week’s Top Links
06.06.2023
This Gay Teacher Quit After 8.5 Years — And One Thing Pushed Her Over The Edge
https://apple.news/A5M2VgFfOTnWhcTfjj1tCZw
Florida is doing deep and lasting damage to itself in Gov. Ron DeSantis’ maniacal passion to get the State (and now the Country) to hate/fear diverse people.
05.06.2023
America Is Headed Toward Collapse
https://apple.news/Ashvuxi_QSQG1aUiFDdjcoQ
Under the likes of Karl Rove, the GOP learned to exploit a single issue and turn it into a campaign of fear. AI has the potential of exacerbating that technique infinitely and our best defense is being WOKE (mindful and compassionate).
04.06.2023
Here’s How Americans Really Feel About LGBTQ Issues
Radical, ultra-conservative, evangelicals are in the minority, but their message is passionate and consumed with vitriol. Don’t equate being loud with being a majority.
03.06.2023
Bible Banned in Schools as Book Censorship Backfires Big Time
I applaud those who used the same tactics that the hateful, right conspiracy is using to ban a book that is full of sex and violence. I will file this under, “What is sauce for the goose…”
02.06.2023
Opinion | America’s Poverty Is Built by Design
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/05/21/theres-a-path-out-of-poverty-00097399
The question that is important to ask when reading through this article is “who benefits from poverty?” One of the reports below examines the alarming trend of the downward life expectancy of the United States. Who benefits by rationing health care? Who benefits from gun violence and, in this issue, who benefits from poverty? One need not look any further than the Republicans farce of a “budget deal” when holding the world economy hostage to pay for Donald Trump’s debts and tax cuts.
01.06.2023
AI Poses ‘Risk of Extinction’ on Par With Pandemics and Nuclear War, Tech Executives Warn
https://apple.news/AJiMWQglRSp-htMJzbm2vaA
The greatest risk is not the technology itself, but its ubiquitous use in social media and the lack of a mindful response. There is another article below that discusses that children taught to be mindful in early grades are far less likely to fall prey to negative social media. While I was typing this blog, an AI-Generated message came into my mailbox asking me to update personal information for a service I have used before. The cover letter looked so legitimate and I had used the business previously. I took a moment to reflect and realized that this was the perfect setup for some devious group to get me to click on their pseudo-web site and upload much of my important data. The problem with AI-generated messages is that they look so familiar and appeal to our interests. That’s NO accident. Mindfulness helps us teach young people; be vigilant and always verify your sources.
This Week’s Links
06.06.2023
This Gay Teacher Quit After 8.5 Years — And One Thing Pushed Her Over The Edge
https://apple.news/A5M2VgFfOTnWhcTfjj1tCZw
Who receives food benefits? It may not be who you think
https://www.nbcnews.com/data-graphics/data-work-requirements-food-benefits-snap-rcna86440
Why humans are surprisingly bad at being happy
https://bigthink.com/the-well/how-to-be-happy-415573/
How To Be Unshakeable In Every Situation
https://www.worldatlas.com/philosophy/how-to-be-unshakeable-in-every-situation.html
05.06.2023
America Is Headed Toward Collapse
https://apple.news/Ashvuxi_QSQG1aUiFDdjcoQ
“There were fists everywhere”: Violence against teachers is on the rise
https://apple.news/AzBICqSmwQbu6oM7gdkkjkA
Awe-inducing experiences lead to greater prosocial behavior in kids
99 Times Matt Charts Summed Up Certain Situations In Life Better Than Words Ever Could
https://www.boredpanda.com/hilarious-relatable-charts-matt-shirley-2/
04.06.2023
Here’s How Americans Really Feel About LGBTQ Issues
US life expectancy problem is ‘bigger than we ever thought,’ report finds
https://apple.news/A65FvAgISSEKUkkowEqDY-g
03.06.2023
Bible Banned in Schools as Book Censorship Backfires Big Time
Utah primary schools ban Bible for 'vulgarity and violence'
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-65794363
Advice | Gaslighting is emotional abuse. Here’s how to recognize and stop it.
https://apple.news/AhnyUDfTuSRORPRTPGf9c-w
7 Brilliant Questions Emotionally Intelligent People Ask Themselves (Over and Over and Over)
Poll: Americans say teachers are underpaid, about half of Republicans oppose book bans
https://www.npr.org/2023/06/02/1177566467/poll-teachers-underpaid-republicans-book-bans
Maybe You Need a Life Coach, Not a Therapist—Here's the Difference
https://apple.news/Abvw9CCPKSbyMCkaz-Q-ePA
02.06.2023
Opinion | America’s Poverty Is Built by Design
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/05/21/theres-a-path-out-of-poverty-00097399
The ultimate anxiety explainer: The six biggest questions about worrying, answered by a psychologist
https://apple.news/AKsuHdtnBR5mNcK_r_SFyOw
01.06.2023
AI Poses ‘Risk of Extinction’ on Par With Pandemics and Nuclear War, Tech Executives Warn
https://apple.news/AJiMWQglRSp-htMJzbm2vaA
Meditation Diminishes Bias Toward Negative Information
https://neurosciencenews.com/meditation-cognitive-bias-23372/
How To Make Someone Truly Feel Heard
https://www.fatherly.com/life/how-to-make-someone-else-feel-heard
4 ways AI will change the classroom with Khan Academy founder Sal Khan
31.05.2023
When a second grader doesn't have lunch, a teacher steps in to save the day
https://apple.news/AlUziNufuTGukMZy_hXpjMw
The 25 Best Children’s Books of All Time
https://www.mentalfloss.com/posts/best-childrens-books-of-all-time-bbc
What to Do If Your Child Experiences a Mental Health Emergency
https://www.parents.com/what-to-do-if-your-child-experiences-a-mental-health-emergency-7501637
FL Parent Who Had Amanda Gorman's Poem Removed from School... Doesn't Read
https://www.theroot.com/fl-parent-who-had-amanda-gormans-poem-removed-from-scho-1850486810
Youth Advocacy
A trip to Amsterdam, reflections on the Anne Frank House, North Holland planning water tables three generations ahead while the US can’t pass a debt ceiling for the end of the week.
Youth Advocacy
Year 3, Week 05 (159 total reports)
10.05.2023-16.05.2023
REVIEW and ANNOUNCEMENTS
A trip to Amsterdam, reflections on the Anne Frank House, North Holland planning water tables three generations ahead while the US can’t pass a debt ceiling for the end of the week.
This Week’s Top Links
This week, my blog takes a little bit different turn. I just returned (to the Yucatan) from a trip to Amsterdam with my wife and brother-in-law. While there, we visited the Anne Frank House. I couldn’t help but reflect on the similarities between the Nazis and the authoritarian right in the US at this time. Simultaneously, my wife and I are watching the wonderful series, “A Small Light,” about Miep Gies and the Frank Family. It is amazing how little Miep and her husband, Jan Gies, felt they were doing to support the Jewish people in the face of Hitler’s Facist Regime. Yet, it was that one “Small Light” that provided hope to the Frank family and to Anne Frank herself. It was chilling to listen (and watch images) of Adolf Hitler while reading the news of the Trump’s latest antics.
I once wrote a theme song for a National Youth Convention called, “Candleflame.” The words of the chorus, “Though it may be weak and feeble, it may be small and dim, but the smallest candle still dispels the night. So, let us bear it proudly, our tiny dancing flame, it may be all we have but it’s enough to bring some light. And to a world needing hope it will seem bright.”
Whatever your small light is, bear it with dignity…
We also took a bike trip to the Amsterdam suburbs. Our guide was speaking about how the people were working on creating a water plan that would keep North Holland safe for the next three generations. It struck me deeply as the US government was facing a debt showdown to get through the end of the week. What a contrast.
30.05.2023
Why You Should Set Your Sights on Fulfillment Rather Than Happiness
https://lifehacker.com/why-you-should-set-your-sights-on-fulfillment-rather-th-1850473197
I could not read more than two paragraphs into this article before I needed to stop and reflect on the Author’s insights. The goal of our society is so wrongly placed when the focus is on happiness—especially personal happiness. It makes us so vulnerable and easy to manipulate. Part of this is the trap laid by consumerism and the deception of every ad that blatantly or subtly begins with, “You would be beautiful if…” Oddly enough, this is not different than the temptation Satan presented to Jesus, “If you were loved by God…” Happiness is a trap that first deceives by threatening our internal dignity. To find meaning and fulfillment should be the focus of our education system and all of our work with young people. Or, as Abraham Maslow would direct us; not self-fulfillment, but self-transcendence.
29.05.2023
How to be happy without relying on others
https://www.fastcompany.com/90898894/how-be-happy-without-relying-others
Happiness or even fulfillment that relies on others is a setup for losing control of our lives. There is a difference between relying on others for our internal affirmation and being a member of a vibrant, supportive community. We all need community, but if that community requires we forego our boundaries and values; then it is a cult, not a community.
26.05.2023
20 Years From Now, the Only People Who Will Remember That You Worked Late Are Your Kids
This statement was not something I heard when I was growing up and the lead belief purported, “The busier you are, the more important you are…” I look back and regret the time I spent away from my children and the personal cost that a life “on the road,” required of me. Hopefully, this article and the thoughts expressed within it will remind people that we are not WHAT we do, we are WHO we love.
This Week’s Links
30.05.2023
Why You Should Set Your Sights on Fulfillment Rather Than Happiness
https://lifehacker.com/why-you-should-set-your-sights-on-fulfillment-rather-th-1850473197
17 Signs You May Be On The Autism Spectrum
https://www.yourtango.com/self/signs-youre-on-autism-spectrum
Seth Godin: 4 Things Make Employees Feel Their Job Is the Best Job They've Ever Had
29.05.2023
How to be happy without relying on others
https://www.fastcompany.com/90898894/how-be-happy-without-relying-others
What I Always Say To My Kids To Help Build Their Self-Confidence
https://www.fatherly.com/life/encouraging-phrases-for-kids-from-parents
Happiness is overrated. Make these mindset shifts to find meaning in each moment
26.05.2023
20 Years From Now, the Only People Who Will Remember That You Worked Late Are Your Kids
Youth Advocacy
Anxiety, vigilantism, ideas for advocating for children and young people through a pandemic of loneliness and a mental health crisis.
Youth Advocacy
Year 3, Week 04 (158 total reports)
10.05.2023-16.05.2023
REVIEW and ANNOUNCEMENTS
Anxiety, vigilantism, ideas for advocating for children and young people through a pandemic of loneliness and a mental health crisis.
This Week’s Top Links
16.05.2023
The War on Poverty Is Over. Rich People Won.
https://apple.news/A97vQDkTlRw205sjVFj2cGQ
If you are involved in any manner as an advocate for the vulnerable, please prioritize this article to read, discuss, and pass on this week.
15.05.2023
What It's Like Teaching Through a Youth Mental Health Crisis
Certainly, the priorities of youth advocacy in the fields of education, social services and ministry have changed over the last five years. It wasn’t just COVD, though the pandemic did reveal flaws in the systems surrounding young people. It’s never been enough to just help you people survive a crisis, we must also help them thrive—in the present and for the future. This article takes a deeper dive into making that possible.
14.05.2023
Emotionally Intelligent People Use the Rule of Awkward Silence to Get the Most Out of Others
The first one who speaks in a meeting or group gathering is rarely the person who has given an issue the most thought—it is generally the person who is least comfortable with silence. As a leader, examine how you can use that awkward silence to look deeper into issues and understand others better. It also pays to examine what makes us uncomfortable with the necessary lulls in any meaningful conversation.
13.05.2027
How People With High Emotional Intelligence Use the 'Roy Kent Rule' to Become Remarkably Successful
Like many, Ted Lasso has become one of my most favorite series—ever. The irritable and often verbally abusive Roy Kent provides a deeper look into the hidden hurt of people who act tough but have inner demons they are trying to protect. Occasionally, we see the antagonistic Kent come to the protection of others that are also wounded. Such is the case when he uses the phrase examined in this article.
12.05.2023
These Children's Books About Anxiety Will Help Kids (& Parents) Cope So Much Better
https://www.romper.com/entertainment/childrens-books-about-anxiety
Sitting and reading with a child is—by itself—a great way to help a young person who feels anxious. That can’t help but provide relief to the one doing the reading as well. You can take that experience to another level by adding a book that focuses on coping with anxiety. The list of these children books are a great starter for any book collection—at home or in a workplace involving children.
11.05.2023
America Is Obsessed With Vigilantism
https://apple.news/ArgPGBvc-Qk-w5dmiv6yCeQ
This in depth article by Vice, takes us inside the issue of American Vigilantism of which Gun Violence is only a part. The recent New York murder of Jordan Neely, a homeless man on a subway car full of people, illustrates how far we are willing to justify over-protective responses to perceived threats. Choking someone to death for 15 minutes is not a reasonable response to non-aggressive hysteria, neither is shooting a child who has stolen candy. I appreciate articles like this that shed insight into the problem behind the problem.
10.05.2023
Mental illness is not responsible for America’s guns crisis
https://apple.news/AwvhAzJw8Tq2S8FhJlVLoeA
Many countries have mental illness issues that do not result in mass murders by guns. As much as the NRA (and the politicians they own) would like you to look at anything except guns as a reason for gun violence—it just doesn’t bear out statistically. It’s the guns…
This Week’s Links
16.05.2023
The War on Poverty Is Over. Rich People Won.
https://apple.news/A97vQDkTlRw205sjVFj2cGQ
Column: When students don't understand history, what are democracy's chances?
https://apple.news/AZG0dzADZSnSgxt31tB84tw
7 Things All Boys Need To Hear From Their Father
https://www.fatherly.com/parenting/what-all-boys-need-to-hear-from-their-fathers
Psychologist shares 7 toxic signs of people who are ‘addicted to drama’—and how to deal with them
https://apple.news/ANpt3sMKvRnyrs64I_eVw-Q
Say these 4 words to yourself in the seconds before giving a speech or delivering a presentation.
