Seven Steps to Help Students Create Margin and Reduce Stress
Gary Davison, Principal of Lambert High School, noticed the rise in stress and anxiety levels in his students and decided to think outside of the box. When he asked students why they were so “stressed out,” many said it was because they had demands on both ends of their school day. They need as much sleep as possible in the
Survey Results: Today’s Students Are Skipping College
I’ll never forget reading the statistic, "90 percent of millennials who graduate from high school attend college within eight years." That was the highest number on record and would have tilted the workforce in both positive and negative ways. (Very good to have so many college-educated professionals. Not so good when many job openings don’t require a bachelor’s degree). Of course,
Becoming a “Free Range Leader” for Generation Z
Over the last 18 months, I’ve been collecting stories from “heroes” in the world of student work, athletics and education. These are people who stand out among their peers; they make moves that not only engage Generation Z students but equip them with skills they will need as they graduate into a very different world than the one I entered
Three Ways to Evaluate Students Without Using Grades
Jillian is a rising junior who is obsessed with her academic scores. When I spoke to her, she admits to losing sleep over them, being preoccupied with keeping up with fellow students and even enduring an anxiety disorder because of them. Even though Jillian wants good grades, they hold her hostage each year. The fact is—most students I meet fall into a
What We Can Learn from the Perry Preschool Project
Recently, I wrote about James Heckman who evaluated the GED Program results after five decades and recorded his findings. Heckman is an economist and a 2000 Nobel Peace Prize Winner from the University of Chicago. He noticed that even young adults who earned their GED (General Education Development) were quitting or underperforming later in life, in careers, health, marriage and
The Hidden Advantages of Staying in School
In 1942, the G.E.D. program was launched to enable World War II veterans return home after serving in the military to complete their high school education. By 1947, the state of New York allowed civilians to enroll to get their General Education Development (GED) and earn a high school diploma equivalency. In 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson began his “War on
Five Tips to Increase Attention Spans in Young Adults
When I recently asked a teacher if her students read very much, she asked if I could explain what I meant. Hmmm. I felt like it was a fairly straightforward question. So, I proceeded to repeat my words. She later explained the reason she asked her question is that most of her students actually read quite a bit. They read posts
Six Ways Leaders Can Recharge and Refresh This Summer
If you’re a teacher, you know the sounds that surround you after the final day of classes in the spring. It’s deafening silence. No students are chatting or yelling. No one is asking you to do something for them. No rustling in the hallways. No noise at all. The spring semester is over, and summer is here. At least for two
One Decision We Can’t Afford to Make with Our Kids
We all remember the story. It was Valentine’s Day in 2018. The tragic and awful school shooting that happened last year in Parkland, Florida. In all, 17 people died on campus that day, including students, staff and faculty at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School. One story within this unfolding tragedy captured my imagination. I believe it’s one that serves as a
The Connection Between Incentive and Entitlement
I have two friends who are sales people. Neither of them receives a base salary for their job, but both are making a good paycheck each month. They work completely off of commissions. When they make a sale, they make some money. Not only is their career going well, I’d say I don’t know anyone with a greater work ethic
Adversity May Just Be a Student’s Best Friend
Last week I met someone at a student conference who inspired me. Alex is a junior in high school who has overcome several obstacles in his first sixteen years of life—an abusive, deadbeat dad who left the family; growing up in a single parent household afterward; family income that was at the poverty level; a speech impediment; walking abnormalities, and
Mental Toughness Exercises for You and Your Students (Part Two)
Yesterday, I offered four simple exercises for students to grow their “grit.” Today, I will offer four more, in Part Two of the Eight Ideas to Develop Mental Toughness list. Before I do—consider the day we live in. When we reflect on the realities that Generation Z grows up with today, we could argue that life has never been easier, more
Mental Toughness Exercises for You and Your Students
