Four Strategies to Help You Stop Stereotyping Teens
By Tim Elmore None of us like for others to stereotype us. When we were young, we hated it when adults assumed something was true about us and never gave us a chance to prove them wrong. I wore my hair a bit longer when I was a high school student, and I am certain some of the faculty on campus
How to Cultivate Conversational Intelligence in Students
By Tim Elmore Kristie is a close friend who just sat beside a 22-year-old on a flight from New York to Los Angeles. She told me the young lady talked for hours. It was an insightful exchange that gave Kristie a peek into the world of Generation Z. She felt like she was talking to someone mimicking a social media influencer
Ditch the Niche: An Exercise to Mix with Multiple Generations
By Tim Elmore The ebb and flow of our economy has been bad news for millions of families. The recession and the inflation that followed has created uncertainty. During the pandemic, I watched several extended families locally choose to consolidate their monthly rent or a mortgage payment by living with aunts and uncles, parents or grandparents, and even great-grandparents. Emily, a neighbor,
Is It Possible to Assess Our Ability to Connect with Other Generations?
By Tim Elmore Janet experienced trouble at work just two weeks after she hired Rory. In their weekly meetings, Rory began expressing his distaste for the department’s current strategies. He described their team as a big “L” (meaning “loser”) and said he didn’t know why they weren’t implementing better ideas. Everyone glanced over at Janet, wondering how she’d respond to his audacity.
Five Changes Schools Plan to Make This Fall
At Growing Leaders, we have the privilege of interacting with lots of school administrators, athletic directors, and department heads. Obviously, with such a strange spring semester behind us, these leaders are planning for a new normal this fall. No one I have spoken with plans for life to go completely back to how it was in 2019. One high school principal put
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,
Students Who Invest Their Time Instead of Wasting It
Every one of us has a choice to make when it comes to our time. And since most of us have more time on our hands these days, it’s important to reflect on this topic. We can: 1. Waste our time. We find things to do to kill time or amuse ourselves. 2. Spend our time. We use our time on tasks
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 Embed Social and Emotional Learning During This Critical Time
A teacher called me a few weeks ago to talk about how to manage this stressful time. She was teaching her students online for the first time and attempting to manage her own children who were home all day. It’s quite a workload. When I suggested she find ways to embed social and emotional learning into her virtual classroom time—she hesitated.
How Student Leadership is Morphing for Generation Z
“I see leadership differently than my parent’s generation does.” Those are the words of Brandon, a college sophomore, who ended his semester at home when the entire student body at Vanderbilt University left due to COVID-19. The coronavirus is changing us, and Brandon believes it is only accelerating a change that was taking place already. These days, I hosted a virtual meeting
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
Increasing Engagement with Students Who Don’t Fit the Mold
Did you see the movie The Peanut Butter Falcon? It was one of my favorite movies last year. It’s the story of three outliers who didn’t fit into the mold their situation demanded of them. All three were rebels, but one of them, Zak, a 22-year-old with Down syndrome who lived in an assisted living facility in North Carolina, was only a
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
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
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,
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
New Study: Students Who Can Manage Emotions Do Better Academically and In Life
It was a tense moment in the classroom, as two students saw each other’s grades after a mid-term exam. Lamar and Jason had both studied hard, so it was crushing for Lamar to see that he’d gotten 78 percent on his test, and Jason had scored 93 percent. Jason tried to lighten up the tension a bit, by saying, “Well, at
Teaching Students Subjects That Don’t Come Natural for Them
One of the most frustrating experiences for a teacher or a parent is trying to teach something to a young person—something we know will help them succeed later—and finding them unresponsive. It matters not what the subject is: Math Reading Science Changing a tire Work ethic Writing and communication I spoke to a history teacher recently who said she was “at
Seven Ideas to Help Student Leaders with Cognitive Bias
Some of you may be leaders of the emerging generation. You lead schools, businesses, sports teams and families. Many of you who work with student-leaders want to help them navigate the privileges and responsibilities of their position. I recently sat in on a Student Government Association meeting on a college campus. It was immediately clear these were intelligent and active university
Why Tough Grading Teachers Produce Better Learners in the End
This may not surprise you, but a new study found that students perform better on standardized tests each year when their teachers are tough graders—and argues that when students have the mindset that says “everybody gets a gold star,” it does “more damage than good." The report, published by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, found this effect holds true for students across
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.