Khan Academy Founder Says AI Will Revolutionize Education and Make Guided Learning Accessible to More Than Just the Rich
https://mymodernmet.com/sal-khan-academy-ai/
The APA Has Issued Its First Ever Guidelines On Social Media Use For Kids
https://www.scarymommy.com/parenting/apa-guidelines-social-media-use-kids
15.05.2023
What It's Like Teaching Through a Youth Mental Health Crisis
3 Essential Steps Practical People Use To Not React Emotionally
https://www.yourtango.com/self/how-be-less-emotionally-reactive
14.05.2023
Emotionally Intelligent People Use the Rule of Awkward Silence to Get the Most Out of Others
‘Teach the truth.’ Teachers angry over Florida deleting race, social justice from textbooks
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/education/article275357326.html
Dad Sends His GF These Pics Whenever She Asks If Their Babies Are OK While He’s Watching Them (95 New Pics) Interview With Artist
https://www.boredpanda.com/father-photoshops-baby-dangerous-situations-onadventurewithdad/
My mom has 4 rules for a fulfilled life—a happiness expert 'loves' them
https://apple.news/AXH1WW1eQQF-ApNbgOrv-DA
13.05.2027
How People With High Emotional Intelligence Use the 'Roy Kent Rule' to Become Remarkably Successful
5 Common But Harmful Phrases Parents Should Never Say To Their Children
https://www.yourtango.com/family/common-but-harmful-phrases-parents-never-say-children
Breakthrough brain study uncovers four different types of Autism
12.05.2023
These Children's Books About Anxiety Will Help Kids (& Parents) Cope So Much Better
https://www.romper.com/entertainment/childrens-books-about-anxiety
How to Disagree Productively
https://hbr.org/2023/05/how-to-disagree-productively
Trauma Rx: The Best Remedy Is Right Under Your Nose
https://apple.news/AVNo10QooTPG0wGVm9rjz_w
9 Ways to Support a Child With Anxiety
https://www.parents.com/how-to-help-a-child-with-anxiety-7495925
Texas Is On Its Way to Turning Public Schools Into Jesus Camp
https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a43866597/texas-public-schools-chaplain/
11.05.2023
America Is Obsessed With Vigilantism
https://apple.news/ArgPGBvc-Qk-w5dmiv6yCeQ
"Grief Isn’t Something That Can Be Fixed": People Are Sharing The Moment Everything Clicked For Them In Therapy
https://apple.news/ACRcJIO8tQDiaVAIQ-ph-9A
Emotionally drained? Nine ways to protect your well-being.
https://apple.news/AUUHnYEC0TTOtErVk6FgMow
How to Overcome Perfectionism, According to Experts
https://apple.news/AQm014Qs1Q2aSiyYb2hEc-w
10.05.2023
Mental illness is not responsible for America’s guns crisis
https://apple.news/AwvhAzJw8Tq2S8FhJlVLoeA
Young Latinos are leaving Catholicism and trending towards ‘no religion.’ Here’s why.
Youth Mental Health
Role Modeling, Forgiveness, Cognitive Flexibility, what habits do you want to practice and model this week?
Youth Mental Health
Year 3, Week 03 (157 total reports)
03.05.2023-09.05.2023
REVIEW and ANNOUNCEMENTS
Role Modeling, Forgiveness, Cognitive Flexibility, what habits do you want to practice and model this week?
This Week’s Top Links
09.05.2023
How To Raise A Good Kid
https://www.fatherly.com/parenting/how-to-raise-a-good-kid-modeling-moral-behavior
This article is about modeling and expands on the idea of what is a “Good Kid.”. I was pleasantly surprised by the depth I found in this link. Modeling courtesy, resilience, empathy; it’s worth taking time to read this if you are parenting children or working with them in some other way. To my friends in youth advocacy, pin this short article to the wall of the break room or anyplace that staff might read and discuss it. Use it as a basis for an upcoming staff meeting and give people sticky notes to generate ideas for modeling these behaviors.
08.05.2023
Forgiveness can boost happiness, improve mental health: 5 steps to get started
https://apple.news/AtxZdgGAHQ3i8X3Kvy7WYiQ
Perhaps one of the most freeing actions we can take as adults is to forgive our parents and realize they did the best they could with what they knew. We also hope that this is a point our children reach fairly early in their lives; hopefully in adolescence, but certainly in their young adulthood. It’s impossible to be mature friends with children or anyone who knows our buttons” without a healthy dose of forgiveness.
07.05.2023
Cognitive flexibility is essential to navigating a changing world – new research shows how your brain learns new rules
Looking back up at the first link and remembering that modeling is really the primary tool of parenting, leadership or teaching, it is worth asking ourselves how we can model cognitive flexibility and help young people identify that trait when they display or witness it. This article says that cognitive flexibility is essential to navigating a changing world, I would go as far as to say it is primary.
06.05.2023
The Only Way Out of the Child-Gender Culture War
https://apple.news/A6PSYuTtfTI2hSASg_zoTcQ
What is it about gender identity and development that scares misogynistic politicians like Trump, Abbott and DeSantis? It is alarming to think that gender (and pelvic) issues have been at the core of every authoritarian regime dating back before Hitler and Stalin along with race and immigration. This is not a new chapter in their “distraction playbook.’ It would serve us all to remember that when you don’t have true substance with which to lead others, you distract people and make them afraid.
05.05.2023
A Country Governed by Fear
https://apple.news/AaKNJh6p8QbaChXjQdeX-hw
Is fear the new “base” emotion in our public encounters today? Who benefits when we are afraid? Whose politics promote distrust in the false wrapping that we must constantly protect ourselves—even to the point of taking someone’s life; on a subway, at the doorway, at a birthday party, at shopping malls, throughout our communities? We can’t just blame this behavior on COVID, incivility was beginning to emerge and cause problems long before that. It begins with a lack of civility and creating closed-minded concepts of us vs. them.
04.05.2023
How To Raise An Adventurous Kid (But Not A Risk-Seeking Lunatic)
https://www.fatherly.com/parenting/how-to-raise-adventurous-kid
No risk, no growth. How do we model to young people that failure is to be learned from and even celebrated? How do we diminish the falsehood of perfection or even that “we are what we succeed at?” Much of this begins with what we praise as adults. Praise effort, not accomplishment. When we say, “you are a great artist,” a child may never pick up a pencil, crayon or pen again, for fear of not being “great.” Instead, be specific and praise the effort involved. “I can see you spent a lot of time studying how to draw hands and faces, your efforts really show in the result of your work. Tell me what you worked on hardest in this drawing?”
03.05.2023
Loneliness is the new silent killer, and as deadly as smoking: US surgeon-general
https://globalnews.ca/news/9666941/loneliness-deadly-smoking-surgeon-general-us/
Political or religious reasoning that is fear-based creates an environment of distrust. An environment of distrust lends itself to isolation. Isolation results in loneliness. The US Surgeon-General tells us that loneliness is an epidemic in the US. What actions could you take today to be more inviting, to increase the level of trust in your classroom, facility or community? When developing school programs to reduce violence, we used to emphasize “intentional courtesy,” especially to the vulnerable; “Go out of your way to be kind to the lonely, the sad and EVEN the mad…” We sent older kids to grade schools to become ambassadors of courtesy and brought community members into our schools to be “Golden Greeters” modeling courtesy at the doors to both staff and children.
This Week’s Links
09.05.2023
How To Raise A Good Kid
https://www.fatherly.com/parenting/how-to-raise-a-good-kid-modeling-moral-behavior
Mental illness is not responsible for America’s guns crisis
https://apple.news/AwvhAzJw8Tq2S8FhJlVLoeA
'Parenting Whisperer' shares why it's better to teach kids resiliency than to focus on happiness
https://www.upworthy.com/parenting-tips
The Lies We Tell Ourselves About Multitasking
https://apple.news/AqzdDvsZ2Q0mbJLIng71kJg
Advice from a recovering workaholic: break free
https://apple.news/A_zGapjzPSeG4ADyT_Llqjg
08.05.2023
Forgiveness can boost happiness, improve mental health: 5 steps to get started
https://apple.news/AtxZdgGAHQ3i8X3Kvy7WYiQ
Harvard-trained psychologist shares 3 signs you're addicted to stress: 'It's a lot more common than you think'
07.05.2023
Cognitive flexibility is essential to navigating a changing world – new research shows how your brain learns new rules
How to find your thing when you’re good at many things
https://www.fastcompany.com/90892453/how-to-find-your-thing-when-youre-good-at-many-things
Here's the No. 1 skill for raising highly resilient kids, says parenting expert and neuropsychologist
https://apple.news/AYlEtZOKiQy2tE44rrzV41A
06.05.2023
The Only Way Out of the Child-Gender Culture War
https://apple.news/A6PSYuTtfTI2hSASg_zoTcQ
Advice | 4 mistakes to avoid when you’re lonely
https://apple.news/AD2O2ne5AQL2x3LwId6nrCg
WHO Declares Covid-19 Pandemic Emergency Over
https://apple.news/A__k_Q1CTRCqi6AyF1DkvAw
05.05.2023
A Country Governed by Fear
https://apple.news/AaKNJh6p8QbaChXjQdeX-hw
What are Intrusive Thoughts?
https://apple.news/A9Fu8B9AqRS2eLIqDeio8Gw
Dr. Laurie Santos Is Teaching Us How to Become Happier
https://www.verywellmind.com/the-happiness-lab-host-dr-laurie-santos-7377176
Principals, Here Are 4 Ways to Show Your Appreciation for Teachers
04.05.2023
How To Raise An Adventurous Kid (But Not A Risk-Seeking Lunatic)
https://www.fatherly.com/parenting/how-to-raise-adventurous-kid
Don’t Ban ChatGPT—Teach Students How To Use It
03.05.2023
Loneliness is the new silent killer, and as deadly as smoking: US surgeon-general
https://globalnews.ca/news/9666941/loneliness-deadly-smoking-surgeon-general-us/
Diagnosing Depression In Young Kids Is Harder, Incredibly Important
https://www.fatherly.com/health/diagnosing-depression-in-young-children
Finding Happiness When Life Doesn’t Turn Out as You Planned
The skills gap is so big that nearly half of workers will need to retrain this decade. These 10 skills are most in demand
https://fortune.com/2023/05/01/most-important-skills-employers-want/
Rise in suicide-related ED visits among youth raises larger questions around mental health care
Youth Mental Health
Insecure Attachment Styles, Youth Mental Health Crisis, remaining Stubbornly Optimistic
Youth Mental Health
Year 3, Week 02 (156 total reports)
26.04.2023-02.05.2023
REVIEW and ANNOUNCEMENTS
Insecure Attachment Styles, Youth Mental Health Crisis, remaining Stubbornly Optimistic
This Week’s Top Links
02.05.2023
As new data shows kids in a mental health crisis, parents ask, where is the help?
https://apple.news/A2T2RECmLR0SYxtUXvDYMtw
There is shortage of specialists in the field of adolescent psychology and pediatric mental health just at a time when a crisis in adolescent mental health is overwhelming the systems surrounding young people. Inpatient Adolescent facilities (which have been overwhelmed for years) are now nearly impossible to access. As this article by Katie Kindelan states, “Two years ago, the AACAP (American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry) joined with the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children's Hospital Association -- which collectively represent more than 77,000 physicians and over 200 children's hospitals -- in declaring children’s mental health a ‘national emergency.’”
01.05.2023
We asked, you answered: What's your secret to staying optimistic in gloomy times?
https://apple.news/AMtlglV9JTQ62NGPfsNQMcg
I had a great time watching Joe Biden tell self-deprecating jokes at the annual White House Press Correspondents dinner on April 29. I missed the traditional event after the previous administration canceled the tradition. Being able to laugh at yourself is a sure sign of mental health and one of the secrets of remaining stubbornly optimistic during gloomy times. Scroll through the list of “secrets” in this article to see if there are ones you use (or can teach) when life seems overwhelming to you or those you lead.
30.04.2023
Editorial: House Republicans want to balance the budget on the backs of America's kids
https://apple.news/ADl3jztj9QzaxDGQDvSiUiw
The Republican Pseudo-Budget isn’t really a budget as much as it is a charter to bring economic ruin to the nation before the next election. Their cuts are primarily designed to cripple programs to the poor and children with the intent of paying off debts created during the Trump presidency.
29.04.2023
America is in its insecure-attachment era
https://apple.news/AR4E3wY1XTku0F15Q2l7KfQ
This is my ARTICLE OF THE WEEK from one of my favorite news sources, The Atlantic. The focus is primarily on the work of Sara Konrath, at Indiana University, examining attachment styles of people at a time when researchers noticed that Narcism was increasing and empathy decreasing on college campuses. A decade after this initial study, Konrath and others have found that fearful attachment styles are continuing to rise (see the article for an explanation of Attachment Styles). This fear of intimacy might give more insight into the epidemic of loneliness and fear in the United States. The increase in detachment combined with the proliferation of firearms is also proving to be a dangerous combination in US neighborhoods and schools. It provides another reason why we must insist leaders reduce the hyperbole and hate-speech—and vote out those who won’t. Name-calling and positional statements have no place in rational democratic (with a small “d”) discourse.
28.04.2023
The Ten Commandments could be in every Texas classroom next fall
https://apple.news/Ae_Nc0xAvTJyMVeNPayp1QQ
Forced religion has always been a tool of autocratic regimes and usually backfired from its intended purpose of winning converts. If we truly studied the Gospels we would see that coercion is not a legitimate strategy. Polls are already indicating a backlash against religious and political conservatives due to the authoritarian practices of the Supreme Court and MAGA-Republicans. To be truly religious means to be as concerned about the freedom of worship for others as yourself.
27.04.2023
One big idea that could prevent thousands of gun deaths
https://apple.news/A8yonyty7RK2KhaLqy87vDQ
Gun control should not be viewed as an all or nothing, black and white issue. Strategies that encourage gun responsibility have significant support among gun proponents and opponents alike. We only get trapped in all-or-nothing non-solutions when the hyperbole is ratcheted to a peak.
26.04.2023
Disrupted Synaptic Pruning a Key Factor in Teen Mental Health at Risk - Neuroscience News
https://neurosciencenews.com/synaptic-pruning-mental-health-23088/
One of the primary tasks of the human brain during adolescence is synaptic pruning. Pruning can have the positive affect of strengthening pathways we use habitually. When this process is impeded, the processes in the brain’s frontal lobe can be limited by “white noise” (too much information) making the brain inefficient.
