As a headteacher and a woman who is introverted, it is challenging contending with environments better suited to your extroverted colleagues on top of your already demanding role.

Having strategies to deal with these challenges and knowing how to be at your optimal will help you to stay strong in your already successful career.

As a leader, self-awareness is crucial. It helps you see what impact you have on others and how to get the best from them.

When it comes to managing conflict and tackling staffing issues, self-awareness enables you to better understand why people behave the way they do so you can modify your behaviour and communications to get the best outcome.

Regularly self-reflecting on why you respond to situations the way you do and why others behave the way they do towards you will increase your self-awareness. Getting 360 feedback will help you to see yourself through the eyes of others.

People who utilise their strengths are naturally more confident, more motivated and more likely to be in flow. When we are in flow we are at our best, so play to your strengths.

Listening forms a major part of our communication and introverts are well known for being good listeners.

People like to feel that they are heard. Listening in this way plays a key part in being influential so utilise this strength.

Identify your strengths and utilise them at work. However, a word of caution, dont overuse them because they can become weaknesses if you neglect other important areas of responsibility.

All leaders need to be able to adapt to different environments and situations. Self-awareness makes it easier for you to identify when you need to adapt.

Being adaptable doesnt mean that you put on a persona and pretend to be something youre not. Its about being your authentic self, whilst recognising situations where you need to step out of your comfort zone or modify your behaviour for the greater good.

Your role requires you to spend lengthy periods in overly stimulating environments so be mindful of the impact to your energy.

Extroverts are energised by being around other people whereas spending too long in such situations can be draining for introverts. When we are drained of energy it is harder to remain engaged with others and be upbeat.

Introverts like to recharge by going inwards and being on their own, but this isnt possible if you have a busy day ahead.

Be aware of what drains your energy and plan around it. For example, if you have a morning of heavy meetings, keep your diary light in the afternoon. If this isnt possible, make sure you take a break and get some fresh air.

Introverts typically like to think and reflect before making a decision, but weve come to expect everything to be instant, which isnt always a good thing. As headteacher, make others aware of your preferences and you be the one to set the tone.

Let people know if they want you to give your best, they need to give you sufficient time. Let them know your initial thoughts, but for a well-informed decision, you will get back to them.

Make sure you dont receive agendas for meetings last minute. This gives you time to go through them and do your thinking beforehand. This not only helps you to be at your best in meetings, but also helps the other introverts on your leadership team.

As a headteacher your role is demanding and its easy to get caught up in the busyness of it all, losing sight of how to be at your optimal as a leader. Make regular time for self-reflection and it becomes easier for you to identify how to lead at your best.

Known as the coach for high-achieving introverted women, Carol Stewart is an executive, career and business coach and founder of Abounding Solutions, with over 25 years coaching and leadership experience.

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How to excel as an introverted leader - Independent Education Today

Lets face it, were entering a recession. Getting your career off the ground and feeling good about it has never been easy, but in the midst of an unprecedented global economic downturn, the cards might feel stacked against you more than ever.

Coupled with the American predisposition to enmesh career with identity and self worth, were in for bleaker times, both professionally and mental health-wise. Job opportunities are dwindling. Mass layoffs have already begun. And yet, your friend/former co-worker/cousin seems to still be thriving on Instagram? What?

Regardless of market upheaval, that feeling of professional jealousy is unfortunately an ever-present issue. Social media doesnt help the issue either. You can end up comparing yourself to peers, colleagues, and people youll never meet based on no information.

But before diving headfirst into a pit of toxic energy, stop and remember that despite what individualistic ideas of workism imply, you alone are not 100 percent responsible for what happens to your career.

Take a step back, and stop yourself from conflating professional achievement with self-worth. You are not your work. Your work is not you. You arent how much you make, the title you may or may not have, whether or not you can afford next months rent. You are just you.

Sara Kuburic, the Canadian psychotherapist and academic researcher behind the popular Instagram account, @millennial.therapist, says the crux of many peoples issues stem from the fact theyre unsure of how to define themselves, or what their values are.

Kuburics client base is primarily twentysomethings struggling with life transitions. Her account promotes healing and tips for self-awareness in bite-sized pieces, informed by her background in trauma-informed therapy. The whole comparison culture stems from us not being fulfilled, or from us now knowing how to be fulfilled, says Kuburic.

We know serious self-work and progress is nonlinear, but its still hard to do, and even harder to accept right away.

Professional jealousy only stops when we feel fulfilled in our own lives, she says. That stop only comes when someone understands their core beliefs, or knows what makes their life fulfilling which differs from person to person.

So to help get to the core of your jealousy and make the story back about you, Kuburic gave us five tips.

Lets begin your journey to coping with feelings of inadequacy in this tumultuous economic period in world history.

Kuburic encourages reframing whats happened to you in order to validate your own sense of worth and value. Instead of feeling like a failure or thinking I dont have a job, Im not going to be able to get another, Im a loser, she says instead to tell yourself something like, No, the coronavirus happened, and it really derailed my professional path. It shifted my career.

Through this, people can not only validate their feelings, but realize that many circumstances, professionally speaking, are not their fault.

It comes down to recognizing your own sense of worth, Kuburic states. I might not be where I want to be, but that doesnt mean I dont have inherent worth.

According to her, the fact that others have value should not take away from your own value. Its not, If theyre successful, Im somehow less, Kuburic says. To realize you have inherent value and youre learning, regardless of how well you do, can help you get over that hurdle.

