You’ve signed up for classes, you’ve learned your way around the virtual course system — and now, you’ve got to make sure you survive all the way to graduation. Laptop or paper notes? Highlighter or flashcards? And does music help while studying? Here’s how to take better notes and study so that you remember what you’ve learned — without getting crushed by college stress. Plus: what to do if you do feel crushed. There is…
Young people give us hope–young people who don’t give up or give in, who have loud voices and the courage to use them to say enough is enough. Young people whose empathy, compassion and sense of justice in the face of violence, oppression and tragedy are humbling. So, too, do books give us hope–they can save lives and change lives. Here are some of our favorite books for empowering students who are leading the charge,…
It’s no mystery that exercise boosts mental health and cognitive function in kids. A nine-month study of children aged seven through nine found that kids who were active could think more clearly, and a March 2020 report found that 12-, 14-, and 16-year-olds who exercised regularly were less likely to develop depression by age 18. Brain scans of 20-year-olds revealed that active young adults have better recall and thinking ability. The relationship between movement and…
Knowledge is indeed power, but academic achievement is only one aspect of a successful education. Children must also learn social-emotional skills to develop healthy identities, manage emotions, set goals, express empathy, build relationships, and make decisions. Teaching and practicing these techniques is called “social-emotional learning” (SEL). SEL has many benefits for students, ranging from improved school performance to healthier friendships. Plus, down the road, those with strong social and emotional competence are more likely to…
When it comes to early childhood development, many parents focus on things like a healthy diet, regular exercise, and stimulating activities. Elementary school friendships are easily overlooked as something that has an influence on a child’s development, but they are more important than you may realize. Paul Schwartz, a professor of psychology and a child behavior expert, suggests that friendship contributes significantly to the development of a child’s social skills. Through friendships, children learn to…
Demand has surged for outdoor and wilderness programs, driven by parents desperate to get their kids off-screen and out of the house. Numerous New England wilderness schools report they could double or triple their already increased programming and still have waiting lists. “I think we’re entering the golden age of outdoor education,” says Sam Stegeman, executive director of the Vermont Wilderness School. “Because of COVID, one of the silver linings is we’re finally getting huge…
Carole Clancy, who supervises special education for the Lancaster, Pennsylvania city schools had a serious problem: she couldn’t hold on to her teachers. The students in special ed classes were distracted and disruptive. “They had the reputation of being unmanageable and out of control,” she says. But that was before they started learning mindfulness in the classroom. When Wynne Kinder, lead instructor for the mindfulness program “Wellness Works in Schools,” walks into Kristina Suter’s special…
Journaling provides teens with a regular opportunity to practice and improve their creative writing , reading, and communication skills. Kids with difficulty writing or communicating in other contexts will benefit from this. With daily journals, teens learn to find their voice, communicate openly, gain confidence, and become more comfortable expressing themselves. The term “journaling” encompasses a lot of different things, however: the list of birds you’ve seen in your neighborhood; the descriptions of sights you…
The concept of timeouts was developed by a psychologist named Arthur Staats in the 1960s. It was created as an alternative to spanking and other forms of physical punishment, which were very popular at the time. The idea was that children would be briefly removed from a rewarding or stimulating environment when they showed a particular challenging behavior, like aggression. Timeout is short for a timeout from positive reinforcement. It is based on the behavioral…
The statistics are sobering. In the past year, nearly 1 in 3 female teens reports seriously considering suicide. One in 5 teens identifying as LGBTQ+ say they attempted suicide in that time. Between 2009 and 2019, depression rates doubled for all teens. And that was before the COVID-19 pandemic. The question is: Why now? “Our brains, our bodies, and our society have been evolving together to shape human development for millennia… Within the last twenty years, the advent…
