By Michael Kobito    As a teacher, my students were either excited by or puzzled by the constant positive energy I brought into the classroom. My first block class always accused me of having an entire pot of coffee before class started, as if that would be the only explanation for my cheerful demeanor. Whether it’s exciting or puzzling, this is just

By Tim Elmore   One of my most common concerns is to miss important information when making decisions. I don’t want to feel I’m in the dark on the data. I want to make informed choices. Below, I have curated recent findings from the Pew Research Center, Gallup, the CDC, and other sources to give you a big-picture vantage point on life

By Tim Elmore   Dennis Cook was one of my teachers during my junior year of high school. He was a very effective educator. Upon reflection, I can see now that Mr. Cook focused on connections in his classroom as much as the coursework. By taking time to do this, he accelerated our learning and growth.   Mr. Cook practiced valuable tenets of behavioral

By Tim Elmore   Jamie teaches English Literature to high school seniors. She’s also a mother of two teens, so she sees the stress levels of young people today from both angles. She knows deep down that kids need a little stress to perform at their best, but she hates witnessing such anxiety in them.    It’s a common narrative: we see students stress

By Andrew McPeak   Today’s blog is an excerpt from the upcoming book, “Ready for Real Life.” You can order “Ready for Real Life” by Andrew McPeak today by clicking here.   Several months ago, I heard the story of Kiffany Cody. Cody is a special-education teacher in Gwinnett County, Georgia, near where I live, and she faced many challenges during the pandemic

By Tim Elmore   The numbers keep climbing. Both adults and students are suffering from anxiety levels that are worse than any period we’ve ever seen, including the Great Depression. More than 8 in 10 students admit to struggling with anxiety or depression on a regular basis, and adults report numbers have jumped from 11 percent in 2019 to 41 percent in

By Andrew McPeak   Growing up, David Aguilar was obsessed with LEGOs. Like many kids he would build creations utilizing his imagination, but unlike many kids David was building to solve a specific problem: he had been born with only one hand.  David was born with a specific genetic condition called Poland Syndrome, which caused his right arm below the elbow to not

By: Tim Elmore I graduated from college with good grades, but not straight As. Part of the reason was, I worked two or three jobs every year of my college life. I worked as a cook in a country club, I worked part-time in the library, I worked as a part-time youth director, and I worked at a fast-food restaurant. While

By: Tim Elmore     Today’s kids were already facing mental health problems. Now they feel delayed by COVID-19, and it’s added to their anxiety levels. According to Barna’s research, 82 percent of Generation Z members believe they’ve been traumatized. While it sounds extreme, many of them feel: Postponed Pushed aside Penalized.   This group of teens believes part of the traditional American experience was lost

By: Tim Elmore A young girl went to her grandmother and complained about how hard life had become for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed that, as one problem was solved, a new one arose.    Her grandmother took her to the kitchen. She

By: Tim Elmore     Last month, I asked a group of educators a question, and the answer was revealing. A group of 21 teachers who use our Habitudes for Social and Emotional Learning all said they enjoyed the classroom conversation our images sparked but admitted:  “Whenever I teach social and emotional skills, it inevitably brings up emotional issues like conflict resolution or anger management.

By: Tim Elmore     When I spoke to Mr. Dunn, an English teacher of high school seniors, he told me he had one job: to teach language arts to teenagers. My first response was to agree. He had but one task each day, and he was doing a good job of it. When I reflected on the history of education in America, I recognized

By: Tim Elmore     Almost everywhere we go, people ask the questions: How do you read so many books? Where do you find the time? Just how do you read a book? Do you read it from cover to cover?  The fact is these questions stem from the belief that leaders are readers. By and large, if you plan to be a lasting

By: Tim Elmore       I spoke to a clinical psychologist recently, after an arduous day with clients. Helen is a counselor who sees families for therapy every day. She revealed a tool to me that was so simple I asked her to repeat it. She called it a “secret” because so few parents know it or apply it—but it’s within the reach of

By: Tim Elmore       We all imagine a perfect life from time to time. What would it be like if we had no worries, all the pleasures life could offer, all the friends one could hope for, and all the resources we’d ever need? We can dream, can’t we? May I remind you of a true story? In 1993, Joan Ginther won the lottery while

By: Tim Elmore       Several years ago, in a remote area of a country in Africa, local villagers discovered that some young elephants wandered from the herd. They were lost for some time. When those pachyderms were returned to their families, they were no longer babies. They’d changed over time. Researchers, called Mahouts, made some fascinating observations as they watched these stray

By: Tim Elmore     I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but teens and young adults today have been in a funk for the last several years. Mental health continues to be an issue in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, since 2017, I’ve been watching a trend that encourages me. This overwhelmed population of young people (middle school, high school, and college