In Kuburics practice, many clients often list their values, attaching them to their core beliefs about what makes a good life. It boils down to things that matter the most to you, Kuburic says. Is it being authentic? Is it having flexibility at work? Is it helping people? Its essentially what drives you.

For someone struggling with comparing themselves to other people earning more money, she offers this line of thought process: I understand that Billys making twice as much money as I am, but I chose this job because it allows me to live out my values.

For you, the highest value may not be the money you have in the bank, but for Billy it may be. In either case, both you and your hypothetical friend are both living out your values. You shouldnt try to mimic someone elses values, because they may not align to your own, she says.

A therapists term, negative self-talk refers to self-deprecating inner dialogue, which stems from the inner critic, according to Kuburic. When left unchecked, negative self-talk taints our perception of who we are, our sense of self-worth, and our sense of success.

If you cant control that inner dialogue of Youre not good enough, then professional jealousy will always be a problem, she says. To close the gap between you and your inner critic, she suggests acknowledging and taking note of things youve already accomplished.

Kuburic also encourages her clients to identify their emotions in their commentary, to step back from saying Im not going to get that role to Im feeling nervous I may not land this job. Even rephrasing small statements are crucial to coping with feelings of career-related jealousy and inadequacy.

Youre not letting the emotion define the experience, she says.

Before you even start to compare yourself, Kuburic says that first and foremost, you should know what success means. To guide clients on their journeys in identifying that for themselves, Kuburic often asks clients to imagine who their future self will be, 5 or 10 years down the road, both career-wise and in other aspects of their lives.

She also recommends reading books, talking to peers you can be vulnerable with, or asking others you admire how they define their own success. Visualizing ourselves and stepping outside our personal vacuum can guide us and be super helpful, Kuburic says. From there, once a clearer future successful self is defined, it can be easier to work toward it.

Whatever the tangible angle is, you can explore that, she says. That can be one way to kickstart what success is to you. She once again returns to the importance of defining for yourself what your values are.

Youre only going to feel successful if youre living out your values, Kuburic says. If youre not, no matter how much praise you get, you may not actually feel fulfilled.

We all have people in our lives we talk to, but they may not always be the best for our mental health. In order to truly get at the root of professional jealousy, it may be important to reexamine who you surround yourself with and how they make you feel.

If youre unsure if you have a healthy support system, Kuburic says, chances are you dont have one, but that shouldnt be cause for alarm.

Define for yourself what a support system should look like. It will look very different depending on your personality and your needs, she recommends. We think a support system is a passive, accidental thing that happens to us. Sometimes its not. We have to reach out and build that for ourselves.

Do the people you turn to for support give you permission to be yourself? Do you feel like they have your best interests in mind? The way that relationship makes us feel is a big indication of what it is, Kuburic says.

Starting a new support system may not even require meeting new people, but instead redefining who your support system consists of, and in what particular capacity. People dont have to be intimately close to you to be your support system, she says. It could be your mom, your boss. It could be a professional mentor.

According to Kuburic, these five tips are just the start of a longer journey to clarifying for yourself what contentment and success mean. Are you willing to tick boxes or climb the corporate ladder? Or would this affect your capacity to cultivate a life of creativity or flexibility? That balance is something each person must decide and discover for themself.

Theres no quick fix to deeply rooted, societally driven feelings of professional inadequacy and insecurity, but there are solid, therapist-approved ways of figuring it out.

For anyone with the means, low-cost online options for therapy like BetterHelp and Talkspace can help you find a mental health provider to explore this one-on-one in the age of physical distancing.

Speaking specifically to millennials like herself, who she also says is a generation exposed to more opportunities for comparison online than ever before, Kuburic also stresses humility and exploration, and to ask yourself, What is my life really about?

Her final words on humility: Furthermore, why should you know everything in your 20s and 30s? And if that was the case, what a boring life to live.

Patricia Kelly Yeo is a freelance writer and journalist covering health, food, and culture. She is based in Los Angeles. Find her being mostly professional on Twitter.

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5 Ways to Cope with Professional Jealousy (Or Any Kind of Envy) - Greatist

Particularly because many of us have been spending nearly 24-7 time with our families for weeks and weeks now, Mitchell Lyons from SEL4 Newton thought it might be a good time to share these timely and timeless tips.

By Mitch Lyons, Coordinator of SEl4Newton.org

Here are some plain-speaking social-emotional learning skills to think about and employ in your home. I hope they speak to you.

A smiling face

Does your face light up when your kid walks in a room? Does your expression say, Im so glad you are here?

When they come down from breakfast, either cranky, miserable or tired, do you greet them with a smile? When you do, it creates a safe space for them, where they know they are unconditionally loved.

Mr. Rogers offered children every day when he signed off his show with, Youve made this day a special day, by just youre being you. Theres no person in the whole world like you, and I like you just the way you are.

As psychologist, Dr. Phyllis Fagell says, Your kids have a Ph.D. in you. They are watching everything you do. You children are watching you when you talk to them, when you are waiting in a line, when you react to the news, when you talk on the phone or even watch TV.

It takes self-awareness to think about modeling behaviors and a lot of practice to change or improve upon habits weve fallen into, but today is an opportunity to begin again.

The words above are largely taken from the articles below.

Resources:

https://info.montroseschool.org/blog/does-your-face-light-up-five-words-that-changed-my-teaching-and-parenting

https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/54064/how-parents-can-help-middle-schoolers-build-confidence-and-character

An optimistic and hopeful outlook

Being positive is a skill. It has to be practiced and honed like any skill. Ask yourself several times a day, How am I feeling? to reset yourself if youve slipped into a negative mood. Its easy to feel down in the dumps considering the reality of the situation, but showing hopefulness will reassure your children (and yourself).

