The Whole Child Blog — Whole Child Education:
THE WHOLE WEEK @ The Whole Child Blog
March Is Middle Level Education Month
Whole child partner National Association of Secondary School Principals has joined with other organizations, including the Association for Middle Level Education, the National Forum to Accelerate Middle Grades Reform, and the National Association of Elementary Principals, to declare March the official month to celebrate middle level education. This celebration looks to focus attention on students
MAR 19
Town Hall Discussion: Bringing the Questions Together
Download the Town Hall Discussion Now [Right-Click to Save] The decisions we make today—for our systems, our schools, and our classrooms—will affect what all of our tomorrows will look like tomorrow. This month ASCD launches its inaugural Whole Child Symposium—a conversation about the future of education comprising three events over eight weeks that includes not only some of the leading educator
MAR 18
ED Pulse Poll Results: What Will Be the “Next Big Thing” in Education Tech?
ASCD continually seeks to provide solutions to the challenges that face educators of all levels. A recent ASCD SmartBrief ED Pulse poll asked readers what advancements in technology could help them be more successful at work, either with students or in their own professional development. As each new year starts, there are multiple stories on the anticipated trends in education technology. Most st
MAR 17
A New Framework for Health and Education
This is not a launch that calls for health for education's sake. Nor is it education for health's sake. Rather, it is a call for health and education for each child's sake. In 2013, ASCD and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) convened leaders from the fields of health, public health, education, and school health to develop the next evolution of school health to ensure that
MAR 14
Understanding the Whole Child Approach with Tenets, Indicators, and Components
All educators want to improve the work they do for students, their families, and the community. Whether it's instruction, school climate, leadership, family engagement, or any of the other issues schools face on a daily basis, all educators need tools to help them improve their actions and methods. A whole child approach sets the standard for comprehensive, sustainable school improvement and prov
MAR 13
Turning Resistant Teachers into Resilient Teachers
Resistant teachers can have a profound effect on the school climate and culture in both positive and negative ways. In the book Leading in a Culture of Change (2007), Michael Fullan says resisters deserve respect both because they present ideas we might otherwise miss and because their influence is crucial to navigating the politics of implementation. By using situational leadership, the ability t
MAR 12
The Future of Schooling
In 2001, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) identified scenarios for the future of schooling as part of its What Schools for the Future? report. The OECD, for those who may not be aware, are those same people based in Paris that put out the PISA scores that compare and rank countries' education systems. Regardless of what we might think about PISA and ranking syste
Choosing Your Tomorrow Today
Choosing your tomorrow today. What does this phrase mean to you? Probably your first thought is that it conveys an understanding that what we decide today affects what we become tomorrow. Obviously skills, behaviors, and knowledge learned today increase or decrease the potential for us all to do things in the future. But is there more to this phrase? Can it be parsed out? Take each word one at a
Keep Students and Parents (and Teachers) Initiative Fatigue Free
Last week I entered a meeting feeling pretty good about my teaching life. I was sticking with my goals for the year, trying some new things outside my comfort zone, and achieving some success doing them, but soon my head was fixed on all of the things I wasn't doing. All I could think about were the things other people were doing or telling me I should be doing that I wasn't. I was feeling inadeq
Bring Yourself to Work Every Day to Build Trust, Morale, and Culture
Download Podcast Now [Right-Click to Save] Educators working in a positive school culture experience collegiality, trust, and tangible support as leaders and peers, creating an environment where there are high expectations, involvement in decision making, and open communication. Students entering a positive school culture feel safe, engaged, and connected and see school as a place where they can