This Week’s Links
02.05.2023
As new data shows kids in a mental health crisis, parents ask, where is the help?
https://apple.news/A2T2RECmLR0SYxtUXvDYMtw
America’s Death Trap
https://apple.news/AuLlli_m1TO6vTGQJywJxnA
The Science of Happiness: Why It's Not Something You Earn, It's Something You Practice
https://apple.news/A40voPyllSAGyep4HQ0iYDA
How to Change Your Life With Habit Stacking
https://apple.news/AFnaT3kyiRY2JGTUxotKHgQ
01.05.2023
We asked, you answered: What's your secret to staying optimistic in gloomy times?
https://apple.news/AMtlglV9JTQ62NGPfsNQMcg
How Relatives Can Make Radicals
https://apple.news/ACkPhUEPqQty9cH68nOHlLg
What a top couples therapist wishes more people knew
https://apple.news/ATlti7bI9TDmmlIPtZqq15w
Harvard-trained expert: Use this 3-word response when someone is rude to you
https://apple.news/A89wqd3ePTySz_bLKyYDctA
A.I. will cause ‘significant labor-market disruption’ over next 5 years, says World Economic Forum
https://fortune.com/2023/04/30/ai-disruption-jobs-labor-world-economic-forum-report/
Teens, Screens, and Mental Health
30.04.2023
Editorial: House Republicans want to balance the budget on the backs of America's kids
https://apple.news/ADl3jztj9QzaxDGQDvSiUiw
Best AI Tools For Students (2023)
https://www.marktechpost.com/2023/04/29/best-ai-tools-for-students-2023/
Illinois bill aims to stop book bans
https://www.mystateline.com/news/local-news/illinois-bill-aims-to-stop-book-bans/
4 Brutal Truths Your Son Needs You To Teach Him About Love
https://www.yourtango.com/family/brutal-truths-son-needs-teach-him-about-love
29.04.2023
America is in its insecure-attachment era
https://apple.news/AR4E3wY1XTku0F15Q2l7KfQ
What Socrates' 'know nothing' wisdom can teach a polarized America
https://theconversation.com/what-socrates-know-nothing-wisdom-can-teach-a-polarized-america-202696
Our Favorite Godmother Dolly Parton Gave the Most Empowering Pep Talk for Shy Kids: ‘Everybody’s Not Loud’
https://www.sheknows.com/parenting/slideshow/2762745/dolly-parton-pep-talk-shy-kids/
28.04.2023
The Ten Commandments could be in every Texas classroom next fall
https://apple.news/Ae_Nc0xAvTJyMVeNPayp1QQ
How To Give Constructive Criticism That’s Actually Constructive
https://www.fatherly.com/life/how-to-give-constructive-criticism-advice-tips
‘This Changes Everything’: AI Is About to Upend Teaching and Learning
These are the top 20 must-have skills to put on your résumé
https://www.fastcompany.com/90887751/these-are-the-top-20-must-have-skills-to-put-on-your-resume
5 Common Thought Traps That Keep You Stuck in Anxiety—And How To Escape Each One
https://www.wellandgood.com/anxiety-traps/
I'm Autistic—Here's What I Needed From My Parents as a Child
https://www.parents.com/i-m-autistic-here-s-what-i-needed-from-my-parents-as-a-child-7486522
27.04.2023
One big idea that could prevent thousands of gun deaths
https://apple.news/A8yonyty7RK2KhaLqy87vDQ
The Conscious Discipline Method Helps Parents Think More And Punish Less
https://www.fatherly.com/health/conscious-discipline-parenting
Cognitive flexibility is essential to navigating a changing world – new research in mice shows how your brain learns new rules
Patriotic Ukrainians are rushing to pay their taxes
‘A new generation is rising up’: Young Dems stand up to GOP extremism
26.04.2023
Disrupted Synaptic Pruning a Key Factor in Teen Mental Health at Risk - Neuroscience News
https://neurosciencenews.com/synaptic-pruning-mental-health-23088/
Using Positive Reinforcement to Improve Your Child's Behavior
https://www.parents.com/using-positive-reinforcement-to-improve-your-child-s-behavior-7482784
10 of the First Things You Should Try With ChatGPT
https://lifehacker.com/10-of-the-first-things-you-should-try-with-chatgpt-1850368802
What Educators Need to Know About ChatGPT
7 Books That Will Teach You to Live a More Joyful Life
https://www.inc.com/jessica-stillman/7-books-that-will-teach-you-to-live-a-more-joyful-life.html
Teamwork Is Hard Work. Here’s How To Build The Skills To Do It Well.
Youth Mental Health
Book Bannings, Shootings, Fear-Mongering contrasted with Happiness, Creativity and Wonder. What a week!
Youth Mental Health
Year 3, Week 52 (154 total reports)
19.04.2023-25.04.2023
REVIEW and ANNOUNCEMENTS
Book Bannings, Shootings, Fear-Mongering contrasted with Happiness, Creativity and Wonder. What a week!
This Week’s Top Links
25.04.2023
Perspective | Pulitzer Prize-winning poet pens a letter to a local school board
https://apple.news/AhWDIff_fTqeVV1-N0dKx_g
If I were to pen the perfect letter or create an amazing model for writing school boards across the US about book-banning, this would be the letter. There were 1,269 challenges to ban books in 2022 and last week, one superintendent just suggested closing school libraries in his district. Is it the desire of the GOP and Christian Evangelicals to raise an illiterate generation that will be dumbfounded by conversations wherever they travel? If so, they are laying the groundwork for institutional ignorance in most red-leaning States.
24.03.2023
A Crucial Character Trait for Happiness
https://apple.news/AaWaHT98QTwOT2VD6p_bVDQ
Arthur C. Brooks of The Atlantic is consistently one of my favorites writers. This historic look at happiness examines the philosophical roots of this state of being. It is always enriching to receive knowledge from the likes of Plato, Aristotles, Hippocrates and more-modern thinkers like William James. Brooks compares their philosophies to the exuberance of his neighbor. And I have to say, I would like to grow some of the attributes of Brooks’ neighbor in my life.
23.04.2023
The secret power of boredom
https://apple.news/AAGIlmaceTEupRz8kmypejw
The benefits of boredom might soon be lost to a culture that equates busy with importance (“the busier I am the more important I must be”). Boredom Psychologist, Heather Lench, Ph.D., has studied the benefits of boredom. Primarily, the space and time that boredom requires which free the brain to be more creative. Think of this next time you feel you have to fill every waking moment with tasks or social media. And consider the important aspects of boredom in raising or educating children. Can we model the constructive use of boredom to the young people around us?
22.04.2023
Is it 'woke' to teach kindness? With teachers' hands tied, racism flourishes in classroom.
Many of my friends still in education are asking this similar question. When empathy and courtesy are attacked as weaknesses, what replaces them in our schools? When we examine the journalists and politicians leading the “Woke” attack, we see some of the most ignorant, biased, racist bullies in the US today. This is certainly not the behavior we want to model or allow to grow in our schools. Politicians who push this agenda should spend a semester teaching and be measured by the same standards used on our educators today. How well does anyone learn in a hostile—even violent—environment?
21.04.2023
Why kids lose their sense of wonder, according to Carl Sagan
https://bigthink.com/thinking/why-kids-lose-wonder-carl-sagan/
Carl Sagan, the leading force behind the series, Cosmos, raised a whole generation to wonder and be astonished by physics and astronomy. Sir Ken Robinson and others who are at the forefront in the field of education remind us that wonder is the greatest asset any person can carry into life. Einstein is quoted as saying, “Creativity is more important than knowledge.” But why do we force our schools to measure knowledge rather than creativity? We will be successful in education when children leave our schools saying, “Wow! I wonder how much I still don’t know…”
20.04.2023
Why are Americans being shot for knocking on the wrong door?
https://apple.news/ACLDS2MK2RIu-5NAz3FYoCQ
When politicians or religious leaders don’t have a subsatnce-based platform to share, they resort to peddling fear. Fear of those who are different from us. A different color, sexuality, birthplace. A fear of the afterlife, fear of judgment, a fear of expulsion. The list goes on. The US has reached a fever pitch of fear and sadly, guns are the match that ignites those irrational fears into deadly behaviors.
19.04.2023
Analysis | America’s toxic mix of guns, concern over crime — and fear-mongering
https://apple.news/AdIvVXQ9ZTTCgN8MriE2gUQ
The US has become the least safe country to visit that is not in an active war zone. It is no longer safe to be a child in the US—where the most likely cause of death is a gunshot wound. This is not just the fault of gun owners, it is a combination of selling fears and turning people against each other that is deliberately orchestrated by a small group of people who benefit from those fears. We must begin to publicly ask (as did the three politicians in Tennessee), “Who profits from fear? Who profits from gun violence? Who profits from an America divided against itself?” Names and Acronyms keep coming to the top of the list: NRA, GOP, MAGA. Murdock, Trump, Carlson, Cruz.
This Week’s Links
25.04.2023
Perspective | Pulitzer Prize-winning poet pens a letter to a local school board
https://apple.news/AhWDIff_fTqeVV1-N0dKx_g
As The War On Books Rages, A Virginia School Official Proposes Closing Down Libraries
https://apple.news/ABf1N_FtETMSY6k5Wk84XGQ
There were 1,269 efforts to ban books in 2022. These titles were the most targeted.
https://apple.news/Aqk5IkIYYQ12HOD1QcDIoKg
After Mike fell on a busy sidewalk, a stranger helped in just the right way
https://apple.news/ALCG3XMfsSVWLqKXjqjVj-Q
Signs You Have a Toxic Parent and How to Cope
https://apple.news/AWoO5UZkGTviQzty9-0ZHpQ
California lawmakers consider banning 'willful defiance' suspensions from schools
https://apple.news/A2-7NRJqlS0uXA6Y9oFw9og
24.03.2023
A Crucial Character Trait for Happiness
https://apple.news/AaWaHT98QTwOT2VD6p_bVDQ
When Congress is more Christian and religious than the rest of America
https://apple.news/AEb7D8IzGRrGL0MMEfai7aQ
People Are Sharing Professions That Are Getting Phased Out, And It's Pretty Eye-Opening
https://apple.news/A2g974icDTeS7gGuqjPQEzQ
Your body's intense reaction to stress, explained
https://apple.news/A3WoSc09jRDCl6NpYD_K-jg
More and More Parents Are "Rusting Out" Without Realizing It — Are You?
https://apple.news/AThoG6D8dSyqMFirnDiwe1g
23.04.2023
The secret power of boredom
https://apple.news/AAGIlmaceTEupRz8kmypejw
6 Questions You Should Ask When Your Kid Gets In Trouble At School
https://www.scarymommy.com/parenting/questions-ask-when-kid-gets-in-trouble-school
Book bans are on the rise in U.S. schools, fueled by new laws in Republican-led states
https://apple.news/AcjjH08PbTGyfwFO4cUZaQw
Mental Block: The Brain Often Stop Us From Learning From Mistakes - Neuroscience News
https://neurosciencenews.com/brain-mistake-learning-23081/
22.04.2023
Is it 'woke' to teach kindness? With teachers' hands tied, racism flourishes in classroom.
Failure Is Key to Learning. Help Students See It That Way
https://www.edweek.org/leadership/failure-is-key-to-learning-help-students-see-it-that-way/2023/04
21.04.2023
Why kids lose their sense of wonder, according to Carl Sagan
https://bigthink.com/thinking/why-kids-lose-wonder-carl-sagan/
6 Questions You Should Ask When Your Kid Gets In Trouble At School
https://www.scarymommy.com/parenting/questions-ask-when-kid-gets-in-trouble-school
Bill Gates: AI will be ‘as good a tutor as any human,’ but payoffs in education will take time
Quick Ways Teachers Can Encourage Students to Listen to Each Other
A 6-Step Method For Not Losing Your Cool During An Argument
https://www.fatherly.com/life/how-to-not-lose-your-cool-during-an-argument
20.04.2023
Why are Americans being shot for knocking on the wrong door?
https://apple.news/ACLDS2MK2RIu-5NAz3FYoCQ
Steve Jobs Said 1 Choice in Life Separates the Doers From the Dreamers
Life Worth Living: A Guide to What Matters Most
https://nextbigideaclub.com/magazine/life-worth-living-guide-matters-bookbite/41739/
Shot for making a mistake: America reels from shootings of Ralph Yarl, Kaylin Gillis and Texas cheerleaders
19.04.2023
Analysis | America’s toxic mix of guns, concern over crime — and fear-mongering
https://apple.news/AdIvVXQ9ZTTCgN8MriE2gUQ
I spent 10 years studying what makes us happy in life—here's the No. 1 thing I overlooked the entire time
https://apple.news/AnAk6FaPiSsuI1l8H64boVw
How does social media affect mental health? It's complicated.
https://apple.news/A4_d66E8rSaqK_nZPP2Jkxw
Can AI improve education? Here are 4 potential use cases
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2023/04/can-ai-improve-education-here-are-4-potential-use-cases/
FDA authorizes second dose of updated COVID booster for some people
https://apple.news/AKQ8e67__SjSooncptGtxmw
Arnold Schwarzenegger follows a 5-word mantra to achieve super human focus and concentration.
https://www.inc.com/carmine-gallo/arnold-schwarzeneggers-5-word-mantra-for-super-human-focus.html
When kids like the box more than the toy: The benefits of playing with everyday objects
We know how kids learn to read, so why are we failing to teach them?
Youth Mental Health
Narcissism, Deeper Meaning and Deeper Relationships (Narcisismo, significado más profundo y relaciones más profundas)
Youth Mental Health
Year 3, Week 51 (153 total reports)
12.04.2023-18.04.2023
REVIEW and ANNOUNCEMENTS
Narcissism, Deeper Meaning and Deeper Relationships (Narcisismo, significado más profundo y relaciones más profundas)
This Week’s Top Links
18.04.2023
Case Studies: 6 Principles for Using Student-Powered Improvement in Your School
Young people spend years in schools, it is there that they will learn significant involvement or that their voices are inconsequential. I’m not talking about Student government either—though I also support models that encourage disenfranchised youth to be involved. I’m speaking about opportunities for meaningful engagement with adult decision-makers where ideas will be respected and implemented on critical school issues. Having dealt with issues of school violence in a variety of settings, I can honestly say that I have never seen school violence that wasn’t accompanied by adult emotional abuse. When adults are abusive, that last thing they want is to include the voices of the young people in their school. This article looks at multiple case examples of how students can be significantly and meaningfully involved in building a healthy school culture.
17.04.2023
The Narcissists Who Endanger America
https://apple.news/A6Eo7o7zBQSWr2Sv8d1LTNA
This article is not just about narcissists like Donald Trump or Ron DeSantis, it examines individuals like Jack Teixeira who stole federal secrets and released them publicly on a gaming platform to impress his friends. In the article, journalist, Tom Nichols, points to the acronym Intelligence professionals use to understand people who betray their country. The phrase, MICE, reveals the four main reasons people forsake their country or community: money, ideology, compromise, and ego.