The article below employs and Even If strategy.

Resource:

https://apertureed.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Promoting-SEL-at-Home-OT.pdf

The strengths of your child

So often we focus on what needs improving in our children that we forget to mention to them whats so right about them. When we do, we give them confidence. When we start conversations with some statement about what theyve done well, they will be more willing to listen to constructive criticism.

When they are passionate about something, latch on to it as if it was the best thing that ever happened to them. Children are on their own road, and while we can help by setting guardrails on that path, when we spot their intense interest in something, find ways to support it.

In these times when we are all together, its a good time to sit down and list your childs strengths. As the article points out below, these strengths can be personal, social, language, literacy, math, logic, music, sports or machinery.

Commenting about these strengths regularly will help their self-confidence, their sense of hopefulness and their knowledge that they are fully appreciated in their own homes.

Resource:

Identifying Your Child’s Strengths

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Happy and healthy at home - village14.com

May 5, 2020 7 min read

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

The following article is based on excerpts from Ben Angels book, Unstoppable: A 90-Day Plan to Biohack Your Mind and Body for Success. Buy it now from Amazon | Barnes Noble | iBooks | IndieBound. And be sure to order The Unstoppable Journal, the only journal of its kind based on neuroscience, psychology, and biohacking to help you reach your goals.

Nearly half of adults in the United States reported that their mental health had been negatively impacted due to worry and stress over the coronavirus, according to the latest Kaiser Family Foundation poll. Adverse mental-health effects due to social isolation may be particularly pronounced among older adults and households with adolescents, as these groups are already at risk for depression or suicidal ideation.

The pandemic is likely to have both long- and short-term implications for mental health and substance use. Those with mental health concerns pre-pandemic, and those newly affected, will likely require mental health- and substance-use services. Keeping this in mind, you must know where you sit on the mental-health continuum to understand how it is affecting you physically. When people undergo traumatic stress either mentally or physically, it creates a pattern within the body that soon emanates into psychological and biological side effects. You can now track where you fall into this continuum by taking an Identity Quiz on how well you are coping with your current situation. We have been able to survey more than 50,000 entrepreneurs and found out 54 percentof them fall into the two lowest categories:The Guardian and The Defender.

Related: 5 Ways to Boost Your Immune System During the Coronavirus Outbreak

There are four identity types in total:The Catalyst, The Synergist, The Guardianand The Defender. Your goal is to ensure your physical and psychological energy stays above a 50 percentcharge,the state at which you become a conscious creator and feel motivated, focused, and driven to achieve your goals.

When you fall below this state, you switch into a state of self-preservation mode where you run out of physical and emotional energy. This is where your fight-or-flight response is triggeredand your brain prioritizes vital bodily functions over personal or career goals.

Below, you're going to learn which identities we need to be most concerned about and what you can do to change your identity to help you through these harrowing times.

Operating at 0- 25 percentof their capacity. Traits of Defenders:

Rely heavily on caffeine or other stimulants to make it through the day.

Food cravings of sugars and carbs.

Anxiety.

Lack self-awareness and typically have low self-esteem.

Cognitive functions are in severe decline, like forgetting names, numbers or information;inability to make decisions.

Low levels of concentration.

Quick to exhaustion as brain doesnt have the fuel it needs to focus.

Chronic digestive issues, joint pain, skin rashes and unexplainable brain fog and fatigue.

Insomnia.

Defenders are depressed, anxious and struggle to make it through the day. Many will blame this on a poor mental attitude and feel they are lazy. They are emotionally depleted and need love and support from others, including medical professionals, to help them get their health and their life back. Defenders must seek out medical and professional help immediately.

Operating at 25-50 percentof their capacity. Traits of Guardians:

Procrastination and criticism derail their efforts.

They can keep going, briefly relying on willpower.

They have goals, but they seem unattainable.

Self-doubt has laid its foundation.

Chronic stress.

Nutritional deficiencies taking their toll.

Poor diet and lifestyle choices.

Less energy and focus.

Takes longer to recover from physical or emotional events.

They can endure for some time, but this constant state of fight or flight is taking its toll on many of their bodily and brain functions. It's typically the first time in their life they can't function as they used to, and many in the medical field will tell them it's typical aging and prescribe a drug to help alleviate the symptoms without treatingor accurately definingthe cause.

Operates at 50-75 percentof their capacity. Traits of Synergists:

Learning to balance willpower with sustainable energy, though starting to find it harder to maintain willpower alone.

Energy levels tend to fluctuate throughout the day.

Focus and concentration also varies throughout the day; unable to maintain constant energy.

They have an inner understanding that rest helps to reset the body for long-term success.

Relatively even moods.

Deliberate and conscious creators.

Not easily distracted.

Can quickly slide back into a Guardian if they fail to look after their physical and emotional health.

Operates at 75-100 percentof capacity. Traits of Catalysts:

Greatly self-aware ofhow their brain and body works for peak performance.

Abundance of psychological and physical energy to fuel them daily.

Able to troubleshoot problems calmly and methodically.

Able to pinpoint underlying issues and correct them successfully.

Operates from the higher executive part of their brain.

Strengthens their cognition through meditation, education, supplementsand a healthy diet.

Are society's game changers, both locally and globally.

Yes, we all can become The Catalyst, but it takes self-awareness and courage to dig deep into the root causation of your illnesses. Here are the first steps you should do to get yourself on the path to becoming unstoppable.

