Seven Practical Strategies to Talk About Mental Health with Your Kids
Even though mental health issues are on the forefront of our minds today, the topic still carries a stigma for many. Talking about depression can be hard. Trina, a sophomore in college, recently said to me, “We look around us and everyone else seems happy, and we feel we must be the only ones who struggle with mental health problems.” So,
How Schools Can Practice Good Timing This Fall
Did you notice that people experienced an ebb and flow to their emotional state since we were all quarantined in March? I sure you did. At first, we were refreshed, by not having to drive to work or even get dressed up for Zoom meetings. Then, we declined a bit emotionally when we all got nervous about how long this
Survey Says: Teachers and Parents Will Handle the Fall Differently
Here are some icebreaker questions for you: Why have people today felt the need to: Hoard toilet paper at the grocery store? Keep their automobile gas tanks as full as possible? Purchase enough masks to keep their faces covered for a decade? The answer is the same for all the questions: uncertainty.
How Often Should We Talk About the Pandemic With Our Kids?
When my kids were young, our family witnessed the Columbine High School shooting (a campus massacre killing 15 people and injuring dozens more) and the September 11th terrorist attacks (where almost 3,000 died). My daughter was in middle school, my son in elementary school. The stories were a lot for their young minds to process. At the time, I recall
Five Brilliant Leadership Lessons From the Protests in Louisville
One of the most moving stories emerging from the protests against police brutality, and on behalf of George Floyd (and others) who’ve been victims of racists cops, was a story out of the protests in Louisville, Kentucky in response to the killing of Breonna Taylor. Officer Galen Hinshaw heard the call over his radio that one of his fellow officers was
What Kind of Leadership Do We Need?
As the founder and CEO of Growing Leaders, I look at the world through a leadership lens. I believe leadership matters. Moments of crisis amplify the need for good leadership. I also believe leadership is a dance between the leader, followers and the situation. A fundamental question leaders need to ask is: “What is the best way to gain positive
How Do We Respond to the George Floyd Murder?
In light of our sad and emotionally charged world right now, I felt it would be good for us to "push pause” and post a timely piece on today’s protests to George Floyd’s murder at the hands of police. This issue will not go away—and it shouldn’t go away—until we lead our world into a better place. Our kids deserve
Letter to Readers After the George Floyd 2020 Protests
Dear Readers, Today, I plan to write to you personally, in a letter instead of an article. After all that’s happened regarding the George Floyd murder (and for that matter, Ahmaud Arbery’s murder while on a jog in Georgia or for Breonna Taylor, when police raided her Louisville home), I am grieving. I can’t believe we are still in this mess. I
The Importance of Becoming an Essential Worker
During the last several weeks, we all heard the term, “essential workers.” Our government asked each of us to shelter in place—except those people with essential jobs like medical workers, grocery store clerks, shipping services and deliveries, gas station staff, and the like. We couldn’t even go get a haircut or eat out at a restaurant. Only the bare minimum. The
Video Games and Smartphones: How to Help Your Kids Manage their Free Time
Today’s blog is from Andrew McPeak. Andrew is a next gen researcher, speaker and the Vice President of Content for Growing Leaders. He is also the co-author of Generation Z Unfiltered: Facing Nine Hidden Challenges of the Most Anxious Population. I was talking to a friend of mine who has three teenage boys at home. Lately, the challenges of having three teenagers
How to Help a Student Who Just Lost their Senior Year
Members of our team at Growing Leaders went and asked students how they’re handling the quarantine. One group of high school seniors offered the most telling insights on their final year of school: “It’s definitely not how I’ve pictured it all these years. I’m missing my senior track season, probably prom, maybe graduation, and the last couple weeks, I’ve missed school.