16.04.2023
Republicans, realizing Anheuser-Busch is a significant donor, are quietly reversing their position on Bud Light
The absolute ridiculousness and hypocrisy of the Far Right is revealed in this article that reveals Republicans currently have no platform except to vilify atypical groups and fix voting systems. Their gender biased attack on Anheuser-Busch’s Bud Light beer backfired when they recalled how much money that company donates to their political funds. It’s a sad commentary on Republicans, but also on Anheuser-Busch for where there lobbying money goes. I’d suggest not using their products—not because of the color of the Bud Light label—but because of whom their profits have supported.
15.04.2023
Don’t say ‘How are you?’ Ask these 8 questions instead, says expert: ‘You’ll get a genuine response’
https://apple.news/AhFNIWXYqSwmMYj-MpIDtzw
This article was the FIND OF THE WEEK. Move your relationships from the blasé to the meaningful by adjusting a few typical phrases you use on a regular basis. Especially the bland and generic question, “How are you?”
14.04.2023
The Deeper Meaning of Awareness
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-meaningful-life/202304/the-deeper-meaning-of-awareness
Towards the end of his life, one of my favorite psychologists, Abraham Maslow, suggested that our deepest meaning was found not in self-awareness, but in self-transcendence. What can we do in the institutions that surround our children to enhance both awareness and transcendence? This question is a perfect start to engaging a team of young people in your institution (or family) in a “How-To” series of gatherings.
13.04.2023
Cognitive flexibility: the science of how to be successful in business and at work
Cognitive Inelasticity, Resistance, Hardening, Immobility, Stagnation is the opposite of what young people need to thrive in the world today. Teaching cognitive flexibility is best achieved through modeling. Show you are open to change when there is a rational reason for modification. Simple phrases such as, “I hadn’t thought of that,” or, “That’s a new way of seeing things,” are great ways to show young people you are open to new ideas and encouraging discourse from new viewpoints that are well thought-out. We grow what we encourage. Encourage thoughtful discourse and active listening.
12.04.2023
29 Physical And Emotional Ways Childhood Trauma Can Show Up In Adults, From Those Have Lived It
https://apple.news/AcGCnO80-SfSMdU_bmujrsQ
We are surrounded by trauma, but not all adversity ends in trauma. When people feel heard and their feeling’s understood (even if their behavior is found unacceptable), the impact of adversity is minimized. “Tell me more about that.” “How do you feel right now?” “You sound…” all of these are statements that open the door to deeper understanding. We need to bear in mind that most people aren’t seeking advice, they are seeking to be understood. Understanding is the key to preventing long-term trauma and PTSD.
This Week’s Links
18.04.2023
Case Studies: 6 Principles for Using Student-Powered Improvement in Your School
31 Secrets to Unlocking Your Creativity
https://www.gq.com/story/rules-of-creativity-global-creativity-awards-2023
Leveraging ChatGPT: Practical Ideas for Educators
How your kids can use ChatGPT safely, according to a mom
https://www.zdnet.com/article/how-your-kids-can-use-chatgpt-safely-according-to-a-mom/
17.04.2023
The Narcissists Who Endanger America
https://apple.news/A6Eo7o7zBQSWr2Sv8d1LTNA
6 tricks that will help you win any argument
Covid is still a leading cause of death as the virus recedes
https://apple.news/ACQv80QeHTB2A_JmOQlkFnw
We've finally found the true 'welfare queen.' It’s Clarence Thomas.
https://apple.news/AjmK1vFlvTMK7rgJiMqyayQ
Teen with life-threatening depression finally found hope. Then insurance cut her off
https://apple.news/AcXHDUKmLSVCn-m-FBUhSWQ
Michigan child care workers were unprepared for kids' post-pandemic mental health crisis
https://apple.news/AXH8eRXJhSZCMskGDjwTlRA
16.04.2023
Republicans, realizing Anheuser-Busch is a significant donor, are quietly reversing their position on Bud Light
This is the secret to healing a toxic culture
Is Your Child Being Bullied? Don't Feel Helpless — Give Your Kid the Tools to Work Through It
https://www.firstforwomen.com/posts/parenting/how-to-help-your-child-when-theyre-being-bullied
What Educators Need to Know About ChatGPT
Parents who raise mentally strong kids never use these 7 phrases: therapist
https://apple.news/AAu08PhsdRaSHgtDpRJVdbQ
5 Ways You Probably Didn't Realize You Could Use ChatGPT
https://www.slashgear.com/1258672/ways-probably-didnt-realize-use-chatgpt/
Drawing Pictures Is Great for Children’s Development
https://neurosciencenews.com/art-child-development-23020/
15.04.2023
Don’t say ‘How are you?’ Ask these 8 questions instead, says expert: ‘You’ll get a genuine response’
https://apple.news/AhFNIWXYqSwmMYj-MpIDtzw
The Narcissists Who Endanger America
https://apple.news/A6Eo7o7zBQSWr2Sv8d1LTNA
An Indiana man with mental illness died after 20 days in solitary confinement; lawsuit alleges abuse
https://apple.news/AF9_QwmgzR9Om-LAwZ2ZaIQ
14.04.2023
The Deeper Meaning of Awareness
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-meaningful-life/202304/the-deeper-meaning-of-awareness
7 Books That Will Kickstart Your Creativity
https://nextbigideaclub.com/magazine/7-books-will-kickstart-creativity/41516/
13.04.2023
Cognitive flexibility: the science of how to be successful in business and at work
18 Things Every Child Needs To Hear From Their Parents
https://www.yourtango.com/family/things-every-child-needs-hear-parents-say
Trans people, students and teachers are besieged by DeSantis’s crusade. But he’s not done yet
Not doomed: How the right coping mechanisms can save trauma victims from PTSD
Gen Z and millennials are so broke they’re ruining their parents’ retirements
https://apple.news/AF2hMzyXNSC67Igk0mNpSkw
America has seen 146 mass shootings this year alone. It’s not like this in other countries.
https://apple.news/A62lnWnBxSae5UQ8h_eB9yg
Is anger ruining your relationship? You’re not alone.
https://apple.news/A22Nq2RebRgWMzVUiY7XVLA
Grief Counselors Say 'Closure' Is A Myth. Here's Why.
https://apple.news/A5M6-ypy2Q-qon96NaUKQBA
Perspective | Please stop insisting trans kids are just struggling with puberty
https://apple.news/AlI_dJen7Soy4wLavh_gqZQ
12.04.2023
29 Physical And Emotional Ways Childhood Trauma Can Show Up In Adults, From Those Have Lived It
https://apple.news/AcGCnO80-SfSMdU_bmujrsQ
58% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck: CNBC survey
https://apple.news/Al27oTiFeSju33Y38BfX2pw
New Study Sheds Light on Impact Hostile Parenting Style Has on Kids' Mental Health
https://www.parents.com/what-is-hostile-parenting-7376640
A Quick Way to Help Your Child Master Stress
Why adults with ADHD often thrive as freelancers and entrepreneurs
Nonprofit Group Working to Help Transgender People Escape the U.S.
https://www.advocate.com/transgender/transgender-people-leaving-us
Youth Mental Health
The courage to be uncertain and the danger of being an expert. El coraje de no estar seguro y el peligro de ser un experto.
Youth Mental Health
Year 3, Week 50 (152 total reports)
05.04.2023-11.04.2023
REVIEW and ANNOUNCEMENTS
The courage to be uncertain and the danger of being an expert. El coraje de no estar seguro y el peligro de ser un experto.
This Week’s Top Links
11.04.2023
After years of investigation and heartbreak, report detailing 'horrendous' allegations against clergy is released
https://apple.news/AREahVKfmSF-YgzmFnWmImA
This study found 40 years of abuse and even torture of children. What lies at the core of such rampant abuse? Separation, isolation and elitism. The first thing an abuser (or abusive system) does is attempt to separate their vicim. This can be done physically or psychologically through the manipulation of emotions or beliefs. Abuse occurs in our institutions when we defer to others to do our relational work for us. I’ve seen this occur in religious institutions as well as education and corrections. Leaders need to become more intent on building equitable connections between the vulnerable and the community. We also need to be wary of those who attempt to separate themselves by the self-designation of expert with a claim to preferential access to either knowledge or power. This is a clear indication that someone is setting themselves up to abuse others.
10/04/2023
How to Love the World More: George Saunders on the Courage of Uncertainty
https://www.themarginalian.org/2023/04/09/george-saunders-uncertainty/
The opening paragraph of this review is worth reading and re-reading. It takes courage to admit you DON’T know! Deep inside our beings we have been fooled to believe that knowing = acceptance and thus not knowing = rejection. We learn that intrinsically from systems that foster falsehoods of expert know-it-alls which emphasize knowledge as accumulation. To admit that you don’t know is like saying, “I’m useless…” When we’re with children especially we need to model the attitude of “I don’t know, but let’s find out together…”
09.04.2023
I'm A Nurse Practitioner Caring For Trans Kids. Here's What The GOP Doesn't Want You To Know.
https://apple.news/ArlBYTKZGRziNwyLQ0DEbNg
We are damaging children, often irreparably by allowing the witch hunts of the GOP and conservative Christians to torment young people exploring their sexuality. It is obvious that the guttural response of authoritarians is coming out of an inner fear of unresolved personal sexuality that is then turned into a battlecry. While the conservatives and evangelicals focus on pelvic issues they are alienating a majority of rational people, but, in the meantime, they are leaving confusion to the point of suicide in their wake.
08.04.02023
Tennessee's House Of Representatives Violated The First Amendment So They Wouldn't Have To Hear Complaints About Children Being Gunned Down
How far will the NRA and conservative Republicans go to prevent safety for our citizens and especially for our children in schools we force them to attend? Tennessee’s republican majority reveals again they would even break the law to protect their ideology.
07.04.2023
Want to Be More Productive? According to Neuroscience, You Should Prioritize Having Fun
Articles like this help remind me of the power of fun and the critical importance it has in our mental health, relationships and communities. It reminds me to set “fun goals” where I build ways to have fun into my weekly plans and daily rituals. How can you apply this principle to your relationships or work with young people? “What can we do to have fun today?” “Let’s write down the top ways we have fun and make time to do them this week.”
06.04.2023
74 Interview: Psychologist Deborah Offner on Educators as First Responders
As a coach of multiple youth sports, I really enjoyed working with children. Parents were another issue. But, I lived in a time when I didn’t have to constantly scan the crowd for people with guns. To be a first responder in addition to an educator is asking more of our teachers than is reasonably responsible (and we crossed the threshold of reasonable expectations decades ago). When we make educators first responders we re-draw the front lines of the Gun Battle to the classroom and that’s always where the most conflict exists. We need to think creatively of moving the front lines out of our classrooms and on to the politicians (like Ted Cruz, over $442,000) that accept hideous amounts of donations from the NRA.
05.04.2023
Recovery high schools help kids heal from an addiction and build a future
https://apple.news/A_3UEQyBHSzeLBV9XhzUc-Q
I have worked with and in Recovery High Schools since they were just a concept. Most of the young people I recruited to offer community service came from these schools. One reason was because this was where the greatest need existed another was it was where the greatest opportunity dwelled. Part of that was because young people were so hungry to do meaningful work in their communities, but another part was administrators who prioritized the emotional development of the child and not just the academic development. Educators in Recovery Schools have a broader view of child development and know that coercion is not a primary tool of education. Young people often arrive at recovery schools as a result of coercive education, but they grow because of engagement.
This Week’s Links
11.04.2023
After years of investigation and heartbreak, report detailing 'horrendous' allegations against clergy is released
https://apple.news/AREahVKfmSF-YgzmFnWmImA
New Insights on Brain Development Sequence Through Adolescence
https://neurosciencenews.com/adolescent-brain-plasticity-22972/
5 Science-Backed Methods To Reduce Stress Right In The Moment
10.04.2023
How to Love the World More: George Saunders on the Courage of Uncertainty
https://www.themarginalian.org/2023/04/09/george-saunders-uncertainty/
Covid-19 During Pregnancy Linked To Severe Brain Damage In 2 Infants
09.04.2023
I'm A Nurse Practitioner Caring For Trans Kids. Here's What The GOP Doesn't Want You To Know.
https://apple.news/ArlBYTKZGRziNwyLQ0DEbNg
“All About Introverts”: 89 Of The Funniest Introvert Memes
https://www.boredpanda.com/introvert-memes-by-allabintroverts/
The magic of story time: Why is reading aloud to kids so important?
American IQ Scores Have Rapidly Dropped, Proving the 'Reverse Flynn Effect'
https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/a43469569/american-iq-scores-decline-reverse-flynn-effect/
Leveraging ChatGPT: Practical Ideas for Educators
https://www.ascd.org/blogs/leveraging-chatgpt-practical-ideas-for-educators?amp%3Bamp=+or/
How To Find Joy In Your Everyday Life, According To Psychologists
08.04.02023
Tennessee's House Of Representatives Violated The First Amendment So They Wouldn't Have To Hear Complaints About Children Being Gunned Down
After years of investigation and heartbreak, report detailing 'horrendous' allegations against clergy is released
https://apple.news/AREahVKfmSF-YgzmFnWmImA
Moving from Engagement to Deeper Thinking
9 easy ways to make your life a little better
https://apple.news/AkNj4DDBwSfi1xNLIJPFDog
Trans Youth In US Facing A Conservative Offensive
https://www.barrons.com/news/trans-youth-in-us-facing-a-conservative-offensive-16bc4e86
New Maps Show Where It’s Illegal To Be LGBTQ In 2023
Steve Jobs Said What Separates a Leader From a Follower Really Comes Down to This Mindset
07.04.2023
Want to Be More Productive? According to Neuroscience, You Should Prioritize Having Fun
Sal Khan explains why GPT-4 is ready to be a tutor
https://www.axios.com/2023/04/07/sal-khan-chatgpt-gpt4-tutor
These 3 Common Parenting Mistakes Hurt Kids’ Self-Esteem
https://www.fatherly.com/health/3-common-parenting-mistakes-hurt-kids-self-esteem
06.04.2023
74 Interview: Psychologist Deborah Offner on Educators as First Responders
Want to Be More Productive? According to Neuroscience, You Should Prioritize Having Fun
Scripted Feature Film, “No Address,” Brings Hope And Solutions To Homelessness
15 Calming Things To Say To Your Anxious Child
https://www.yourtango.com/family/calming-things-say-anxious-child
When you stand up for a teacher or librarian, you're standing up for democracy | Opinion
https://apple.news/A3heXsybHT56hh5XzhixDJw
What does generational trauma look like?
https://apple.news/APMFo5gLoSsCkugXd-D49yA
05.04.2023
Recovery high schools help kids heal from an addiction and build a future
https://apple.news/A_3UEQyBHSzeLBV9XhzUc-Q
I Became a Teacher to Inspire Kids—Not Shield Them From Bullets.
https://apple.news/AMrAQDRIJQk2c9Pj5bNzdVg
How to give unsolicited feedback that is welcomed
A psychologist’s 5-step guide for resilient leadership when everything is going wrong
Youth and Age: Kahlil Gibran on the Art of Becoming
https://www.themarginalian.org/2023/04/04/youth-and-age-kahlil-gibran/
New ‘more infectious’ Covid strain spreading in 22 countries as Brits offered booster jab
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/new-more-infectious-covid-strain-29633805
Youth Mental Health
Bravery and an Intrinsic Desire to Learn (Valentía y un deseo intrínseco de aprender). How do we identify these traits and develop them in our relationships/leadership?