If you scored as a Guardian or Defender, you mustn't go on this health journey on your own. Finding a functional medicine doctor who specializes in chronic conditions will have the additional training needed to get to the root cause of your concerns. Following the steps below will aid in your knowledge of brain and body consciousness so you can increase your energy and build emotional and physical resilience to manage these stressful times.

Food sensitivities can trigger a range of issues, including; fatigue, bloating, brain fog, respiratory problems (e.g.asthma, sinusitis, rhinitis), headaches/migraines, depression, anxietyand sadness. They cause an inflammatory response in the body. Keep a food journal for a minimum of 30 days to track your mood and links to food. For a comprehensive report, you can order a food sensitivity test from companies such as Everlywell.

According to one study, 92 percentof the U.S. population has a nutritional deficiency. Nutritional deficiencies can occur regardless of whether an individual eats a healthy diet or not. This is due to farmland soil becoming deficient in essential micronutrients. Before you supplement, visit a functional doctor and have a full blood test done. Your doctor will be able to uncover any deficiencies that are impacting your physical or mental performance.

Nootropics are smart drugs or synthetic substances taken to improve mental cognition in healthy individuals. Consult your doctor before taking it. If we do not replenish ourselves, it can lead to burn out, exhaustion and depression. L-Tyrosine, L-Theanine, L-Carnitine, Magnesium, vitamin Dand Ashwagandha are but a few nootropics that can help you maintain proper brain function. They are go-tosfor Silicon Valley elite.

With all of us dealing with this new normal, we can optimize this time to go within and discover what is holding us back. Many of you suffering from depression, anxietyand fatigue may find the answer within these lines to help you get your body and mind back to optimal performance.

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There Will Be 4 Identity Types in This Recovery. Which One Are You? - Entrepreneur

Alex Spencer dissects the newest offering from The Strokes, finding a sound that has matured yet remains characteristically arrogant.

In the seven years since their last full-length LP, fans of The Strokes have been held in suspense over the bands direction and even willingness to perform. Weve witnessed solo efforts from guitarist Albert Hammond Jr., the debut albums of CRX and Machinegum, and the experimentation of Julian Casablancas work with The Voidz. This was a group of musicians desperate to fulfil their creative visions, away from the apparent compromise that hindered The Strokes on the 2013 Comedown Machine.

Casablancas has publicly stated his ambivalence towards their 2013 and 2011 works, and The Strokes subsequent hiatus suggests that ideas had begun to run thin. Indeed, their 2016 EP, Future Present Past, exhibited a tortured yearning for a new angle.

"The blueprint for writing addictive tracks remains, but there is an added progression which is afforded to many tracks on the album."

The New Abnormal thus comes as a welcome surprise to Strokes fans, relieved that there is life in the New York five-piece yet. It is a more mature work, and more interesting than its recent predecessors, exhibiting a subtlety foreign to many of its contemporaries.

The album flows from classic Strokes riffs and discordant imagery to 80s-infused tracks such as Eternal Summer and Ode To The Mets, which show an attempt at a new direction the introduction of Rick Rubin as producer can be thanked for such forays.

The blueprint for writing addictive tracks remains, but there is an added progression which is afforded to many tracks on the album. The Adults Are Talking and Why Are Sundays So Depressing? evolve into nonchalant guitar riffs, the latters tremolo-laden guitar a perfect antidote to the songs overall message of lustful arrogance.

Having taken back full writing control in the band, Casablancas lyricism never fails to allude rather than explain. He speaks often in non-sequiturs, implying a lack of concern for our understanding, but these only add an honesty to the sentiments expressed as his own. He contemplates his reluctance to change on Not The Same Anymore I couldnt change, its too lateLate again, I cant grow up showing a self-awareness that is remorseful, but unapologetic.

The album resonates more on account of its restoration of The Strokes individuality and swagger.

Tracks such as Brooklyn Bridge to Chorus and At The Door veer down different musical paths, yet their message hovers around an understanding of the writers defects: Casablancas feelings of introversion and insignificance. Much of The New Abnormal hinges on an awareness of drifting apart from people but refuses to criticise this. To the romantic Strokes fan, this could perhaps be viewed as a stretched metaphor for the bands relationship with its audience in recent years.

The Strokes appear typically unconcerned in general with our reaction to their work. Casablancas frustrations toward their previous two albums cannot be said of The New Abnormal, and the influence of time away with The Voidz is evident in heavier production and the penchant for allusion in his lyrics. In characteristic fashion, and without veering into truism, Casablancas returns to writing for his own pleasure, with a seeming disregard for appeasing any particular audience.

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Solace in songs in the time of Covid-19

The New Abnormal comes at a pertinent time the title refers to the climate crisis but finds a happy context in the present day fitting for a band that seems to inadvertently strike a relatable chord with its listeners. One can only imagine Casablancas joy at this prophetic accident, so often himself the spokesperson of an invisible war going on in the modern age.

But the album resonates more on account of its restoration of The Strokes individuality and swagger, so marked in their first three LPs. These albums established for the band their own style of youthful confidence layered with scepticism. No longer youthful, The New Abnormal restores The Strokes image with an added maturity and demonstrates a renewed cohesion after a period of self-indulgent solo exploits. It is sensitive and self-aware, but addictively unremorseful in true Strokes fashion.

Varsity is the independent newspaper for the University of Cambridge, established in its current form in 1947. In order to maintain our editorial independence, our newspaper and news website receives no funding from the University of Cambridge or its constituent Colleges.

