Jonathan Haidt’s, “The Happiness Hypothesis,“ presents a helpful metaphor for coaching: the elephant and the rider. The elephant symbolizes our emotional, intuitive self—the instinctive reactions that show up when a lesson flops, a student refuses to engage, or a new initiative feels overwhelming. The rider represents our rational, planning, problem-solving self that sets goals, analyzes […]

The Executive Director of Counselling in Schools, Kevin Dahill-Fuchel, explores the environments needed for students to thrive in school and survive in life. A key to that environment is a staff that can manage their emotions personally and be resilient so that they support students authentically. What role do instructional coaches and school leaders play […]

As educators, stress is an ever-present reality. But what if we could reframe stress—not as a threat—but as fuel for growth and purpose?  I was introduced to the concept of hardiness in a podcast with instructional coaches and coaching trainers, Lana Cecil and Angela Buckingham, from ESC 13 in Austin, Texas. They shared how they explored […]

The following is a guest blog from Amanda Adams, associate director in the Professional Development and Instructional Issues Department for the New Jersey Education Association (NJEA). In addition, she is the coordinator for the NJEA Priority Schools Initiative (PSI). I have had the pleasure of working with Amanda and the PSI consultants as well as […]

I recently facilitated an exploration of teacher resilience and its connections to teacher collaboration. Here are some of the elements I included that might be of value in your own exploration or in conversations you facilitate with your staff. This two- minute children’s video provides a quick understanding that resilience is not about not falling […]