Category: Psychology
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4 Power Moves for Building Rapport
Seventy high schoolers I’ve never met are either staring at me or pretending I don’t exist. I’ve come 750 miles from my home in Kalamazoo to spend a day teaching this eclectic group of freshmen and sophomores, who struggle with school. I have just 6 hours to build rapport with them, to shift their thinking, and…
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Stepping Off Our Stress Box
There’s no question that today’s young adults are feeling intense levels of stress. 31% of all teens report feeling overwhelmed, depressed or sad as a result of stress 36% of teens report fatigue or feeling tired 23% report skipping a meal due to stress 2x as many students report their stress is getting worse compared…
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How to Teach Empathy
It’s hard not to feel like our society needs more empathy – more shared connection rather than polarized disconnection. What if we approached teaching empathy the way we teach literacy?
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One Happiness Practice You Need to Try…Now
My dad is a stoic man, hardened by a blue collar upbringing. Thirty-plus years of working construction made his hands and his personality calloused and sinewy. He’s prone to show joy after a few drinks and anger after minor annoyances. I’ve seen him cry twice. The first time, he took a baseball straight to the…
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Why Teens Don’t Talk to Us
“My friend told me I should talk to you. I’m really struggling and I didn’t know who else to talk to…” Frequently, students come to my room, starting conversations like this. Some of them I have in class. Some I’ve never met. I work with them after school or during their lunch, listening to their…
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Stop Hoarding Emotions: Become a Goodness Curator Instead
My wife once pulled a human tooth from her pocket. For a split-second, I thought she was a serial killer who finally let her evidence slip (I watch too much t.v., I know). Then I remembered that: a.) she was a 2nd grade teacher and b.) she often helps students pull their loose teeth. While she…
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6 Ways to Grow Gratitude
You haven’t felt emotion until you have seen a parent cry. Some of you are going to a dark place in your mind, thinking about that condescending jerk from conferences, crying in shame. Although that would definitely engage emotion, that’s not the kind of crying I’m referencing. I’m talking about tears of pride and connection…
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The ABCs of Fostering Optimism
This post originally appeared on WeAreTeachers.com. File this one under “Accomplishment” concepts. We’ve all seen it. A high achieving student shutting down after a few minor mistakes. A kid who doesn’t even try, even when the task at hand is easy. A student who wails, “I suck at math.” Each of these scenes represents one…
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Grit Ladders: A Simple Strategy to Fuel Motivation
I celebrate D-minuses. I celebrate class averages that are just barely above passing. Sometimes I even celebrate a kid just turning in a paper. Not because I have low standards. D-minus is not my end goal. A group of kids barely scraping by in their education is far from my definition of satisfactory teaching. I celebrate…
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The Cost of Our College Obsession
American education has a faith problem. No, I’m not talking about the debates about religion and to what extent it influences schools. I’m talking about the blind, unquestioning faith we have to the god of educational purpose: College. American education is obsessed with college as the answer to all our woes. College will fix our…
Chase Mielke 