The Unintended Consequences of Our Nationwide Quarantine
Most Americans reluctantly returned home several weeks ago in obedience to our government’s “shelter in place” order. Tens of millions began working from home to stay safe from COVID-19. As we continue, our fear of the unknown progresses. One of the issues leaders need to consider is what it will look like once we return to public life. Already some
Six Ideas for Utilizing Technology to Teach
When I recently spoke to a group of eight students ages 17 to 22, I asked them what the biggest surprise was that they received since returning home to finish the semester online. I got my own surprise from most of them. Their top answer? How little their teacher knew about online learning. Apparently, many faculty members struggled to get up to
How to Help Gen Z Through the COVID-19 Mental Health Crisis
Most of us were shocked when we heard that medical doctor, Lorna Breen, died by suicide on April 27, 2020. Although she was doing all she could to fight the spread of the coronavirus as a doctor, her own mental health was dealt a mortal blow when she ended her life. She had battled the COVID-19 infection herself and had
The Positive Outcomes of Outbreaks Through History
Note: Today’s post is available for you to either watch as a vlog or read as a blog post below. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cne3mnjlb5s Interruptions have a way of changing us. We enter our week with a plan, then suddenly, intrusions happen: People walk in with unsolicited problems. Accidents occur, which required time and energy to fix. Outbreaks unexpectedly sweep across the world. But because these unplanned interruptions
The Secret Weapon to Handling Mental Health Issues
I saw something last week that absolutely fascinated me. I don’t know if I would have believed it had I not seen it. Four university students were in the parking lot at our local grocery store just north of Atlanta. I heard them talking about how nervous they were about going inside to shop and how anxious they were about
How to Turn a Setback into a Comeback
Note: Today’s post is available for you to either watch as a vlog or read as a blog post below. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfhw3Mt1HiQ I remember a story recently, which has a relevant application to the season we’re in today. If you’ve followed professional boxing over the last century, you know the name, Jack Dempsey. Jack was the heavyweight champion of the world for seven years. But do
An Astronaut’s Advice on Living in Isolation
Note: Today’s post is available for you to either watch as a vlog or read as a blog post below. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3KrUYkSlpA Astronaut Scott Kelly is a veteran of four space flights and was the pilot for the space shuttle Discovery in December 1999. This experienced astronaut recently spoke about how to handle long periods of time in isolation. As in social isolation. Sound relevant? Here
Ten Ideas to Help You and Your Students Get More Done at Home
Have you ever had a Saturday morning where you thought: Finally, I get a weekend to catch up on some projects! It seems we tread water all week, so we look forward to weekends to get some tasks done. And then, we reach Sunday night, and very few tasks, if any, are done. During this period of isolation during COVID-19, many
What’s Wrong with Social Distancing?
It was five weeks ago when we began to hear the term, “social distancing.” It wasn’t invented then; people have practiced it for centuries during outbreaks. But this was our own version in 2020. We heard that staying beyond six feet from one another would prevent us from vulnerability to the coronavirus. Sadly, I have witnessed a pitiful misinterpretation of this
The Biggest Lesson We Can Learn from This Pandemic
I just heard from a friend who lost a tenant in her apartment complex due to the coronavirus. The woman who died was only 41 years old. Suddenly, this outbreak has hit close to home for me. There is no clear historical precedent for the scale and nature of this shock. Some economists see the U.S. output falling by more in
How Will a Global Pandemic Impact Generation Z as They Become Adults?
Do you remember where you were when the Berlin Wall came down? Or when September 11th happened? I bet you do if you were around during these events. They were huge. But, do you recall where you were when you heard about COVID-19? Maybe not, because it was a gradual news breaker. It began as a news story from China in
What Parents May Learn from Teaching Their Own Kids
One of the many viral Facebook posts spreading around the country is a note an eight-year-old boy named Ben wrote about how things were going at home now that his mom has assumed the task of being his teacher during this period of social distancing. To sum it up, Ben’s not so sure his mother is cut out for home-schooling. Young
A Pandemic is a Terrible Thing to Waste
Note: Today's post is available for you to either watch as a vlog or read as a blog post below. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdAjkeLiPOQ Many people I know are already complaining about the “interruption” of the coronavirus. Life is on hold. Classes have gone virtual or gone away completely. It feels like society is not making progress. But really—this is totally up to us. I don’t mean
The Most Important Responsibilities Every Student Needs to Own
Jalen is 17 years old and in his junior year of high school. Like many teens his age, he’s preoccupied with making good grades, taking the SAT and getting into a good college. When I asked him about other concerns normally on the minds of teens like him—he balked. Me: When did you get your driver’s license? Jalen: I don’t drive. I
How to Help Generation Z Break Free from the All-or-Nothing Mindset
Have you noticed what’s happening around our country? Psychologists call it all-or-nothing thinking. It’s when a person assumes: My life is either awesome or it’s terrible. My job is either fantastic or it’s disgusting. I am either beautiful or I am ugly. My classmates are either smart or they’re stupid. I am successful or I’m worthless. This year, we see it
Three Ways to Know If Your Kid Is Dealing with Loneliness
When both of my kids were young, they had no problem expressing what they wanted or needed. My wife and I would’ve sworn they were both extroverts, as they (like millions of other Millennials) let us know if they were hungry, thirsty, in need of a toy, or desiring a friend. Then they became high school students and later, college students. Eventually,
What Message are We Sending to Generation Z?