Youth Mental Health
Year 3, Week 49 (151 total reports)
29.03.2023-04.04.2023
REVIEW and ANNOUNCEMENTS
Bravery and an Intrinsic Desire to Learn (Valentía y un deseo intrínseco de aprender). How do we identify these traits and develop them in our relationships/leadership?
This Week’s Top Links
04.04.2023
What Looks Like Bravery: An Epic Journey from Loss to Love
https://nextbigideaclub.com/magazine/looks-like-bravery-epic-journey-loss-love-bookbite/41302/
All of us experience adversity, for some of us those experiences become trauma. This is a book that doesn’t gloss over the grieving process and invites you to probe a little deeper into grief as well. Those who know me, know that I believe that if we don’t grieve well, we grieve long. Dr. Braitman has extraordinary insights built from her personal experiences and significant research. I have friends who have personal experience and substantial expertise in this area and I am going to recommend this book to them.
03.04.2023
Larry Summers calls the fact that one in 25 dies before age 40 ‘the most disturbing set of data on America that I have encountered in a long time’
https://fortune.com/2023/04/03/larry-summers-us-life-exectancy-mortality-rates/
This was in my news feed and I wasn’t initially intrigued by the article. However, upon exploring it, I felt it was a significant review of important data. Thank you, Mr. Summers, for calling this research to our/my attention. In the United States, the average age of death has been falling and an increased number children are dying. Either one of these statistics would be alarming in and of themself—especially in a country with as much wealth as the US, where the leading cause of death in children is gun-related deaths. It appears nothing significant will happen in Congress on that front even after another school shooting because the NRA has its money running through too many congressional veins. I would especially point towards the hypocrisy of Senator Ted Cruz. He received more money from the NRA than any US congress person and is constantly clouding real solutions with ones that would put more guns in classrooms. The simple facts are that an AR Ban has worked to reduce mass shootings and no study has ever shown that an increase gun availability leads to a decrease in gun violence (quite the opposite). Senator Cruz and others will be remembered in history for choosing guns over children. His negligence and falsehoods border on criminal.
02.04.2023
Harsh Discipline Increases Risk of Children Developing Lasting Mental Health Problems - Neuroscience News
https://neurosciencenews.com/harsh-discipline-mental-health-22912/
This research needs to be shared with every school district and board in the world. We also need to expand it to associate harsh psychological discipline (sarcasm) with physical discipline. The learning part of every thinking being’s brain shuts down with harshness. When an adult becomes harsh, the child is no longer thinking about their past behavior, they are thinking about the current threat… and that current threat is the critical adult.
01.04.2023
How to Catch Anger Cues in Children and Ourselves
Since anger shuts down cognitive functioning and overwhelms the brain with fight/flight or freeze responses, it is important that we recognize the early cues that someone’s cognitive brain is beginning to shut down. It is just as important (if not more so) that we identify those cues in ourselves as in the children around us. Have you mapped out your anger (threat) cues and created a strategy for healthy ways to address the underlying issue(s)?
31.03.2023
How to Promote the Intrinsic Desire to Learn
https://www.edutopia.org/article/promote-intrinsic-desire-to-learn/
The real mission of education should be to help people develop a desire for learning, not to feed them information and see if they can repeat it back on a standardized test. This in-depth article looks at the actions we can take to increase the desire to learn in any environment (school or workplace).
30.03.2023
People share the 18 things that are a 'subtle sign' someone is really smart
https://www.upworthy.com/people-share-the-things-that-are-a-subtle-sign-someone-is-really-smart-rp
This article will not only give you signs to identify intelligence in others, it will also provide behavioral goals to enhance intelligence (awareness) in your own life. I know it did for me.
29.03.2023
How to foster your purpose wherever you are in life
https://apple.news/ATwuGbYnvTCqkeZZF2OqLiw
In all of my outreaches to young people, I sought to enhance systems that would 1) increase inherent values chosen by the children, and 2) create rich environments for adding meaning and influence in young people’s lives. This article identifies a number of steps you can take to focus on goal No. 2, in any adult or child environment.
This Week’s Links
04.04.2023
What Looks Like Bravery: An Epic Journey from Loss to Love
https://nextbigideaclub.com/magazine/looks-like-bravery-epic-journey-loss-love-bookbite/41302/
Take Control of the Story You Tell About Yourself
After a traumatic event, how can teachers best help students?
https://www.chalkbeat.org/23664895/students-traumatic-events-school-violence-shooting-how-to-talk
Seeing Amazing in All Children: Sesame Workshop's Autism Acceptance Month Initiative
https://www.parents.com/sesame-workshop-celebrates-autism-acceptance-month-7373074
03.04.2023
Larry Summers calls the fact that one in 25 dies before age 40 ‘the most disturbing set of data on America that I have encountered in a long time’
https://fortune.com/2023/04/03/larry-summers-us-life-exectancy-mortality-rates/
The Extraordinary Ways Rhythm Shapes Our Lives
https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/the-extraordinary-ways-rhythm-shapes-our-lives/
Ancient Wisdom Meets Modern Therapy
Middle School Students Face a Trifecta of Challenges. Here's How to Help (Opinion)
Say hello to your new tutor: It’s ChatGPT
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/04/03/chatgpt-khanmigo-tutor-silicon-valley/
02.04.2023
Harsh Discipline Increases Risk of Children Developing Lasting Mental Health Problems - Neuroscience News
https://neurosciencenews.com/harsh-discipline-mental-health-22912/
Having camera on during online classes increases social appearance anxiety, which decreases learning of students
The secret to thriving in life? It’s not about being comfortable
01.04.2023
How to Catch Anger Cues in Children and Ourselves
Use these 6 steps to teach your kids how to say 'I'm sorry': 'A good apology takes ownership'
https://www.cnbc.com/2023/03/31/use-these-6-steps-to-teach-your-kids-how-to-apologize.html
6 Strategies to Bolster Student-Led Discussions
https://www.ascd.org/el/articles/6-strategies-to-bolster-student-led-discussions
Want to land one of A.I.’s lucrative six-figure roles? Experts say there are ‘no technical skills required’
https://fortune.com/2023/03/31/ai-jobs-six-figure-salary-prompt-engineer-arts-major/
Biden Offers Support to Trans Americans on Transgender Day of Visibility
https://www.advocate.com/politics/joe-biden-transgender-visibility
31.03.2023
How to Promote the Intrinsic Desire to Learn
https://www.edutopia.org/article/promote-intrinsic-desire-to-learn/
13 Questions That Measure "Flow Proneness" in Daily Life
The Jobs Most Exposed to ChatGPT
https://apple.news/ARSvzqvPSQp-04EfjfYfPog
Emotionally Intelligent People Take These 4 Steps to Avoid Being Critical or Judgmental and Improve Professional and Personal Relationships
30.03.2023
People share the 18 things that are a 'subtle sign' someone is really smart
https://www.upworthy.com/people-share-the-things-that-are-a-subtle-sign-someone-is-really-smart-rp
Common Teaching Practices to Leave Behind
‘The public stigmatizes them’: what it’s like being a teacher in America
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/mar/30/the-teachers-book-alexandra-robbins-review
Toys And Tales Helping Ukraine Kids Process War Trauma
https://www.barrons.com/news/toys-and-tales-helping-ukraine-kids-process-war-trauma-bf5a43cf
New Study Reveals Sharp Decline in American IQ Scores as the “Reverse Flynn Effect” Takes Center Stage
How to use ChatGPT to write an essay
https://www.zdnet.com/article/how-to-use-chatgpt-to-write-an-essay/
29.03.2023
How to foster your purpose wherever you are in life
https://apple.news/ATwuGbYnvTCqkeZZF2OqLiw
How To Raise Kids Who Can Handle Whatever Life Throws at Them
https://www.womansworld.com/posts/parenting/how-to-raise-resilient-kids
It's Your Weaknesses, Not Strengths, That Make You A Good Coach And Leader
I’m a Psychotherapist—Here Are the 5 Keys to Letting My Stress Go
How to heal from childhood trauma: a brief guide to heal from hidden wounds
This Friday, LGBTQ+ Youth Across the U.S. Will Be Marching for Their Autonomy
https://www.them.us/story/lgbtq-queer-youth-assemble-march-trans-day-visibility
Youth Mental Health
Engagement or Attendance (Compromiso o Asistencia) which measurement is more important? Also read about breakthrough science and ChatGPT.
Youth Mental Health
Year 3, Week 48 (150 total reports)
22.03.2023-28.03.2023
REVIEW and ANNOUNCEMENTS
Engagement or Attendance (Compromiso o Asistencia) which measurement is more important? Also read about breakthrough science and ChatGPT.
This Week’s Top Links
28.03.2023
Most Jobs Soon To Be ‘Influenced’ By Artificial Intelligence, Research Out Of OpenAI And University Of Pennsylvania Suggests
Many of this week’s articles focus on the Game-Changing technology of ChatGPT. We need to be teaching our children how to use it, not how to avoid it. Read the article by Bill Gates below for the incredible breakthrough this technology offers. This WILL become Job Skills 101 for the work force of the future. Also below, learn how to improve your own prompting skills.
27.03.2023
Student Engagement Matters More Than Attendance; Why Don’t Schools Track It?
We CAN measure Engagement and it is a far better indicator of student success than attendance (the next question is “does school success equate to life success?”). I think we choose to measure attendance because we can force compliance around that measurement and it puts the onus on the student to show up rather than on the teacher to improve.
26.03.2023
11 Tips to Take Your ChatGPT Prompts to the Next Level
https://www.wired.com/story/11-tips-better-chatgpt-prompts
I’ve had a lot of fun with this article this week. My wife asked, “When do the turtles come to nest on our local beaches,” and I thought of running the prompts: Turtle nesting, Chuburna beaches, less than 200 words, write in the style of Donald Trump. Do your own “Prompt Play” and see what your friends, family and children can create. Send your results (and prompts) to me.
25.03.2023
The Unexpected Gift of Trauma: The Path to Posttraumatic Growth
It is so important to remember the difference between adversity and trauma. All of us experience adversity, the majority of us have multiple adverse experiences in our lives. But not all adversity becomes trauma. This article looks at turning adversity into growth.
24.03.2023
Bill Gates Says We're Witnessing a 'Stunning' New Technology Age. 5 Ways You Must Prepare Now
This was my highlighted article of the week. To say that ChatGPT is the most stunning step since UI (User Interface) is a major statement. Read why Gates thinks it’s so important.
23.03.2023
How Smart People Can Stop Being Miserable
https://apple.news/AWXoxshWPS3Sgw8x-UnB-Dw
I know a lot of smart, but miserable, people and this article can be very helpful in encouraging them to alter behaviors that undermine both their joy and their self-esteem. I sure walked away with a lot of new insights from this article.
22.03.2023
Private opulence, public squalor: How the U.S. helps the rich and hurts the poor
The USA is rapidly becoming locked into a country that is Of the rich, BY the rich and FOR the rich. Open up this article to learn why this is occurring and how to identify the techniques used by the opulent to manipulate poverty to their advantage. Discuss with friends; who benefits from poverty, school shootings and anti-woke hatred?
This Week’s Links
28.03.2023
Most Jobs Soon To Be ‘Influenced’ By Artificial Intelligence, Research Out Of OpenAI And University Of Pennsylvania Suggests
You Should Use ChatGPT for These Mundane Tasks
https://lifehacker.com/you-should-use-chatgpt-for-these-mundane-tasks-1850263749
Why the FDA Approved a Video Game—Yes, a Video Game!—as an Official Treatment for ADHD
https://www.wellandgood.com/video-game-to-treat-adhd/
Do You Struggle With ADHD? Changing Your Diet and Habits in These 5 Ways May Help Ease Symptoms
https://www.womansworld.com/posts/health/adhd-symptoms-improve
ABOLISH POVERTY: Matthew Desmond on How We Can Do It
https://nextbigideaclub.com/magazine/abolish-poverty-matthew-desmond-can-podcast/41076/
For the sake of our children, the global carbon budget is the most important one to balance
27.03.2023
Student Engagement Matters More Than Attendance; Why Don’t Schools Track It?
Showing Up with Empathy
Most Jobs Soon To Be ‘Influenced’ By Artificial Intelligence, Research Out Of OpenAI And University Of Pennsylvania Suggests
The GOP's 'Parents Bill of Rights' excludes millions of parents
https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/gops-parents-bill-rights-nightmare-teachers-rcna76554
Education expert John Hattie's new book draws on more than 130,000 studies to find out what helps students learn
To help new students adapt, some colleges are eliminating grades
26.03.2023
11 Tips to Take Your ChatGPT Prompts to the Next Level
https://www.wired.com/story/11-tips-better-chatgpt-prompts
This generative AI tool actually teaches kids how to write
The Party that Says It's Protecting Kids Pushes to Bring Back Child Labor
https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a43412169/child-labor-united-states/
Emotionally Intelligent People Use This Simple 3-Word Phrase to Make Better Decisions and Move On
25.03.2023
The Unexpected Gift of Trauma: The Path to Posttraumatic Growth
What Has Caused the Long Decline in Kids’ Mental Health?
