How an adult responds to, and forgives, a child or adolescent  has lasting consequences. A constructive style of responding can foster self-forgiveness and learning in a young person, while a reactionary style can foster guilt, …

Although sports mean different things to different people, most theorists and enthusiasts would agree that physical activity and sport participation can be intrinsically valuable. We learn the joy of movement and the challenge of …

How do we help children growing up in poverty build “future stories” that give them hope and energy?
n Charles Dicken’s book, A Christmas Carol, the ghost of Christmas Present shows Scrooge two gaunt children – …

Schools are complex environments with many factors and relationships, as well as people with different values, purposes, and ways of making meaning. The Appreciative Inquiry process is a positive way to incorporate change in schools. It focuses on the “high moments” of people and values the complexity. AI can help people develop healthy relationships by mobilizing and building high quality connections between students and students, teachers and teachers, teachers and students, parents and students, and teachers and parents.

The new school year brings renewed hopes and aspirations for both students and teachers. It is an opportune time for teachers to appeal to the strengths of their students to help them …

Parents and teachers are the major educators of children, for ill or for good. Whether it is through modeling, the feast of dialogue, or the handling of consequences, young people pick up …

We all think, but may not think well. Critical thinking, however, is a reflective process that is clear, precise and purposeful.
“I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think.” …

In a study we conducted with high school freshmen and seniors from the Midwest, we found that humor and playfulness, along with curiosity and humility, were predictors of pleasure as a pathway to happiness. We also found that humor was highly endorsed by students. But humor can have a dark side. Several years ago, one of my students, Jason, was dismissed from an athletic team for showing disrespect to other players and the head coach with constant, sarcastic humor. [...]

“You must retain faith that you can prevail to greatness in the end, while retaining the discipline to confront the brutal facts of your current reality.” The Stockdale Paradox – Jim Collins

Do you have a memory of a teacher who really made a difference in your life? For me, it was Miss Robinson, my third grade teacher. I vividly remember one moment when she greeted me at the classroom doorway. She always had something nice to say to me, but that day was special.