We are therefore almost entirely reliant on advertising for funding, and during this unprecedented global crisis, we have a tough few weeks and months ahead.

In spite of this situation, we are going to look at inventive ways to look at serving our readership with digital content for the time being.

Therefore we are asking our readers, if they wish, to make a donation from as little as 1, to help with our running cost at least until we hopefully return to print on 2nd October 2020.

Many thanks, all of us here at Varsity would like to wish you, your friends, families and all of your loved ones a safe and healthy few months ahead.

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The New Abnormal is self aware and unremorseful - Varsity Online

Dawn Gilchrist, Western Regional Teacher of the Year, Jackson County Public Schools

Im sitting alone in my silent classroom as I write this. Its noon, and in normal times, students would be heading to the cafeteria about now, excited that its the first Friday in May. But instead of student conversations and laughter in the hallway, the only sounds are the wind buffeting the building and the clinking of machinery from the lumber mill next door. The sun pours in the big windows, warming the empty desks and chairs.

To my left is where Daykota helped Brian decode and pronounce words in the one-act play we did in November. In front of me is where Canyon wrote his memoir project, listening to smooth jazz a little too loudly through his earbuds. To his right was Lelia, who takes care of her brothers infant daughter and aided others with technology in ways that I could not; and Jazmin, who enrolled in late January, and had just begun to overcome her shyness enough to participate in class discussions when we left in mid-March.

But thats all done now and students wont be returning to the classroom this school year. Whats more, we dont even know if they will return next year.

While our State Board of Education and Department of Public Instruction have done the grueling work of hammering out what school is and is not for the remainder of this semester, no one has yet ventured any ideas that are equitable or even feasible for what happens in August, except that school starts on August 17.

And since we still have neither hard facts nor easy answers in terms of what we will do to educate our public school students for the next year, I asked a group of accomplished teachers to weigh in on the subject with what they think school should look like in the 2020-2021 school year.

From thoughts on equity and broadband accessibility to staggered schedules, competency-based learning, and rebuilding trust, here is what all nine 2020 North Carolina Regional Teachers of the Year have to say.

Teachers will be given the daunting task of filling in the gaps in the curriculum in the move to remote learning. Relationships will need to be rebuilt and re-established, and routines that are necessary to normal school operations will need to be re-instituted.

However, what if normal is not what should be reestablished? What if this is our time to reimagine what learning looks like and feels like for students? What if this is our opportunity to rediscover our why and continue the creativity and innovation that began occurring out of sheer urgency and necessity?

Students will be suffering from trauma. They will still be going through confusion, fear, and uncertainty. It would be a travesty for teaching, learning, and assessment to return to exactly what it was before this life-altering event.

If this has taught us anything, it has taught us that inequity is real and raw for so many of our students. We have confirmed what we as educators already knew: that assessments can look different in showing mastery and that creative alternatives to what has been used traditionally should be explored. Teachers will be the barometers of this situation, and if the situation changes and remote learning is again necessary, teachers will again be on the front lines to give the best education humanly possible given the resources available to them.

We as educators will be the safe space, continuing to see our students as people with a plan and a purpose. Give us the grace we need to reevaluate, reinvent, reestablish, and refresh.

Over a span of four decades teaching young children, I have been hugged around the legs so many times that I cannot count and all those hugs have communicated that student and teacher belong to each other. And yet, what has happened to many of our students during the COVID-19 pandemic? We have been separated from our students. Only those who are equipped with resources in technology and have an involved adults for accountability still have that unique sense of belonging engendered by the classroom.

As school resumes after COVID-19, we have the great task of, again, building the bridge for students to school by connecting to them and building their trust. We may have to rekindle the sense of belonging in some, but because our need to belong is so basic, we know our efforts will not be in vain.

After querying several of my teacher friends in Cleveland and Catawba counties, we all came to the conclusion: The necessity for social emotional learning to lead the way in August is major.We think that to do anything else would be to do the students and ourselves a huge disservice.Specifically, we would like to begin the school year with a two-week summer academy, assuming we have a traditional start.

During the first week, we would have school-wide events such as a yearbook signing, senior walk, and a memorial service in which we, as a school family, will be allowed to grieve the losses suffered during COVID-19. This would be followed by mental health professionals privately and discreetly counseling students who need these services.

The second week, students would be allowed to spend each day in their previous classes.This week would provide some closure socially, emotionally, and academically.Teachers would be encouraged to provide instruction that forges this closure, promoting growth and progressive movement forward.

And, finally, upon beginning the fall semester, instruction would be provided, but perhaps at a slowed pace, and with letter grades adapted to focus primarily on growth.

COVID-19 has brought about a need to see public education not as it was, but as it could be. My hope is that we will see a huge shift in the perception of public education: that a new appreciation will strengthen community and parent involvement.

While parents and teachers alike knew a transition to online learning wouldnt be without hardship, moving students to online learning has exposed disparities that werent evident before. As we return, I hope that we are keenly aware of the students needs beyond instruction. I hope we will work to erase inequities of all types, beginning with the basic needs and continuing, especially, to address the digital divide. I implore our state to work harder than ever to put devices and connectivity in the hands of all students. It is my hope we are able to meet the needs of the whole child unlike ever before.

As a part of that, I would love to see student services strengthened. Living through this pandemic will affect every student differently: some are without food, some are without socialization, some worry about losing family. Counselors and nurses at a new and advanced level will be needed to navigate the return to our new normal.