Rehumanizing the Teaching Profession
https://www.ascd.org/blogs/rehumanizing-the-teaching-profession?_hsmi=251464198
24.03.2023
Bill Gates Says We're Witnessing a 'Stunning' New Technology Age. 5 Ways You Must Prepare Now
Most trans adults say transitioning made them more satisfied with their lives
https://apple.news/A5Gbl6AvoRFyYhdKa2kyGwg
12 Little Tricks To Be More Courageous Every Day
https://www.yourtango.com/self/how-to-be-more-courageous
Book bans hit record high, overwhelmingly targeting titles by or about queer or Black people
23.03.2023
How Smart People Can Stop Being Miserable
https://apple.news/AWXoxshWPS3Sgw8x-UnB-Dw
Woke Is Just Another Word for Liberal
https://apple.news/AgEtKdcMqSamC9SoYsKaS2Q
Wendy Suzuki: How to calm your anxiety, from a neuroscientist
https://www.ted.com/talks/wendy_suzuki_how_to_calm_your_anxiety_from_a_neuroscientist
22.03.2023
Private opulence, public squalor: How the U.S. helps the rich and hurts the poor
What It's Like to Be an LGBTQ+ High Schooler in DeSantis's Florida
https://www.advocate.com/voices/school-desantis-florida
When My Dad Got Cancer, I Kept Asking, 'Why Him?' His 3-Word Response Floored Me.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/dad-colon-colorectal-cancer-grief_n_640f74c9e4b0a3902d2c5a27
Moving Toward Values-Based Actions
What to Know About the Conners 4 ADHD Assessment
https://www.verywellmind.com/the-conners-4-adhd-assessment-test-how-its-used-scoring-7104954
Youth Mental Health
Play, collaboration and motivational interviewing (Juego, colaboración y entrevistas motivacionales). Important techniques for parenting and leadership (paternidad y liderazgo).
Youth Mental Health
Year 3, Week 47 (149 total reports)
15.03.2023-21.03.2023
REVIEW and ANNOUNCEMENTS
Play, collaboration and motivational interviewing (Juego, colaboración y entrevistas motivacionales). Important techniques for parenting and leadership (paternidad y liderazgo).
This Week’s Top Links
21.03.2023
New Research Shows Why Kids Need Play for Mental Health
Unstructured play often occurs when a child is bored and finds creative solutions to their idleness. Unfortunately, many adults abhor boredom and we have inundated that time with social media and doom scrolling. Worse still, we project that need to fill every mental void onto our children. The truth is this projection is damaging. It limits the creativity of children and their sense of wonder. The type of boredom I’m speaking about is not the boredom often experienced in some classrooms when children sit for hours listening to an egocentric, redundant lecturer. It is the boredom they might feel when there is a lull in their day. We shouldn’t rush to fill that void with structured games or activities. The child will find something creative to do. And the more they are exposed to unstructured play, the more creative they become. Schedule downtime for your children and yourself. Avoid the compulsive rush to be continually busy or on a mobile device. Leave room for boredom and creativity. A compulsive generation would say, “Idle hands are the devil’s playground,” the truth is, “Idle hands are creativity’s opportunity…”
20.03.2023
On Mister Rogers' birthday, a question: Would today's GOP try to ban him for being woke?
There is a cartoon in the links below where an individual (who hates “woke”) is asked to define it. In exasperation, she finally says, “It’s everything I don’t like…” Woke has become the MAGA GOP’s buzzword for compassion; caring for the vulnerable, standing against racism, being open to other people’s points of view and/or spending on healthcare or other programs that assist the poor. Fred Rogers was supportive of such things and wrote many episodes about racism and empathy. This question intrigued me and I sadly must answer in the positive. YES! The GOP would target Mister Rogers and try to ban him from television and teaching our children.
19.03.2023
7 Most Destructive Habits People Have
https://infinitymasculine.com/posts/7-most-destructive-habits-people-have
Please take an inventory from this article and pass it along to your friends. If you don’t find yourself admitting that you exhibit any of these habits, perhaps you need friends who will be more honest with you. As a pastor, I used to tell my congregation when encouraging them to go with me to detention centers and prisons; “We are all either sinners or liars.” I really love this quote from Eugene H. Peterson’s, The Message: Matthew 7:1-5 “Don’t pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults—unless, of course, you want the same treatment. That critical spirit has a way of boomeranging. It’s easy to see a smudge on your neighbor’s face and be oblivious to the ugly sneer on your own. Do you have the nerve to say, ‘Let me wash your face for you,’ when your own face is distorted by contempt? It’s this whole traveling road-show mentality all over again, playing a holier-than-thou part instead of just living your part. Wipe that ugly sneer off your own face, and you might be fit to offer a washcloth to your neighbor.
18.03.2023
The Power of Wonder: The Extraordinary Emotion that Will Change the Way You Live, Learn and Lead
This link, Next Big Idea Club, often has reviews of excellent new books and ideas that are about to be released. I’m infatuated with the quest to be a model of wonder. Even thinking of wonder as an emotion we can both co-regulate and develop is an exciting concept to me. Wonder as a key ingredient in leadership, parenting and educating would reform the way that we raise children and relate with each other. Use this article to explore how you can develop the habits of wonder and apply them to your life.
17.03.2023
The So-Called “Culture Wars”
https://kottke.org/23/03/the-so-called-culture-wars
Like “Woke,” “Culture Wars,” is an adage of the radical right used to send people off into rabbit holes of deluded thinking. Culture Wars is a clandestine term for hatred. It attempts to WHITEwash efforts to raise awareness or compassion for people of color or atypical behavior. It attempts to persuade us that we should return to an America that was GREAT: Great for white, heterosexual, businessmen. A time when no one questioned the norm for fear of political hacks like Joseph R. McCarthy and J. Edgar Hoover.
16.03.2023
The Tactic That Can Make Arguing With A Stubborn Person Much Easier
https://www.fatherly.com/life/how-to-use-motivational-interviewing-change-persons-mind
Motivational Interviewing: This is a technique often used by therapists when dealing with addictions and compulsions, what I often refer to as, “Yeahbut…” situations. When no matter what you suggest the person responds with, “Yeah but…” The next time you find yourself in a repetitive loop with someone who is as ensconced in their version of truth as you are (admit it…), switch to this technique and both of you might come out learning more—if not about the topic—at least about each other.
15.03.2023
Harvard career expert: The No. 1 'desirable skill' that very few people have—especially men
https://apple.news/AAy3HpuV-T5OfX8AAeyM2oA
Encouraging collaboration in young people means moving beyond the culture of individualism. Our individualistic society often rewards self-initiative instead of group collaboration. Many of our classrooms are still set up as if the only “expert” in the room is the person lecturing. Collaboration recognizes that we each have expertise we can bring to the table and a leader’s role is to call forth that group knowledge.
This Week’s Links
21.03.2023
New Research Shows Why Kids Need Play for Mental Health
Raising Teens Made Me Question Myself As A Parent
https://www.scarymommy.com/parenting/to-the-parents-who-feel-like-giving-up-on-the-teen
Editorial cartoon: Define 'woke'
https://www.startribune.com/editorial-cartoon-define-woke/600260479/
What Will COVID Babies Be Like In Kindergarten? A Doctor Explains
https://www.scarymommy.com/parenting/what-will-covid-babies-be-like-in-kindergarten
20.03.2023
On Mister Rogers' birthday, a question: Would today's GOP try to ban him for being woke?
Prepare Yourself Now for the Changing World
The Truth About Long COVID Is Finally Emerging. It’s Not What We Thought.
https://apple.news/A2Q8_xcjAQuStcALh7Qju4w
19.03.2023
7 Most Destructive Habits People Have
https://infinitymasculine.com/posts/7-most-destructive-habits-people-have
11 Simple Rules That Will Help You Navigate Almost Any Awkward Situation
Florida Republican Says His Bill Would Ban Young Girls From Discussing Their Periods In School
https://apple.news/ADGVHh_kPRCiNuSh0k_Itug
18.03.2023
The Power of Wonder: The Extraordinary Emotion that Will Change the Way You Live, Learn and Lead
5 Totally Bonkers Things Happening to Your Teenager’s Brain That All Parents Should Know
Woman recreates 'Inside Out' from a neurodivergent standpoint and people are feeling seen
https://www.upworthy.com/inside-out-with-neurodivergence
These 3 'secret strengths' can make introverted kids become highly successful adults, says bestselling author Susan Cain
17.03.2023
The So-Called “Culture Wars”
https://kottke.org/23/03/the-so-called-culture-wars
Harvard psychologists have been studying what it takes to raise 'good' kids. Here are 6 tips.
The Most Important Habit to Break if You Have Anxiety
https://parade.com/health/worst-habit-for-anxiety
My Adult Son Has Mastered the Art of Weaponized Incompetence
https://slate.com/human-interest/2023/03/weaponized-incompetence-care-and-feeding-advice.html
How To Fight The Urge To Always Make Everything About Yourself
16.03.2023
The Tactic That Can Make Arguing With A Stubborn Person Much Easier
https://www.fatherly.com/life/how-to-use-motivational-interviewing-change-persons-mind
6 Expert Tips for Dealing with Separation Fears
Youth Mental Health
Awe and Kindness (asombro y amabilidad), how do we put that at the heart of what we teach? Doing so makes less self-centered, more joyful (Menos egocéntrico, más alegre) humans.
Youth Mental Health
Year 3, Week 46 (148 total reports)
01.03.2023-07.03.2023
REVIEW and ANNOUNCEMENTS
Awe and Kindness (asombro y amabilidad), how do we put that at the heart of what we teach? Doing so makes less self-centered, more joyful (Menos egocéntrico, más alegre) humans.
This Week’s Top Links
14.03.2023
One Powerful Way to Help Young People Be Less Self-Focused
Apparently curricula that focuses on testing and SAT’s leads to students who are self-focused. Healthy children come to us full of wonder—that is their primary investment. Our true role should be to return that investment (ROI). When young people graduate they shouldn’t be saying, “I’m so glad that is over,” but, “There is so much more to learn!” Designing a curricula based on wonder (and awe) also leads young people to be less self-focused.
13.03.2023
2,000 Years of Kindness
https://www.themarginalian.org/2023/03/12/kindness/
Last week, I spoke glowingly about this magazine, The Marginalian. Let me add to that praise by encouraging you to review this essay about kindness. Our work with children should lead to helping them deepen their wonder and become kinder people. That is exactly what the world needs today, not more opinionated psuedo-experts like Ron DeSantis, Rupert Murdoch and Tucker Carlson. Intelligence and wealth are not bettering our world. DeSantis is an Ivy League trained lawyer and is creating a fascist state that he wants to become a model for the way he would lead America as a President.
12.09.2023
We’re Missing a Key Driver of Teen Anxiety
https://apple.news/A3ezW_OhTSAiloPg6dEUuvw
In our rush to “make up” for lost time during COVID, we are doubling down on STEM learning with our children. This doubling down is leading to increased teen anxiety from increased adult pressure. As mentioned above, STEM curricula has not led to an exceptional economic or democratic world. To drive down stress in our young people’s lives, research indicates that we need to increase teaching methods that lead to wonder and kindness. Every subject can lead to wonder, but that needs to become the goal, not a byproduct. “How can I make my students more interested in learning?” That should be the primary question of every school.
11.03.2023
All Work, No Independent Play Cause of Children’s Declining Mental Health
https://neurosciencenews.com/child-psychology-play-22750/
Looking at this week’s links, you might think I was cherry-picking articles that featured the stress we are creating in young people’s lives by doubling down on tests and curriculum. But I’m not, these articles—based upon strong research—are bounteous in any review of adolescent literature. Often, what is taught in our schools is slow to respond to research, but this is critical and time-sensitive. No generation of children has reported higher stress than the current generation.
10.03.2023
How to Respond When Your Kid Shuts You Out
https://lifehacker.com/how-to-respond-when-your-kid-shuts-you-out-1850202747
Children don’t shut us out because they hate us, they shut us out because they’re overwhelmed. Research on police officers under pressure reveal the same behaviors. The more stress we experience, the narrower our viewpoint and the less empathic we become. The list in this article offers many insights and strategies to why children shut us out and how we can respond.
09.03.2023
How to Help Teenagers Stay Motivated at School
https://time.com/6260825/teenagers-motivation-school/
In one of my open conversations with a teen this week, he (a very bright young man) told me how bored he was at school and spoke about how his friends and he are learning to “hack” the system. His responses have been genius, in the real world he would be commended and he’d be a great member of any work team. There was no way I could reprimand him when his responses were truly initiated by the lack of innovation from his teachers. Having worked in many school systems, I have seen that many teachers are hog-tied by administrations that focus myopically on test results and not student development beyond academics. This is also a result of political and parental pressure. We can be more involved in our children’s education—in a healthy way. But that also means being well-informed about human development, socially, emotionally and cognitively, not just academically. Unfortunately, many of the issues being focused on by parents at school board meetings across the United States are driven by the fears of the religious fundamentalism rife within the political system. One of the articles worth reading below, “2600 Leaked Anti-trans Lobbyist Emails Show Fundamentalism, Not Evidence, Is How First Anti-Trans Bills Were Drafted,” speaks to the lack of evidence-based research in some of the policies driving school decisions today. It is alarming, read the article below about how one Texan lawmaker wants to draft legislation that would put a bounty on Transgender people “If You’re a Drag Performer in Texas, You Could Soon Have a Bounty on Your Head.”
08.03.2023
How American Schools Manufacture Anxious Teens
If the goal is to raise anxious, self-focused adults, American Schools are doing a stellar job. If the goal is to raise a kinder, awe-inspired generation, American Schools are doing abysmal. The worst education is correlated with the Reddest States. Shutting down libraries and barring curricula that teaches accurate history, is dumbing down children, increasing their stress and making them incompetent for the workplace or leadership. Fortunately, many young people themselves, see the ineptitude in this and are gathering to push back. They realize we can’t protect their bodies, let alone their minds and they are calling us out for our hypocrisy. I tip my hat to those brave young people.
