Education

The Absolute Best School Climate Blogging (This Week)

By Evie Blad — August 22, 2014 1 min read
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Happy Friday, Rules readers. Have you been following the story of Mo’ne Davis, the 13-year-old girl who is making history in the Little League World Series? She even got a shout out from Nancy Pelosi today.

When I haven’t been learning about inspiring young athletes this week, I’ve been reading great stories and posts about school climate, child well-being, and cultural issues that affect students. This week, I am sharing some links about bullying, social-emotional learning, the needs of well-behaved girls, Ferguson, and more.

What students are saying about Ferguson...

We didn't even know our kids' names yet," said Deborah Rogers, who teaches English and reading to 7th and 8th graders at the school. "We hadn't given schedules out yet. But we had to sit down and have a serious conversation on race." —In the Huffington Post, students in a St. Louis school share their thoughts on the situation in Ferguson, Mo.

Embracing changing demographics in schools...

When the demographics shift, and the minority becomes majority, students of color will make you no less beautiful." —As part of Education Week's great package on demographic shifts in U.S. schools, three commentary contributors share their thoughts.

Should teachers be concerned about those well-behaved girls?

In fact, if we hope our female students can escape being defined by the roles of wives and mothers that society expects them to take, we must actively give them our attention even when they have been socialized to go unnoticed." —A teacher in China shares her thoughts on intentionally working with often-overlooked female students in her classes.

A little less conversation, a little more action...

So where are we now four years later? There is no doubt that awareness has increased about how bullying is not a harmless part of growing up and that it can lead to serious consequences for all parties ... How that awareness has been translated into action is unclear. Federal statistics suggest that our progress toward actually reducing the number of youth who report being bullied is minimal." —Child development and bullying prevention expert Deborah Temkin reflects on federal anti-bullying efforts.

Using social-emotional learning to help selfie-obsessed students...

Self-awareness and management, rather than self-esteem, are the start of bringing more usies into the selfie generation." —Washington school counselor Connie Ward shares her thoughts on confronting narcissism and building sensitivity in students.

A version of this news article first appeared in the Rules for Engagement blog.