At the district level, I hope that administrators and other leaders will have a renewed trust in educators. I hope that teachers are given the autonomy to make essential decisions about closing gaps, reaching all students, and even the structure of how the school days will look with new guidelines. Above all, I hope we never take for granted the gift of each day in our classrooms with our students.

As a high school science teacher and mom of three school-aged children, working from home while also helping my 7-year-old navigate her Google Classroom is challenging on a good day and impossible on others. I say this while acknowledging that we are the privileged the ones with devices, food, and a support system. So what is it like for students and their families who have none of these?

I believe that as we enter the next school year, we still need face-to-face learning in some form. Recently, EdNC had state education leaders answer questions in a virtual town hall, and it was posited that students most in need may be able to return sooner than others. The fact is, however, they are all in need.

Obviously, in my utopia, we all enter those doors together in August, but if that is not possible, if that is not safe, we must look for ways to make contact with our students in the school building each week. For instance, I could see students coming in on Monday and Thursday or Tuesday and Friday, both to receive feedback and direct instruction, and then go home to continue assignments with a clear direction.

Whatever model we adopt next school year, I know that educators will dive in with all the energy and dedication they have shown during this time of quarantine distance learning. Until we can all be together again, we will hold on to every thread of contact with our students, continuing to educate, support, and uplift them with every resource we can muster.

Over the past several years, equity has been a buzzword in education. As we attend professional developments, engage in book studies, and discuss equitable education at school improvement team meetings, we skirt around the concerns of inequity, never really solving the problem.

In these early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, the harsh reality of the inequities in the American public school system is evident. As we transitioned to a virtual learning environment, many students have not had access to digital technology devices or internet connectivity. This could have been a show stopper, but it was not.

School districts, administrators, teachers, parents, and community leaders stepped up to meet this challenge head-on to ensure that learning could and would continue. School districts developed solutions to get devices to students. Administrators, educators, and classified staff shifted brick and mortar lessons to a virtual platform while finding ways to get hard copy resources to students who need them, helping with meal distributions, and supporting the social emotional learning needs of our students.

As we move into the 2020-2021 school year, I expect that work will continue. The COVID-19 pandemic not only exposed a real problem, but it also provided us with the opportunity to begin working on solutions to this problem. However, there is still much work to be done. As we return to school in the fall, providing an equitable education for all students, regardless of their familys financial status or zip code, must be one of our main priorities.

COVID-19 has forced all of us to be resourceful in ways we never imagined, and whether or not we move back into our school buildings, we must continue to improve our educational system by providing an equitable education to every single student.

While this is a stressful time for everyone, there is a silver lining in the changes happening in North Carolina Schools. This opportunity to transform the educational system needs to be addressed as a long-term solution, not just a short-term fix.

I am a 20th century learner educating 21st century students a divide that humbles me as I recognize my students different learning needs, styles, processes, and capabilities. What this means is that the notion of instruction has to change. While standards are inevitable and warranted, the methods we have used to teach these standards need to pivot from focusing on test results to an authentic assessment of whether or not a student has learned a concept.

We need two elements in order to make the switch to a student-centered system: personalized learning and competency/proficiency based education. The use of personalized learning plans creates self-awareness as students work with parents, teachers, and counselors to build upon learning and behavioral strengths, while identifying and working on weaknesses.

Competency/proficiency based education allows students to master standards at their own pace and calls for a reevaluation of the grading process. Both personalized learning and competency based education lead to stronger relationships between teachers and students, build self-awareness in all learners, and transform teaching from teaching skills to teaching learners.

Education is an absolute, inalienable right. As schools reopen in the fall, we must focus on providing equitable opportunity for every student to have access to this basic human right. Dr. King proclaimed, Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere, and if we cannot be sure that every student has access to what they need to be successful, we should not accept the plan as a solution.

My fear is that we will provide a rushed framework, one in which each student is given an equal opportunity to learn, but because we live in a system in which students have unequal backgrounds, abilities, and livelihoods, there is no model that can possibly replace student-centered teaching. I agree, our main concern should be student safety, but safe must include both the body and the mind.

My picture of school in the fall has a larger percentage of time spent in classrooms than in remote instruction, and that is because face-to-face instruction is the only avenue that provides every student with the information they need to be successful.

My hope is that through this experience, educators across the region, state, and country have had time to reflect. A paradigm shift of dramatic proportions is taking place as we gain a clearer vision of the failings of the American education system. When we return to school, we must have a renewed importance of how and when to give grace, of progress over perfection, of reestablishing relationships, and of the possibilities of rigor in remote instruction.

We must also not forget to plan solutions that will be equitable for all teachers and subjects of learning. Many ideas (ie., A and B schedules, half day schedules, etc.) will not work for a music classroom, for fine arts in general, nor for any classroom that serves multiple levels and grades of students. What is most important is this: we must be sure to create opportunities for ALL students, no matter their abilities or background, to learn and grow.

As I finish this reading through my peers thoughts, Im sitting in my calm dining room, with birdsong and neighbors lawn mowers serenading me and my third cup of coffee. Since late March, Ive done most of my remote teaching from this table, where I have all the space and quiet I need to do my best in this situation. Lucky me.

I try to imagine my students doing the work I assign from their bedrooms, but most of my alternative school students dont have their own bedrooms, much less their own computers. And because almost all of them live with extended family, or extended familys significant others, or in foster care, or sleep on a friends couch, the chances are that their situation is going to be just as impossible come fall.