This Week’s Links
14.03.2023
One Powerful Way to Help Young People Be Less Self-Focused
The 5 Superpowers of Highly Sensitive People
https://www.inc.com/jessica-stillman/the-5-superpowers-of-highly-sensitive-people.html
Designing Trauma-Sensitive Classroom Management Strategies
5 Must-Read Books for Anyone Fascinated by the Human Mind
https://nextbigideaclub.com/magazine/5-must-read-books-anyone-fascinated-human-mind/40651/
If You’re a Drag Performer in Texas, You Could Soon Have a Bounty on Your Head
13.03.2023
2,000 Years of Kindness
https://www.themarginalian.org/2023/03/12/kindness/
Targeting LGBTQ rights: straight from authoritarian Germany and Russia
The COVID Question That Will Take Decades to Answer
https://apple.news/AgDLZFqsWSIKHDj9KVQ3E_A
12.09.2023
We’re Missing a Key Driver of Teen Anxiety
https://apple.news/A3ezW_OhTSAiloPg6dEUuvw
The Kinds of Loneliness No One Is Talking About
How to Bear Your Loneliness: Grounding Wisdom from the Great Buddhist Teacher Pema Chödrön
https://www.themarginalian.org/2023/03/11/pema-chodron-loneliness/
2600 Leaked Anti-trans Lobbyist Emails Show Fundamentalism, Not Evidence, Is How First Anti-Trans Bills Were Drafted
https://erininthemorn.substack.com/p/2600-leaked-anti-trans-lobbyist-emails
'I'm sick of schools not teaching my kids life lessons - science is pointless'
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/im-sick-schools-not-teaching-29425260
Harvard professor explains Bayes’ rule
https://bigthink.com/series/explain-it-like-im-smart/bayes-rule-375536/
11.03.2023
All Work, No Independent Play Cause of Children’s Declining Mental Health
https://neurosciencenews.com/child-psychology-play-22750/
The science and art of challenging assumptions
https://www.nature.com/articles/d42473-022-00442-1
Groundbreaking study identifies the cause of ADHD
https://www.thebrighterside.news/post/3072023-groundbreaking-study-identifies-the-cause-of-adhd
These Actually-Nice Throw Blankets Are Weighted Blankets In Disguise
https://apple.news/A2GzFI2eBR_iZ0ZIEj0p6SQ
10.03.2023
How to Respond When Your Kid Shuts You Out
https://lifehacker.com/how-to-respond-when-your-kid-shuts-you-out-1850202747
Teachers, Try This: Help Your Students Embrace Boredom
09.03.2023
How to Help Teenagers Stay Motivated at School
https://time.com/6260825/teenagers-motivation-school/
The Remarkable Power of Kindness and Why It Matters
5 Best Breathing Exercises to Relieve Anxiety and Stress
https://www.cnet.com/health/mental/5-breathing-exercises-to-reduce-stress/
The fear and fury of these Florida parents
https://www.washingtonpost.com/parenting/2023/03/08/florida-laws-parents/
The Danger of Raising Children Without Consequences
Social media addiction disrupts the sleep, moods and social activities of teens and young adults
08.03.2023
How American Schools Manufacture Anxious Teens
Educators’ View: What Teachers Need to Succeed and Stay in the Classroom
A Doctor with ADHD Shares How to Thrive With the Diagnosis
https://www.menshealth.com/health/a43084713/adhd-tools-diagnosis-sasha-hamdani/
The surprisingly simple parenting advice that almost always works, even when all else fails
https://www.upworthy.com/simple-parenting-advice-that-almost-always-works
This is why 'polycrisis' is a useful way of looking at the world right now
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2023/03/polycrisis-adam-tooze-historian-explains/
Stress may lead to lower cognitive function, study finds
https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/07/health/high-stress-lower-cognition-study-wellness/
Florida teachers react to Gov. DeSantis State of the State: Students and educators deserve better
Youth Mental Health
Learn how to raise sensitive, empathic children (niños sensibles y empáticos) that will assist each other when anxiety (ansiedad) feels overwhelming.
Youth Mental Health
Year 3, Week 46 (148 total reports)
01.03.2023-07.03.2023
REVIEW and ANNOUNCEMENTS
Learn how to raise sensitive, empathic children (niños sensibles y empáticos) that will assist each other when anxiety (ansiedad) feels overwhelming.
This Week’s Top Links
07.03.2023
Radical Compassion and the Seeds of Change: The Dalai Lama’s Illustrated Ecological Philosophy for the Next Generation
https://www.themarginalian.org/2023/03/06/heart-to-heart-dalai-lama-patrick-mcdonnell/
Links from this online resource (The Marginalian) are rapidly becoming some of my favorites. This article will reveal why. This article reviews a brilliant book filled with compelling quotes, illustrations and poetry that speak to our connectedness—both to each other and to our environment. I hope that parent(s), teachers and home care staff will not only invest in this book, but also invest in taking the time to read it next to a young person. If I were still in a detention setting, this is exactly the type of book I would ask our “golden greeters” to come and read to our incarcerated youth.
06.03.2023
How to Grow Re-enchanted with the World: A Salve for the Sense of Existential Meaninglessness and Burnout
https://www.themarginalian.org/2023/03/04/katherine-may-enchantment/
Is it burnout or have we forgotten how to be enchanted? This article (also from my new favorite, the Marginalian) asks us to examine this critical question. Attaching meaning to our lives (and the lives of our children) raises our well-being and our engagement. However, it does take time and reflection. It is another important habit to co-regulate with children as they negotiate adolescence.
05.03.2023
Sensitive: The Hidden Power of the Highly Sensitive Person in a Loud, Fast, Too-Much World
We do the term “sensitive” a disservice when we use it to imply that a person is easily offended. Sensitive people are also highly aware—of their environment and the feelings of the people around them. In a positive light, we would call “sensitive” people empathic. Empathy doesn’t have to lead to frailty and an ego that is easily insulted. In its true form, being sensitive helps people become good leaders or teachers because they know how to read a room and tell the readiness of a crowd. Examining the positive aspects of sensitivity and limiting the negatives is beneficial for our lives and the lives of our children.
04.03.2023
Kids who do these 12 things have 'highly sensitive' brains—why parenting experts say it's an 'advantage'
As mentioned in the previous paragraph, being sensitive has plusses and minuses, unfortunately some people have used it as a label to typecast people. In this article, see how leaders, with expertise in parenting, have chosen to see the plusses of being sensitive and learned how to grow those positive aspects in the children around them.
03.03.2023
A surprising remedy for teens in mental health crises
https://hechingerreport.org/a-surprising-remedy-for-teens-in-mental-health-crises/
Training young people to recognize anxiety in each other and giving them tools to help a friend take a mental health break (or seek assistance if complicated) is truly the most advanced way to help youth. In my own work in schools, young people who were trained in this manner increased their awareness, felt a sense of deeper meaning in their school culture and had a healthier sense of well-being. We spend so much time prompting young people to compete, it is worth spending an equal amount of time to train youth to cooperate. Of course, any cultural change among youth must be first led by a cultural change among adults. A culture that is filled with specific praise—especially praising the efforts of each other—and devoid of sarcasm. Sarcasm—when used to “discipline” children—is a negligent of adults who are frustrated they can’t use physical violence to force compliance. It prompts students who are less cognitively adept at the subtleties of sarcasm, to use physical means to bully (force compliance on) others. Most of the sarcasm I’ve seen teachers use with children is really a form of insulting the child. We don’t inspire healthy cognitive development by insulting or hitting people. That only serves to shut down the learning and growth potential of the brain (see the article below about “The Blindness of Blame.”)
02.03.2023
From ‘Dilbert’ to DeSantis, white grievance is all the rage
https://www.msnbc.com/the-reidout/reidout-blog/dilbert-scott-adams-white-grievance-rcna72688
Scott Adams (creator or Dilbert) joined the ranks of many raging white xenophobes this week with a rant about white grievance. White Grievance is close-minded view of the world that sees compassion (being woke) as a threat. DeSantis labels it as liberalism and—in his manifesto for a presidential run—“The Courage to Be Free”—reveals how he wants to make his racist and anti-LGBTQ views into both the law of the land and the curricula we teach our children. Indeed, many of the policies he is trying to pass in Florida are unconstitutional; but when has that stopped some authoritarian members of the GOP from trying to force their viewpoints on others?
01.03.2023
The Blindness of Blame: How Anger Stops Awareness and Growth
Many members of the authoritarian branch of the GOP have begun to label awareness and growth under one negative term: “Woke.” As if it is a weakness to be compassionate. In fact, some members have elevated the use of blame to an art form and are attempting to instill it in the policies of the US. Legalizing rage, hatred and racism and instilling it as the primary curricula in schools, is simply the beginning of an authoritarian state the undermines democracy. It is the opposite of what the framers of the constitution (though many were also slave-holders) had in mind when they proposed a new nation separate from England’s monarchy.
This Week’s Links
07.03.2023
Radical Compassion and the Seeds of Change: The Dalai Lama’s Illustrated Ecological Philosophy for the Next Generation
https://www.themarginalian.org/2023/03/06/heart-to-heart-dalai-lama-patrick-mcdonnell/
Teachers change lives -- but what makes a great teacher?
https://theconversation.com/teachers-change-lives-but-what-makes-a-great-teacher-198313
What Can Teachers Do to Engage Anxious Students?
New study provides insight into the relationship between ADHD and school attendance problems in adolescents
How to Save Academic Freedom From Ron DeSantis
‘Parental rights’ advocates don’t really trust parents
https://floridaphoenix.com/2023/03/06/parental-rights-advocates-dont-really-trust-parents/
This Is How Long It Really Takes to Break a Habit—and 7 Steps to Actually Do It
https://www.realsimple.com/how-to-break-a-habit-7197984
06.03.2023
How to Grow Re-enchanted with the World: A Salve for the Sense of Existential Meaninglessness and Burnout
https://www.themarginalian.org/2023/03/04/katherine-may-enchantment/
A New Distillation of What Works in Classroom Instruction
For Educators, ChatGPT Poses Big Questions—and Big Possibilities
How common is transgender treatment regret, detransitioning?
Exercise Isn't the Only Hobby That Boosts Your Mental Health
https://www.cnet.com/health/mental/exercise-isnt-the-only-hobby-that-boosts-your-mental-health/
05.03.2023
Sensitive: The Hidden Power of the Highly Sensitive Person in a Loud, Fast, Too-Much World
2 Ways to Gain Control Over Your Anger
Use the ‘Stop Drop, and Roll’ Technique To Deal When You’re Emotionally Triggered
https://www.wellandgood.com/how-to-respond-emotional-triggers/
04.03.2023
Kids who do these 12 things have 'highly sensitive' brains—why parenting experts say it's an 'advantage'
How to Stop Being Defensive
https://www.verywellmind.com/how-to-stop-being-defensive-7187366
03.03.2023
A surprising remedy for teens in mental health crises
https://hechingerreport.org/a-surprising-remedy-for-teens-in-mental-health-crises/
America’s teenage girls are not OK
https://apple.news/ACY5HDOJ4RB2kbwcyKGEREg
What Losing My Two Children Taught Me About Grief
https://apple.news/AInpkklAMSnK0rBBkDzYO7A
John Fetterman shows how depression can become an emergency. Experts say to watch for these signs of crisis
https://fortune.com/well/2023/03/02/signs-depression-emergency-signs-of-crisis/
The Power of Purpose: Find Meaning to Enjoy More Well-Being
A Simple Breathing Technique to Calm Your Nerves
https://www.shannonkyeageryoga.com/post/how-to-do-box-breathing
Self-Acceptance and Self-Esteem Aren't the Same Thing. What to Know
02.03.2023
From ‘Dilbert’ to DeSantis, white grievance is all the rage
https://www.msnbc.com/the-reidout/reidout-blog/dilbert-scott-adams-white-grievance-rcna72688
How to Find Joy in Your Sisyphean Existence
A psychology expert shares the 7 toxic signs of 'highly insecure' people—and how to deal with them
The GOP wants to erase LGBTQ people
https://epgn.com/2023/03/01/the-gop-wants-to-erase-lgbtq-people/
01.03.2023
The Blindness of Blame: How Anger Stops Awareness and Growth
Deaths of Despair
https://www.instagram.com/p/CpNx8EDpRhK/?igshid=MDJmNzVkMjY=
Nature baths can positively impact on your amygdala, the part of the brain that registers stress
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2023/02/heres-why-a-nature-bath-helps-your-brain-recover/
How To Create Good Sleep Habits for Kids — 11 Sleep Tips for Infants, Adolescents, and Teens
https://www.womansworld.com/posts/health/how-to-teach-good-sleep-habits-for-kids
How do you end a conversation with someone who won't stop talking? 19 people share their tricks.
https://www.upworthy.com/how-do-you-stop-a-conversation-with-someone-who-wont-stop-talking-rp2
Three Big Takeaways from Educational Leadership’s Report on Remote Learning
Transforming Empathy Into Compassion: Why It Matters
Dr Becky Is Here to Help Make Your Parenting Journey Easier
https://www.sheknows.com/parenting/articles/2716575/dr-becky-kennedy-good-inside-parenting-advice/
Youth Mental Health
Adolescent mental health (salud mental adolescente) especially among young women (mujer jóvenes) is a central theme to this week’s links.
Youth Mental Health
Year 3, Week 45 (147 total reports)
22.02.2023-28.02.2023
REVIEW and ANNOUNCEMENTS
Adolescent mental health (salud mental adolescente) especially among young women (mujer jóvenes) is a central theme to this week’s links.
This Week’s Top Links
28.02.2023
The Key To Tackling Our Mental Health Crisis: Community-Based Care
The role of a leader today must be to connect those who are well-off with the vulnerable or as Dorothy Day used to say, “to afflict the comfortable and the comfort the afflicted.” Too many of our leaders act as if they are the afflicted when, in fact, most have not really known hardship. In this article, the author recalls when his own child was overwhelmed by mental health issues and a community stepped in to assist the child and family. Now he oversees a non-profit organization that creates community for the vulnerable.
27.02.2023
Seattle's Third Avenue Project takes a new approach to old problems
https://crosscut.com/news/2023/02/seattles-third-avenue-project-takes-new-approach-old-problems
I took special interest in this story because 1) I WAS a homeless youth on the streets of Seattle and 2) I worked with a pre-cursor to the program long before it had any funding or structure. This project is a model for communities around the world.
25.02.2023
A mom describes her tween son's brain. It's a must-read for all parents
Not only does this mom do a good job of describing the teen brain, but she does it to teach her own tween about what’s going on inside his brain. Adolescents need to know about all the physiological changes that are occurring to both their bodies AND their brains. Knowledge is one part of understanding and can lead to empathy and self-compassion.
24.02.2023
3 Things People Who Are Good at Conversation Don't Do, According to a Research Psychologist
At different times in my conversations, I have been guilty of all three of these conversation blockers. Naming them is the first step to ending them.