By: Andrew McPeak Just a few weeks ago, I stood in front of almost a hundred teachers — the faculty of a mid-size high school in North Dakota. Together, we discussed methods for connecting with and leading students, and the changes that leadership in the 21st-century classroom requires. We talked about everything from student engagement, to student ownership, and even experiential

By: Tim Elmore Building off of an earlier patent by John Duff, General Mills’ created its first Betty Crocker instant cake mix in 1947. Since the Great Depression and World War 2 were over, people were spending money again. Folks at Betty Crocker assumed that because they made baking easier sales would take off. But they didn’t. Executives were baffled that

Two years ago, Broughal Middle School in Bethlehem, PA was in a lot of trouble. As one of the state's "lowest-performing, poorest and most diverse schools" where "92 percent of children are economically disadvantaged and 87 percent are minorities," the community around Broughal Middle was trying to create change to no avail. Two years later, the school is a success

I met with fourteen C-suite-level leaders recently. They were from different industries, different age groups, different genders; but they all had something in common. When I asked them if leading people was more difficult today than it was when they first became leaders, each responded affirmatively.  "Absolutely!" said one. "One hundred and ten percent!" replied another. The answer was a no-brainer. This sent

The news headlines were dramatic: Schools debate on whether to shut down or to stay open; students struggle with quarantine boundaries; children and teachers are expected to wear masks as infections continue to soar. Sound familiar? Did you know those headlines were from the Spanish Flu in 1918? Much like what happened last year, most U.S. schools closed during the 1918 influenza

Two senior leaders of university clubs spoke to me in August about the challenges they faced with their organizations. Both were recruiting prospective members from the students on campus, but both were disappointed. They couldn't seem to keep committed members. The students either left because they had other options, or they just lost interest in the club.  I believe the problem

By: Tim Elmore In 1990, I began using a metaphor to teach students how they could earn the right to influence others. This metaphor has now become common language among educators: a thermometer and a thermostat. I found that while students are both simultaneously, they also tend to be more of one than the other depending on their environment: Thermometers simply

By: Tim Elmore If you met Kayla, you wouldn’t know she was distraught. She smiles a lot. She dresses sharp. She makes A's and B's in school, and she’s got quite a following on Instagram. When I met her, I assumed she was on top of the world. I would’ve never predicted she was panicking every day. Her mother asked if I

By: Tim Elmore I recently spoke at the 2021 Cobb County Student Leadership Academy awards event. Students were present, often with their parents and teachers, to learn about leadership and be recognized for what they’d achieved beyond academics this year. Pope High School was one school that was highlighted. Student leaders at Pope had recognized how much their classmates struggled with school during

By: Nautrie Jones 100% Virtual. 100% In-Person Learning. Hybrid. Synchronous. Asynchronous. If you are in any field relating to education, it is likely that both you and your students are quite familiar with one or all of these terms. This past year has been a challenge for us all. Students have been pushed and pulled in many different ways. Teachers have been stretched and stressed, and,

By: Tim Elmore Last week, a dear friend of mine swore to me that anyone who celebrates Easter is cursed. Three weeks ago, I met someone who believes the world is flat and anyone who thinks otherwise has been duped by the government. In January, I spoke to a group of people who feel the attack on the Capitol in Washington

By: Grace Hooley I vividly remember the first time a teacher told me I was being too sensitive. It was sixth grade in Mrs. Troy’s social studies classroom, and we were talking about the Trail of Tears and The Native American Removal Act. As she talked about how these native people groups were brutally removed from their land, the reality of our

By: Andrew McPeak A few months back I had the pleasure of teaching three sessions at a district-wide conference for K-12 teachers. As a part of my presentation, I made a point to talk about why building Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) skills during the pandemic was one of the most important challenges we could take on as educators. After all,

By: Tim Elmore Gretchen Goldman is a scientist, a mom, and the research director at a nonprofit in Washington. Her job involves conducting television interviews and briefing lawmakers. Now, however, she is doing this work from home, near her young children and a chaotic environment. On the screen, Gretchen looks poised and well dressed, but she admits that if her laptop

By: Tim Elmore Although millions of teachers, students, and parents would say the abrupt transition to remote learning a year ago was problematic, many are now preparing for more of it going into the 2021-22 school year. According to journalist Benjamin Herold, “Many teachers hate it. Millions of parents find it exhausting. A growing body of evidence suggests it has contributed

By: Tim Elmore One fascinating study on the subject of compassion was conducted at Princeton Seminary in 1973. Graduate students who studied theology were asked if they were entering the ministry because of innate reasons (i.e., they cared for people) or for circumstantial reasons (i.e., their father was a minister). After the survey, each respondent was told to offer a Bible

By: Andrew McPeak You’ve probably had something like this happen in your classroom this year. You work hard to have fun with your students. You create interesting and fun assignments for them, and you think it’s going well. Then something happens. A student says something harsh like, “I hate this class,” or a parent contacts you to tell you that his