And yet, even though I want my students back in the safe space we call school, I dont see how it can be possible given the lack of COVID-19 testing and a vaccination two years out and thats if were fortunate. So what do I want school to look like this fall? It is going to have to be more individualized than ever because there is no one answer that will fit every school or even every district.

If it is virtual, everyone must have access to broadband and a reliable device. If it is a physical classroom, students will have to be staggered, with no more than half the students in school at any given time (and even then, of course, they will still touch each other). If it is virtual or a hybrid, the workweek should be four days according to the teacher who mentored me because screen fatigue exhausts students and requires far more planning by teachers.

But theres hope. We know how to roll with the punches because, as public school teachers, weve had a lot of practice. We know how to make our students feel important even when the world does not. We know how to roll up our sleeves, paint our own classrooms, buy our own books, and feed our own students when their families cannot.

What we dont know how to do yet is recreate in every students home what weve nearly perfected in our brick and mortar buildings: a place where they are equal to every other child; where they have food, warmth, and safety; where the tools they need are always provided; and where learning is the focus and primary goal. But well get there, even if it seems impossible right now. We know all about achieving the impossible. After all, we are teachers.

Dawn Gilchrist is the 2020 Western Regional Teacher of the Year from School of Alternatives in Jackson County Public Schools.

Tonya Smith is the 2020 Piedmont-Triad Regional Teacher of the Year from Elkin High School in Elkin City Schools.

Carol Forrest is the 2020 North Central Regional Teacher of the Year from Long Mill Elementary in Franklin County Schools.

Chad Beam is the 2020 Southwest Regional Teacher of the Year from Burns High School in Cleveland County Schools.

Maggie Murphy is the 2020 Northwest Regional Teacher of the Year from Piney Creek School in Alleghany County Schools.

Ashley Bailey is the 2020 Charter Schools Regional Teacher of the Year from Roxboro Community School in Roxboro.

Maureen Stover is the 2020 Sandhills Regional Teacher of the Year from Cumberland International Early College High School in Cumberland County Schools.

Jeanie Owens is the 2020 Northeast Regional Teacher of the Year from Ocracoke School in Hyde County Schools.

Daniel Scott is the 2020 Southeast Regional Teacher of the Year from Swansboro High School in Onslow County Schools.

See the rest here:
NC Regional Teachers of the Year: School during COVID-19 - EdNC - EdNC

In recognition of Mental Health Month, On the Pulse will be sharing valuable resources and inspiring patient stories each week to guide individuals and families struggling with mental health issues and help destigmatize the topic of mental health in our society.

Managing a childs mental health can feel like an uphill battle with no end in sight. Often times, parents and caregivers feel lost when it comes to navigating through their childs emotions when they are experiencing a mental health crisis or mitigating a situation before, during and after a crisis occurs.

Some of the best resources to help parents and caregivers better understand their childs mental health are the same tools providers routinely use for any patient coming into Seattle Childrens with a mental health issue. Developed by pediatric mental health experts at Seattle Childrens and used in clinic for over a decade, the escalation cycle is one such tool that parents and caregivers can easily adapt to use at home.

The escalation cycle is a tool used to explain emotion or behavior during a crisis situation. It has six stages identified by different colors. Seattle Childrens Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine clinic uses the tool to understand behavior and escalation, and to guide parents and caregivers in using different interventions at each stage. The use of a Coping Card together with the escalation cycle is an essential element in understanding the emotions that trigger certain behavior in your child.

The escalation path and coping cards can help parents and caregivers work with their child to recognize the types of things that upset their child, how their child feels, and what it looks like when they are upset, said Maureen OBrien, the director of Seattle Childrens Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine Unit (PBMU). This teaches children the skill of self-awareness, which can otherwise be difficult to teach.

To understand how the escalation cycle works, its important to explore each stage of the cycle closely and the interventions that are involved.

Each stage is identified by a color green, yellow, red or blue, and gray.

The cycle begins with green, which is the baseline. When we are in the Green Zone, our behavior is normal or typical, although it looks different for everyone. In this stage, people are calm, rational, and able to learn new skills and have difficult conversations. It is the best time for proactive interventions.

Interventions are the strategies or activities that we use to help children calm and manage their emotions, OBrien said. Our interventions vary based on the childs level of escalation. Interventions also vary based on the type of trigger this is when the Coping Card comes in handy. Being aware of the emotion and your childs level of escalation will help you choose your intervention.

These are some examples of baseline interventions, things you can do when your child is in the Green Zone that will support you when a trigger occurs. These interventions work best as part of a consistent daily routine:

After a trigger happens, we often escalate and enter the Yellow Zone. Triggers are things that make people feel mad, sad or upset. These are signals that your child needs emotion coaching and coping skills to calm. Without effective coping skills, people can continue to escalate until they are in a crisis. Here are some examples of interventions that can be used during escalation:

When a child continues to escalate past the Yellow Zone, they have reached the peak of the cycle, which is the time when a crisis can occur. In the Red or Blue Zone, we are not able to effectively cope. Crisis is an unsafe period of time; people are often impulsive and reckless. They do not make good decisions when they are in crisis; they often act unsafely toward themselves, somebody else, or the physical space theyre in. In crisis, our bodies experience high levels of adrenaline, making crisis a phase that is physically hard on our bodies.

There are two types of crises: externalizing or Red Zone crisis, a behavior is directed at others (either aggression or property destruction) and internalizing or Blue Zone crisis, a behavior is directed at themselves.

During this phase, the only focus is on safety using these strategies:

After the crisis has passed, people de-escalate and reenter the Yellow Zone, which can be a volatile phase. People are calming down and trying to burn off the adrenaline from the crisis. It can take over thirty minutes for your childs body to return to baseline.

