Advice for Educators

A shelf grid of many Russian nesting dolls
February 22, 2018 In Advice for Educators, Character, Children

Show Students Who They Could Become by Accepting Their Full Selves

By Justin Minkel

My mom is a play therapist and a miracle worker. Her secret power sounds simple: She absolutely accepts children as they are. Not as their teachers, classmates or parents wish they would be. As they actually are — in all their turbulent, disruptive, exasperating glory.

The children she works with throw rocks, scream in class and bite the other kids. When they throw rocks at her, she says, “You are really strong to be able to throw those rocks so far!” When they scream as loud as they can, she says, “That’s amazing that you can get out all your anger like that. I wish I could do that!”

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May 25, 2017 In Advice for Educators, Character, Children, Leadership

Questions to Ask Yourself as the School Year Winds Down

By Justin Minkel 

Think of a school year as a human life. It has a birth, messy and hopeful and new. It has a death, too. That last day will soon come when the individual personalities who make up our class will never be together as a class again. In between, a lot happens: new abilities acquired in fits and starts, a midlife crisis or two when it all feels hard and hopeless, and some peace near the end with all that was accomplished and all that wasn’t.READ MORE

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May 11, 2017 In Advice for Educators, Leadership

Teachers, Appreciate Yourselves

By Elena Aguilar

Teacher Appreciation Day used to be agonizing. I’d anticipate the day with all kinds of hopes and dreams. I’d imagine that students, their parents and my administrators would show appreciation in a way that matched the effort I’d invested. I was always disappointed.

Sure, there were usually some really meaningful cards from kids, and the annual bagel breakfast was nice. But I always felt let down because there was really no way that anyone else could truly see the energy I put into my work as a teacher — the only person who could see that was me.READ MORE

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Educator Retreat Participants
January 28, 2017 In Advice for Educators, Youth Frontiers

Educators Matter

By Patty Beadle, Director of Marketing and School Relations

I want to take a moment to thank you for your dedicated work. You persist when met with feelings of defeat; you encourage your students even when you yourself feel disheartened. I appreciate the influence you have in your students’ lives, and I understand your difficult and noble profession.READ MORE

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January 26, 2017 In Advice for Educators, Leadership, Youth Frontiers

Teachers are torch-bearers of the future

By Joe Cavanaugh, Founder & CEO

You, Educators, are the best of us. It has been said, “In a completely rational society, the best of us would be teachers and the rest of us would have to settle for something less, because passing civilization along from one generation to the next ought to be the highest honor and the highest responsibility anyone could have.”READ MORE

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September 22, 2016 In Advice for Educators, Character, Leaders

Unleashing the Power of Positivity in your School

A positive community of educators within a school has a powerful effect on the students who learn there. Individually, teachers contribute to that positive environment by exhibiting and modeling an optimistic outlook and can-do attitude. An understanding of the role that emotions play in learning can lay the foundation for positive and productive interactions with students, colleagues, administrators and parents. As neuroscientist Richard Davidson explains in his book “The Emotional Life of Your Brain,” “Emotion works with cognition in an integrated and seamless way to enable us to navigate the world of relationships, work, and spiritual growth.”
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May 26, 2016 In Advice for Educators, Character, Leadership, Youth Frontiers

The Teachers’ Lounge Podcast – Chris Pears

The Teachers’ Lounge, a Youth Frontiers podcast hosted by Sally Koering, dives into meaningful topics relevant to teachers, parents and those invested in the growth and well–being of young people. Our 15th episode features a conversation with Chris Pears, an educator and pioneer of career-oriented curriculum in our schools with an emphasis on incorporating soft skills in the classroom.
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student raising hand
May 19, 2016 In Advice for Educators, Children, Leaders, Leadership

Want to improve education? Focus on Impact.

By Steve Dornbach, Director of Programs – Teacher Frontiers

When students ask me, “Mr. Dornbach, why did you go into teaching?” My response is always quick and always the same, “Court ordered.” I go on to say, “I made some bad decisions in my life and the judge gave me a choice: ‘Teach kids or do some hard time.’ So I chose to teach.” READ MORE

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