Did you know some of the greatest examples of “mental toughness” are unlikely heroes who failed or performed poorly prior to their rise to achievement? In other words, they all experienced a setback before they made a comeback: Roger Federer, the greatest tennis player in history, with seven Wimbledon titles, lost in the first round of Wimbledon his first three
How to Teach for Meaning Not Memorization
A few years ago, I spoke to a large audience of high school faculty in Kansas. During a question and answer period, one freshman algebra teacher raised his hand to ask, “How should I respond when a student asks me if he’ll ever use this subject after graduation, and I don’t know what to say?” The implication, of course, was—he could
The Unintended Consequences of Academic Pressure
I don’t have to tell you that the pressure to “make the grade” is greater in our society today than it’s ever been. For some strange reason, American adults have chosen to give one, single evaluation to our students of their worth…and it’s an academic report card. In our 2017 Focus Groups, we asked students what their greatest source of stress
An Innovative Solution to Bad Behavior: Reverse Suspensions
Parents listen up! One middle school in West Virginia just created an alternative to traditional school suspensions for students. Administrators at Huntington East Middle School introduced a new disciplinary response to bad behavior that seems to be working. You won’t believe what it is. For non-violent, non-verbally abusive behavior, the school handles the poor behavior with an option called a “reverse
Five Steps to Develop Effective Communication
I’ll never forget hearing Zig Ziglar speak at a conference, back in 1978. It was my freshman year of college and he quickly became my role model for memorable communication. Zig was a salesman by training, and boy could he sell an idea. He became a best-selling author of several books, helping people build confidence, self-esteem and to set important
When Is it Right For a Teacher to Lecture?
I have two distinct memories in my childhood of being “lectured” by an adult. The first was my girlfriend’s mother, after I disobeyed her curfew as a teen. I knew better, but I tested the boundaries by returning her daughter after our date 10 minutes after the curfew. I had a great time on the date, but the lecture afterward
Five Ingredients to Build a Culture of Ownership on Your Campus
When Akbar Cook took over Westside High School in Newark, NJ, it was a mess. Students were divided into cliques that never interacted; teachers did their work in silos; and an attitude of distrust prevailed on the campus. Further, it was a low-income area, with 85 percent of the student body chronically missing school. He knew his work was cut
What to Do with a Distracted Generation
Eleven years ago, I remember speaking to a large auditorium of university students. Social media had just arrived on the scene, so students were becoming distracted by their smart phones. As I stood to the side of the auditorium, I observed students reading magazines, staring down at their phones, or relaxed with their eyes closed and earbuds in—appearing completely apathetic
Six Guidelines to Teach Ethics to Students
Did you know that students today are more curious about becoming a leader than previous student populations, according to a Universum Global Study? That’s right. Generation Z showed a greater interest in leadership than the previous three generations. Some of the greatest differences were in developing nations. Many U.S. high school students see themselves as “activists” and “entrepreneurs.” My concern today,
Three Ways to Relieve Teen Anxiety Today
The rise in anxiety, depression and panic attacks in our students today should give every one of us pause. It is astoundingly high. Anxiety and depression in high school kids have been on the rise since the early 2000s after several years of plateau. It is a reality that crosses all demographics, urban, suburban and rural; and among adolescents who
Getting the Most Out of Advisement Period
Thousands of middle and high schools in the U.S. have changed “homeroom” to a block of time called, “Advisement Period.” It’s usually a period anywhere from 25-40 minutes at the start of a day that students can focus on non-academic topics. Or, they can simply waste time. Too often, that’s what I hear is happening. A 2017 Gallup Education poll on
What Short-Term Thinking Does to Our Kids
Have you read the latest updates on the largest college admissions bribery scandal in our history? The original story was—at least 50 parents paid bribes to get their children admitted into prestigious universities, like Stanford, Yale, UCLA, Wake Forest, USC and others. It was an atrocious attempt by parents to control outcomes and is an ugly sign of the times—that
Three Huge Mistakes We Make Leading Kids…and How to Correct Them
While I applaud the engagement of this generation of parents and teachers, it’s important to recognize these three mistakes we make leading kids.
