Education

Why We Need Emotional Intelligence for Academic Achievement

Available for Interviews: Nadine Levitt

Nadine Levitt is an education advocate, speaker, and the CEO & Founder of WURRLYedu, an educational technology platform. Nadine specializes in the social-emotional curriculum (SEL), and she is also the author of the children’s book, My Mama Says Inside Me Lives a Village.

What Nadine Levitt can say
Emotions and Academic Achievement:

There has been a tremendous focus on the declining academic achievement of students since the start of the pandemic, as well as a rise in issues relating to mental health and well-being. But the link between the two is not often talked about.

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5 Principles of Video Game Design We Can Apply to Education

Available for Interviews: Nadine Levitt

What Nadine Levitt can say in an interview on
Applying Gaming for Educational Success:

How incorporating key concepts from video game design into education can inspire kids to learn.

Another industry that could teach us a thing or two in education, is video game design.

Kids love video games. During the pandemic, they were playing games now more than ever. In fact, global video game revenue was up an extra 15 billion in 2020 (according to Global Games Market Report).

It made me think about WHY video games are so engaging to kids. And could we use the same concepts in education to make lessons more engaging and active so that kids would show up excited to learn?

The answer is a resounding yes, and here’s how.

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Cultivating Emotional Intelligence for a Healthy Mind and Body

Available for Interviews: Nadine Levitt

What Nadine Levitt can say in an interview on
Emotional Intelligence:

- Emotional intelligence is an understanding of how emotions work, and how they can be processed for a healthy mind and body. But what is unique about the My Mama Says approach is that we don’t teach it in a singular way (meaning one emotion at a time)—the reason for that is that we never feel one emotion—they ALWAYS come in groups. And since they influence each other, emotions can look very different depending on what other emotions they present themselves with. The way we look, act, and feel is the result of the entire group of emotions, NOT just a single emotion.

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The Connection Between Teacher Retention and the Workplace Environment

Available for Interviews: Nadine Levitt

What Nadine Levitt can say in an interview on
Teacher Retention:

Recently EdWeek released their latest survey showing what financial policies would make teachers more likely to stay in the profession long-term. Obviously, it would cost an ENORMOUS amount of money to give every teacher a salary increase that keeps up with national averages (indeed, it would be more than 10.8 billion dollars, based on the math that:

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How We Can Support Teachers, Our Local Heroes This Year

Available for Interviews: Nadine Levitt

What Nadine Levitt can say in an interview about
Supporting Our Teachers This School Year:

What if we celebrated teachers, inspired them, and continued to fuel that inspiration throughout the year? Nadine can talk about what people can do in their hometown. She created online inspiration / learning that schools can provide to teachers. Parents can also chip in and gift it to teachers… so they’ll. have a gift that lasts all year long.

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5 Tips for Successful Co-Parenting During the New School Year

Available for Interviews: Teddi Ann Barry

Teddy Ann Barry, Esq. is a family attorney and writer who has been serving families through divorce and custody and has been practicing family law for over twenty years, and also comes with a wealth of experience in mediation and collaborative law. She is also the author of The Do-It-Yourself Guide to Divorce in Colorado.

What Teddi Ann Barry can say in an interview on
Co-Parenting Tips for the New School Year:

The school year is already well underway. If you’re co-parenting, the stress may already be building when it comes to schedules, transportation, and finances, to name a few. It is paramount to try to mitigate the stress that often comes with raising a child. Good communication will solve and head0ff problems before they even present themselves.

Here are 5 essential tips for co-parenting to make the year run smoothly, happily, and resentment-free:

1) Review School Calendars
with Your Parenting Plan

Broadbrushing the school year as far as the school calendar, as well as school and personal commitments your child may have, will help to avoid conflict down the road. Whether it is sports, music lessons, or a club that the child is involved in—it’s extremely helpful when both parents know the child’s schedule so that he or she can be best supported—transportation, deadlines that need to be adhered to, or just being able to be present for a special occasion goes a long way.

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Grades and Self-Esteem in School-Aged Children

Available for Interviews: Dr. Pete Loper

Dr. Pete Loper, MD, MSEd, FAAP, is a triple board-certified physician in pediatrics, psychiatry, and child psychiatry. He is also a professor and executive coach and is dedicated to mental health and wellness advocacy.

What Dr. Loper could say on
Grades and Self-Esteem:

Consistent with Carol Dweck’s research on “growth mindset,” struggle is a normal part of development. According to John Bowlby’s Attachment Theory, struggle in the context of the approach and exploration of new experiences is the rate-limiting step to healthy human development. Further, both Bowlby and his successor in Attachment research, Mary Ainsworth, identified the relationship between a child and their “experienced others” (parents, teachers) as the fundamental ingredient required to support continued approach and exploration in the context of struggle. Put simply, outcomes such as grades are a manifestation of the process, and your child’s willingness and motivation to engage in the process, i.e. to try, try again (growth mindset) is informed by a child’s interactions with parents and teachers.

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Uvalde: A Cultural Tipping Point

Available for Interviews: Dr. Hope Umansky

Dr. Hope Umansky is an American Culture College Professor with a PhD in Clinical Psychology. She is also an author on educational reform, equity, inclusion, and social justice.

What Dr. Hope can say in an interview on
Uvalde, an educator and mother’s point of view:

“. . . I still believe, in spite of everything, that people are truly good at heart. What is done cannot be undone, but one can prevent it from happening again.” –Anne Frank, The Diary of Anne Frank, 1947)

- Seeing the truth of the Uvalde failure of grown officers to save kids with over an hour to do so—as an educator, and a mother, I cannot help but think of this quote of Anne Franks.

- At the Uvalde board meeting last night, the parents who will be grieving for the rest of their lives, whose hearts are forever shattered said to the board and the politicians, the same question Anne Frank asks: When will enough be enough?

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6 Solutions for Combatting Teacher Shortages (and Not Lowering Standards for Teachers)

Available for Interviews: Nadine Levitt

What Nadine Levitt can say in an interview about why
Lowering standards for teachers is NOT the best solution for combatting teacher shortages:

- Ed Week recently reported that States are relaxing teacher certification rules to combat teacher shortages, pointing to an alarming trend of teachers leaving the profession.
- But lowering standards for entry is clearly not the best idea if we are trying to attract the best people for the job. Teachers and school leaders are crucially important in our economy and the ongoing innovation of our country, so perhaps we should:

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How incorporating key concepts from video game design into education can inspire kids to learn.

1) Review School Calendars with Your Parenting Plan

1) Review School Calendars
with Your Parenting Plan