Note: Today's post is available for you to either watch as a vlog or read as a blog post below. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKpI1sLoNs0 An NPR online report stunned me recently. I didn’t know whether to chuckle or to mourn our “snowflake generation.” And it’s not the kids—it’s the adults. Along with hand sanitizer and other disinfectants, toilet tissue has been increasingly hard to find at local markets,
The Six P’s of an Amazing School Culture
I just finished reviewing my notes on colleges and secondary schools I’ve observed since 2005. The schools are located in Singapore, Canada, England, Germany, Egypt, India, Brazil, Mexico, and the United States. I’ve listed below the “best practices” in those schools. Obviously, a key requirement when applying best practices to organizations or schools is the ability to balance the unique
How the Coronavirus Could Affect Generation Z
Every time period in history is shaped by the significant events that occur during that season. Each generation is marked by shared experiences, music, heroes, villains, tragedies, TV shows and economies. Let’s walk down memory lane: My parents grew up during the Great Depression and brought a “waste not, want not” mindset with them clear into the 21st century. Both
Changing the Way We Advocate for Students
Do you know parents or teachers who are so tired of bickering with their teens that they: Make a separate dinner for their children because they are a picky eater? Offer the answers to the test because it’s easier than insisting they study? Allow them to play video games all day, even when it becomes addictive? While moms and dads have
Five Steps to Lead Students Wisely During the Coronavirus Pandemic
What most of us assumed would go away in a matter of days in China, has become a global pandemic, according to the World Health Organization. The Coronavirus is now headline news on every major network and on social media feeds everywhere. We can’t escape it. Sarah Sparks, reporter and data journalist for Education Week, writes: “Epidemiologists measure how contagious a disease is
Five Ways to Help Students Cure a Culture of Rudeness
A video sparked an online debate recently. In case, you didn’t see it, Wendi Williams, a passenger on an American Airlines flight from New Orleans to Charlotte, decided to recline her seat to rest after the food was served. When she did, she got a rude awakening. The passenger behind her immediately chose to display his displeasure with her decision by punching
Three Ways Generation Z is Breaking from Older Generations
Kids who’ve grown up in the 21st century have a different childhood and adolescent experience than previous generations, including the Millennials. Generation Z has grown up with: The Internet Smart technology Frequent mass shooting Terrorism Social media A polarized adult population Inspired by my friend, researcher, and educator, Corey Seemiller, author of the book Generation Z: A Century in the Making,
Five Steps to Help Students Avoid the Comparison Trap
Over the last five years, I’ve heard dozens of authors and speakers talk about the “comparison trap.” I believe it’s because people are not only prone to compare themselves to each other, but social media has exacerbated the problem. The student focus groups we hosted two years ago illustrated this challenge for teens. Here are some of the statements we
Four Steps to Helping Students Make Good Decisions
Alex is a college student I enjoyed a coffee with recently. Our discussion revolved around all the options he was staring with next semester, including courses and jobs, clubs and other extra-curricular activities. Like so many others, Alex is suffering from “decision fatigue.” It’s the experience of being worn down by making lots of choices in a short amount of
The Biggest Shift We Must Make to Win the Hearts of Students
Last month, I spoke to a student athlete and her coach in two separate conversations. Hannah (not her real name) had just quit her soccer team. Her reason? “I just couldn’t handle the yelling and anger from my coaches any more.” When I spoke to Hannah’s coach, he said, “I yell because I just don’t see any grit in these athletes.