Six Defining Characteristics of Generation Z
I wish you could meet Lizzy. Or Dane. Or, for that matter, Seth and Carly. These students have all been born since September 11, 2001—a marker in our U.S. history that will always divide those born in the 20th century from those born afterward. I was with these students recently and immediately noticed a different perspective in them as teens
Three Steps to Help a Student with a Learning Disability
Today’s blog is from Nautrie Jones, a contributing writer for the Growing Leaders Blog. Nautrie is the Director of Teacher Leadership Development at Teach For America where she manages coaches, develops strategy, and designs trainings focused on content, pedagogy, classroom management, racial identity development, culturally responsive teaching, and adaptive coaching. After years of confusion, we finally had an answer. We knew
The Dark Side of a College Student’s Brain
I know. That’s quite an audacious headline for a blog article, isn’t it? In fact, you may suspect the content would be rated NC17 or X, assuming I’m talking about students’ preoccupation with parties, sex and drinking. But I’m not talking about those topics. I am talking about what’s looming beneath their goofy humor on social media, or the trash talk on
“In Other Words” – Why is Teaching with Images so Effective? (Part 1)
Over a period of five days, I plan to blog about the research and history behind the idea of teaching with pictures. It’s actually quite fascinating, and sets up our release of three Habitudes® resources this month. Yesterday, we took a brief look at history and how cultures engaged their people with images. Below is part two. Picture Perfect Training Since the
How Adults are Stealing Ambition From Kids
We are raising a generation of kids who are used to receiving recognition for participating. One of the most valuable commodities we can cultivate in this emerging generation of kids is ambition.
Six Criteria for Good Teachers
We’re receiving lots of questions from educators on what criteria should be used to evaluate the effectiveness of teachers. Many came in as a response to a blog we posted a few weeks back called, “The Cost of Bad Teachers.” I believe the vast majority of teachers are good, and got into the education “gig” because they love kids and love
Six Steps to Help Students Overcome Being Overwhelmed
It’s interesting to note that the number one word college students use to describe their life is the word: “overwhelmed.”
7 Goals That High Schools Should Embrace
As I research for my new book, I come across some amazing stuff. Just a couple of weeks ago, I discovered some “gold” on an educational website. It was a document, created in 1918, called: “The Cardinal Principles of Secondary Education.” Almost a century ago, high schools were a new idea. Some had started, but there were no guiding principles for
Seven Emotions That Follow a Sense of Entitlement
Follow @TimElmore A few short years ago, corporate executives were asked what single word best describes the recent college graduates entering their workplace. The word they selected? Entitled. Interestingly, when recent graduates were asked to guess what descriptive word these executives had chosen that begins with the letter “e,” they guessed: exciting, enterprising, entrepreneurial and energetic. None of them guessed how
How to Combat an Entitlement Mentality
In February 2019, a 27-year-old posted a viral video on YouTube. Wearing a fake beard and sunglasses, Raphael Samuel announced he was suing his parents because he was conceived without his consent. This was not a joke. Raphael grew up in India and felt he was entitled to payments for life, since he didn’t ask for all the hassles life offers
Four Signs of the Times from the College Entrance Scandal
Something almost unbelievable just happened between parents and colleges in the U.S. It may be a sign of the times. Fifty people either bribed or bought their child’s admission into a prestigious university—simply because they could. All of them are affluent, and some of them are famous. Below is a summary of what happened. “The Hollywood actresses Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin
Seven Steps to Empower Your Students
When I learned to teach students, it was a different world. Forty years ago, I was much younger and my methods were more about one-way communication. It was all about lecture, drill, memorization and test. Today, students come from a different culture, but teachers are often still about “classroom management.” Students check out mentally; fall asleep and get distracted. And
From Controlling to Connecting with Students
I am writing all week on student empowerment. How do we fully engage students in a classroom, an athletic field, a work team or at home? I believe we must first realize this is a process of four steps. Progress evolves one step at a time with our young. Four Levels of Participation with Students 1. Attendance Some administrators talk about BOBs