23.02.2023
No, Teen Suicide Isn’t Rising Because Life Got Objectively Worse
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2023/02/teen-suicide-depression-girls-social-media.html
What many people don’t realize about the adolescent brain is that it begins as very concrete operational, in other words, the immediate is given an almost compulsive focus. Social media isn’t the only issue here, although limiting social media is one of the solutions. Adolescents can become obsessively entranced by comparisons and excessively sensitive to criticism. Generally speaking, any social filter or healthy boundary they have must be developed with the assistance of a healthy adult.
22.02.2023
Bertrand Russell on the Secret of Happiness
https://www.themarginalian.org/2023/02/21/bertrand-russell-happiness/
I love a phrase this author uses in her article, “Unselfing.” It is a regular exercise she uses in her life to gain perspective. She cites happiness as a state where we are “dissolved into something complete and great.” When we are at the happiest, this state of transient hypofrontality (getting lost to the moment—and, in particular—lost to the critical self) is worth growing in the regular habits of our lives. What do you do on a frequent bases to “unself?”
This Week’s Links
28.02.2023
The Key To Tackling Our Mental Health Crisis: Community-Based Care
Ukraine Releases Banksy Mural Stamp To Mark One Year Anniversary of Russia’s Invasion
https://mymodernmet.com/ukraine-banksy-stamp/
Full-Time Teacher Forced To Deliver Pizzas Because She 'Can't Survive' On Her Teaching Paycheck
https://www.yourtango.com/news/full-time-teacher-deliver-pizzas-she-cant-survive-teaching-salary
Top 26 Resources for Learning Sign Language
https://www.ireviews.com/sign-language-resources
27.02.2023
Seattle's Third Avenue Project takes a new approach to old problems
https://crosscut.com/news/2023/02/seattles-third-avenue-project-takes-new-approach-old-problems
How to help teen girls’ mental health struggles | New Pittsburgh Courier
https://newpittsburghcourier.com/2023/02/27/how-to-help-teen-girls-mental-health-struggles/
Want to Raise Children Who Become Emotionally Intelligent Leaders? Try the “Rule of Reflection”
You'll Never Be Happy If You Keep Trying To Solve Your Problems This Way
https://www.yourtango.com/self/youll-never-be-happy-keep-trying-solve-problems-this-way
Dr. Randy Cale’s Terrific Parenting: Part II: Managing the child with ADD/ADHD
I’m a teacher and have a go-to phrase to make sure kids do things the first time you tell them to – it works every time
A lack of problem-solving skills and rigid thinking linked to vaccine refusal, study finds
26.02.2023
Clarifying What Matters
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/mindfully-doing-what-matters/202302/clarifying-what-matters
How to help young people limit screen time — and feel better about how they look
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2023/02/26/1159099629/teens-social-media-body-image
Teacher says schools need to keep students’ info from ‘Christo-fascist’ parents
25.02.2023
A mom describes her tween son's brain. It's a must-read for all parents
Analysis: There’s a mental health crisis among teen girls. Here are some ways to support them
Zen Dens: Creating Mental Health Spaces at School
https://www.edweek.org/leadership/zen-dens-creating-mental-health-spaces-at-school/2023/02
Students across Florida walk out in protest of Gov. Ron DeSantis' anti-American policies
How to Know When Your Child Needs Help
Teen suicide sprouts from depression or mood disorder, says expert
https://www.citizen.co.za/news/teen-suicide-sprouts-from-depression-or-mood-disorder-february-2023/
How to Help a Child with Anxiety, According to Experts
https://www.purewow.com/family/how-to-help-a-child-with-anxiety
Parenting Coach Shares Top Tip For Dealing With A Strong-Willed Child
People With High Emotional Intelligence Use These 3 Incredibly Powerful Words Every Single Day
Parents Swear by These Anxiety Tents To Help Kids Relax—and They’re All on Sale
https://www.parents.com/anxiety-tents-amazon-sale-7113624
24.02.2023
3 Things People Who Are Good at Conversation Don't Do, According to a Research Psychologist
Why People Interrupt Us and What to Do About It
Social Media Researcher Calls CDC Report “The Last Straw”
https://mindmatters.ai/2023/02/social-media-researcher-calls-cdc-report-the-last-straw/
‘Hugely disappointing’: Scientists, doctors denounce Idaho plan to criminalize mRNA vaccines
Florida Students Stage Walkout Over Ron DeSantis' Anti-Trans, Anti-Diversity Policies
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/florida-college-walkout-desantis_n_63f7a52de4b0e2590d423d36
Book bans internalize ‘shame’ for young LGBTQ+ people, advocates say. Here’s how they’re pushing back.
https://19thnews.org/2023/02/book-bans-lgbtq-reading/
23.02.2023
No, Teen Suicide Isn’t Rising Because Life Got Objectively Worse
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2023/02/teen-suicide-depression-girls-social-media.html
Do You Have a "Set Mind" or a "Mindset"?
The next steps for Lee County GOP’s “Ban the jab” resolution
https://winknews.com/2023/02/22/the-next-steps-for-lee-county-gops-ban-the-jab-resolution/
22.02.2023
Bertrand Russell on the Secret of Happiness
https://www.themarginalian.org/2023/02/21/bertrand-russell-happiness/
Colleges have a role in cultivating hopefulness (opinion) | Inside Higher Ed
https://www.insidehighered.com/views/2023/02/22/colleges-have-role-cultivating-hopefulness-opinion
Adults Are Letting Teen Girls Down
The Book That Explains Why Our Approach to Teen Unhappiness Is All Wrong
https://slate.com/culture/2023/02/emotional-lives-teenagers-lisa-damour-interview.html
This class requires ChatGPT usage, and the results are surprising
https://www.zdnet.com/article/this-class-requires-chatgpt-usage-the-results-are-surprising/
You Don’t Need to Be “the Boss” to Be a Leader
https://hbr.org/2023/02/you-dont-need-to-be-the-boss-to-be-a-leader
This Family Therapist–Created Quiz Pinpoints Inner Child Wounds That Could Be Influencing Your Behavior
https://www.wellandgood.com/inner-child-wounds/
Oxytocin’s effects aren’t just about love
Youth Mental Health
Living a gentle life (una vida gentil). Soft and Slow (Suave y lento) will be a part of my mantra this week. How can I invite those around me to live gentle lives?
Youth Mental Health
Year 3, Week 44 (146 total reports)
15.02.2023-21.02.2023
REVIEW and ANNOUNCEMENTS
Living a gentle life (una vida gentil). Soft and Slow (Suave y lento) will be a part of my mantra this week. How can I invite those around me to live gentle lives?
This Week’s Top Links
21.02.2023
If You Have Trouble Taking Slow, Deep Breaths, Think Instead About Breathing ‘Softly’
https://www.wellandgood.com/soft-breathing-technique/
One of the links I posted a couple weeks ago spoke about helping children when they are anxious. A tool they suggested was asking children to get on the floor with the child and pretend we are sloths; in other words, move and breath slowly. I embrace the concept of slow and soft. The words for go slowly in Spanish are “ir poco, a poco,” or, “go little by little.” It is part of my daily mantra. “Smile, breath, go slowly.” I might even add “breath softly” to that mantra, “respira suavemente.”
20.02.2023
A Psychologist Offers 3 Tips To De- Catastrophize Your Anxious Thoughts
Telling someone to stop catastrophizing or think differently doesn’t work. The ritual application (and practice) of mindfulness is one avenue to lowering the repetitiveness or frequency of such thoughts. I always suggest practicing the mantra in quiet and calm places so that it has power in chaotic situations. This article offers a few solid practices for decreasing catastrophic thinking.
19.02.2023
Some people who have autism and Asperger's think in pictures. Kinda like Google Images.
The link to the TED Talk by Professor Temple Grandin is—by itself—worth viewing this article. She is am adult on the Autism Spectrum who has worked to help educators and parents understand this “superpower.” All of us interact with people who are neurodiverse and it behooves us to learn more about how they are different from the neurotypical.
18.02.2023
When a Loved One Is in the Grip of Despair
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/14/opinion/letters/love-depression-suicide.html
The author of this article, David Brooks, is one of my favorite contemporary commentators. He has a weekly commentary on Fridays during the PBS News Hour, currently with co-commentator, Jonathan Capehart. After Senator John Fetterman bravely revealed he was checking into a hospital for severe depression, Brooks wrote this compelling piece about a friend who suffered from despair. As typical of Brooks, his insightful commentator shares the good and the bad. What he felt he did right and what he would have done differently.
17.02.2023
To help students get jobs, faculty must learn new skills (opinion)
We can’t lead people towards a gentler, more awe-filled lives, if we are not pursuing one ourselves. One of my favorite teachers (now a principal in Saskatchewan) would never call a child by their name unless it was to offer them specific public praise. Such teachers learn the use of new cognitive skills to build the well-being of children. With constant advances in technology and behavioral sciences advancing cumulatively, remaining a learning, open-minded person is imperative. This article focuses on teachers becoming conduits for youth to increase their community involvement. In the world of our children’s futures, they will need to become super-prompters and community builders. It’s never too early to start, but it does begin with leaders (teachers, administrators, staff and parents).
16.02.2023
Positive Parenting and Children's Cognitive Development
Positive parenting, like positive psychology is firmly established with decades of research behind it. In essence, positive psychology has studied the strengths in people and how to grow them rather than just the deficits in humanity and how to correct them. This article will explain more about this branch of psychology and applied parenting practices.
15.02.2023
How to get your kids to talk about their feelings
https://theconversation.com/how-to-get-your-kids-to-talk-about-their-feelings-194336
The transition from childhood to adulthood must include the ability to process intense feelings with words instead of just actions. An analogy I use is that adolescence is a time in our lives when our emotions—often intense—are carried in an ungainly suitcase without handles or latches. As we walk through crowded places, people inevitably bump into us destabilizing our load. Eventually we will drop the suitcase and it will bust open in front of a crowd. Helping young people grow words for their emotions (the contents of the suitcase) doesn’t make the bag any lighter, but it does make it easier to carry and allow us the ability to unlatch it in our own appropriate setting.
This Week’s Links
21.02.2023
If You Have Trouble Taking Slow, Deep Breaths, Think Instead About Breathing ‘Softly’
https://www.wellandgood.com/soft-breathing-technique/
An 85-year Harvard study on the key to happiness could spell trouble for introverts—unless you know these 2 tricks
20.02.2023
A Psychologist Offers 3 Tips To De- Catastrophize Your Anxious Thoughts
Leveraging ChatGPT: Practical Ideas for Educators
https://www.ascd.org/blogs/leveraging-chatgpt-practical-ideas-for-educators?mibextid=lURqYx
17 Things Parents of Children on the Autism Spectrum Want You to Know
Dr. Randy Cale’s Terrific Parenting: Parents: Help for the child with ADD/ADHD
"Phubbing" Is Associated With Lower Social Intelligence – But There's Good News
3 Pillars of a Happy Life
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/experimentations/202302/3-pillars-of-a-happy-life
Children need compassion and understanding — not punishments and judgment
19.02.2023
Some people who have autism and Asperger's think in pictures. Kinda like Google Images.
How To Help Kids With ADHD Manage Their Feelings At School & With Friends
https://www.yourtango.com/family/help-kids-adhd-manage-feelings
10 pieces of well-worn life advice you may need to hear right now
https://apple.news/AetasWvzWRcG-6YM5BYeeJg
18.02.2023
When a Loved One Is in the Grip of Despair
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/14/opinion/letters/love-depression-suicide.html
America Should Be in the Middle of a Schools Revolution
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/16/opinion/america-schools-revolution.html
The neuroscience of beauty: What your brain finds beautiful – and how this shapes your thoughts
https://www.sciencefocus.com/science/the-neuroscience-of-beauty/
Your middle school child is the most amazing person
https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/17/health/middle-school-children-wellness/
The Impact of ADHD on Academic Performance
6 Signs You Have Profound Emotional Trauma (And You’re Unaware Of It)
https://www.yourtango.com/self/signs-profound-emotional-trauma
Happiness Is in Your Hormones. Ways to Naturally Boost Dopamine and Serotonin
Some Schools Are Prioritizing More Sleep for Kids. Is It Making a Difference?
https://www.edutopia.org/article/school-start-time-changes-benefit-sleep/
New study finds immunity from Covid infection provides strong protection
17.02.2023
To help students get jobs, faculty must learn new skills (opinion)
It's Time to Take Teenage Mental Health Seriously
What Drives Children to Choose Compassion?
https://neurosciencenews.com/compassion-children-22519/
3 therapist-recommended online therapy platforms for teens and tips for finding the right therapist
https://www.insider.com/guides/health/mental-health/online-therapy-for-teens
Do You Want to Be Right—Or Do You Want to Be Happy?
https://www.esquire.com/lifestyle/a42209888/right-or-happy-relationships/
Black History, Uncensored: Nikole Hannah-Jones took GOPers to school
Ronald DeSantis Is Leading Florida to Freedom, One Ban at a Time
https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/a42888929/ron-desantis-banned-list/
Chelsea Handler rips Tucker Carlson to shreds for mocking her child-free life
16.02.2023
Positive Parenting and Children's Cognitive Development
Why College Students Are More Disengaged Than Ever
https://www.insidehook.com/daily_brief/news-opinion/college-students-disengaged
ChatGPT won’t take this job: The most in-demand skill is something only humans can do
Why U.S. teens aren't getting their driver's licenses
https://theweek.com/travel/1020987/why-us-teens-arent-getting-their-drivers-licenses
How We Need to Radically Rethink Conscious Awareness
Winners of the 2022 Travel Photographer of the Year Contest
15.02.2023
How to get your kids to talk about their feelings
https://theconversation.com/how-to-get-your-kids-to-talk-about-their-feelings-194336
'Why Can't I Change?' The 16 Voices in Your Head Stopping You From Reaching Your Dreams
People with social anxiety tend to engage in restrictive “safety behaviors” that make them less likable, study finds
Kindness Starts With You: How to Show Up for Yourself
Is Oxytocin Really the Love Hormone?
https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/is_oxytocin_really_the_love_hormone
Beyond Rosa and Harriet: Black History Picture Book Biographies
https://bookriot.com/black-history-picture-book-biographies/
More Black Families Are Considering Home-Schooling — And It Shouldn't Be A Shock As To Why
https://apple.news/AyOmRU_4vQcO5dqF4teOP9Q
The rise of ChatGPT shows why we need a clearer approach to technology in schools
Inside Our Autistic Minds review – this beautiful documentary will make you see the world differently