What We Must Do to Empower Students
More and more teachers today make a distinction between student engagement and student empowerment. It makes sense to me. Julie Diaz is the principal of Travis High School near Houston, Texas. She’s building young leaders within that student body—and discovered surprising things happen when educators do this. Two years ago, some of her students told her they felt their school building
Four Solutions to School Dropouts
For years, educators, parents, and bureaucrats have been talking about America’s high school dropout rate. So many teens simply decide to stop taking classes and do something they feel is more relevant to their lives. The classic stereotype of a troublemaker who is slow and hates school is too narrow a picture of what’s really happening. Most of these teens get
Three Facts You Need to Know to Connect with Generation Z
For more than 30 years now, I have been tracking generational trends and changes. At first I noticed how Generation X differed from the Baby Boomers during the 1980s. Then, I began noticing how Millennials were breaking with Gen Xers in 2000. Today—I’m watching how Generation Z (today's high school and college students) is separating themselves from Millennials. Generation Z--as with
Arrogance: What to do When Your Students Know Everything
I recently ran across three examples of adults who’ve encountered arrogance in their students. One high school teacher smiled when she told me the most popular statement her students say to her every week is: “I know.” One athletic coach told me when he gave instructions on how to do a drill at practice, one of his student athletes corrected him,
Why You Should Have High Expectations of the Students You Lead
I’ve written about my experience mentoring young college students in leadership back in the 1990s. I led a group of six students who chose and discussed various topics each week. I got an email from a student one evening asking who was going to choose the topic for next week’s meeting. I grabbed my laptop and replied: “I can do that.”
Are Your Students Setting the Right Goals?
Last month, I met with some college seniors to set some goals for the year. It was both an enlightening and hilarious experience, as student goals ranged from “I have no idea what to write down” to “I still want to be a professional athlete” to “I want to own a mansion and make a million dollars a year.” The one
Why Generation Z is Passing on College
I just spent two evenings with two audiences of high school and college students. As I asked them questions about their future, I heard them say things like: I am not so sure I will finish college. I plan to take a gap year and if it goes well, I may just launch my career. I watch YouTube videos, so
How Google Can Help Students Prepare for a Job
I love the idea that one teacher allowed in her classroom that not only helped the students who were falling behind, but created an environment that looked more like working at a job, and less like a traditional classroom. I saw this idea posted on social media and it immediately made sense: “I learned today that a group of students used a
The Right Time to Give a Second Chance
Ashton just got suspended from his high school for an entire week for cheating. His mother, Jan, was beside herself, because six other students (Ashton’s classmates) got excused for their misconduct, only having to serve one detention period. Jan, obviously, felt it wasn’t fair. Why should her son get a suspension when other boys who had cheated, get a lesser penalty. If
Nine Creative Ways You Can Support Teachers
The numbers were just released. Government data shows “Teachers and other public education employees, such as community-college faculty, school psychologists and janitors, are quitting their jobs at the fastest rate on record,” reports The Wall Street Journal. Due to a tighter labor market and historically low unemployment rates, many teachers are thinking: I don’t need this. I can make more
Three Ways to Develop Emotional Intelligence in Generation Z
Today’s blog is from Andrew McPeak. Andrew is a next gen researcher, speaker, and author for Growing Leaders. I bet you can identify with an experience I had recently. A few months ago, I met a very bright young man who had been recognized by his school as one of the leaders among his peers. It turns out they might have mistaken
How to Make Your Communication Effective
Google is growing up. Current CEO Sundar Pichai reported at a 2017 conference that his company is rethinking all of their products, as well as how they communicate to people. What have they concluded is a better way to communicate to both stakeholders and customers? This may not surprise you. More images and stories. "Since stories are best told with pictures—bullet points