This is where families often make the biggest mistake, OBrien said. They try to problem solve and dont wait until their child is back to their baseline. This is a crucial period when a child needs time to recuperate to get their energy back and let their adrenaline run-off.

It is best to use calming coping skills, such as:

The Gray Zone is a time for post-crisis recovery. Before people are back to their baseline and feeling normal or typical, it is common for them to have low energy and feel guilty, tired, hungry, sad or embarrassed about the crisis. In this phase, people continue to feel the run-off of adrenaline. Your child may be physically and emotionally exhausted. Focus on caring for your child by:

Often families forget the gray zone and want to take this time to talk about the crisis right away, OBrien said. This is a period where a child is in the most risk of re-escalation. Give your child time to get re-grounded and back to their normal behavioral patterns before discussing the situation.

Finally, after the Gray Zone recovery period, when people recover from the aftermath of the adrenaline, or the post-crisis slump, they return to their baseline or the Green Zone. They are calm, stable, and able to learn again. At this point, you can discuss next-steps with your child, focusing on how to prevent the same crisis from happening again. Here are some examples of interventions you can use after your child returns to baseline:

The escalation cycle and Coping Cards used by Seattle Childrens have helped thousands of patients and their families through the most difficult situations.

Created based on psychological research and various other medical literature that exists, the escalation cycle is formatted in a way that is unique to Seattle Childrens, OBrien said. What makes this tool so useful is that children of any age can benefit from using them. This is one of our standard interventions we use and one of the things that makes our mental health program in our Emergency Department (ED) distinctive compared to others. While other EDs may do assessments and make a determination plan for a patient, they dont always have resources or skills to provide education to help families stay out of crisis when they leave.

While these tools are significantly helpful, OBrien says families should complement them with the knowledge of knowing their child and whats best for them.

The biggest takeaway for families is that you know your child best, she said. These tools are not meant to tell you what do or say when your child is undergoing a mental health issue; these tools exist to guide you in the right direction and understand their emotions on a deeper level.

If you, your child or family needs help right away, call your countysmental health crisis number. In King County, call866-427-4747. You can also text HOME to741741or call theNational Suicide Prevention Lifeline,800-273-8255, from anywhere in the U.S. If you or a family member has a problem with a substance use disorder, please consider calling theWashington Recovery Help Line,866-789-1511.

Resources:

Read more here:
Expert-Tested Tools to Manage Your Child's Mental Health - On the Pulse

Poker is one of the most emotionally demanding games you can think of. So much so that one of the words youll hear most often is tilt.

Being on tilt, roughly speaking, is when you allow bad feelings to dictate your behavior.

Everyones been there. But not everyones aware that there are at least two reasons for this to happen. And knowing the difference between the two may change the way you approach your next poker session.

Lets start by refining our understanding of what it means to be on tilt.

As Ive suggested, this is when you let your emotions hurt your game. This is often an insidious process, which can manifest itself in different ways.

But, if we pay enough attention, well be able to identify some common behavior patterns.

The most obvious form of tilt is when you start entering pots with marginal hands more often, in the hope of hitting a monster on later rounds of betting.

Not all players on tilt may do this. But all of them become more subject to some kind of speculative play. In short, they disregard most of what they once learned about the fundamentals (hand selection, pot odds, position, etc.).

Sometimes, its great. Nothing in poker is bad per se. After all, you have to know how to change gears and how to manipulate your table image.

And speculative plays can help you with that. Against skilled opponents, you wont go too far if your game is too predictable. But when those plays arent done in the proper state of mind, this means that youre simply relying on luck.

Knowing ones own state of mind is, in itself, a full-time job, because it requires constant attention. But its easy to put into words how a person is feeling when he/she is on tilt.

In fact, we can summarize it with a single wordfrustration.

Frustration is an interesting word. According to the 3rd edition of the Longman Active Study Dictionary, heres how its defined:

[] the feeling of being impatient or angry because you cannot do what you want to do[.]

I dont need to tell you what it means to be impatient or angry, do I? Any human being knows those feelings all too well.

Still, it requires a good deal of self-awareness to identify certain emotions as soon as they show up during a poker session. And it requires an even greater deal of self-regulation to not let them interfere with your game.

Self-awareness and self-regulation are emotional intelligence skills. As such, they deserve an article of their own. For now, lets continue analyzing our definition of the word frustration.

Once again, according to Longman (and most dictionaries, by the way), its a feeling that comes because you cannot do what you want to do.

And its here that I ask you, do you know what you want to do when you play poker?

I suspect that, for most poker players, the question What do you want to do? isnt even the most relevant because theyre way too concerned about what they want to have.

That is, theyre all about the results Im not here to say you shouldnt be results-oriented. After all, this is a common trait among successful people.

But these people have also learned that your results should come in direct proportion to what you do and also, your level of being, if you want to sustain your success.

This sounds obvious, right? But how many players fail to notice this?

Poker is demanding not only because of its individualistic nature but also because of the luck factor. This makes it all too easy to blame the deck when things dont go your way, especially when playing no-limit. Here, you can lose a lot (or all) of your chips in one hand.

When that happens because of a bad beat, thats enough for many players to start playing much worse. And thats how most of them go on tilt.

Theres a fine line between being focused on results and being attached to them. And we all tend to cross that line more often than wed like to admit.

But we must know that attachment is exactly what makes it difficult to have the necessary emotional stability to play poker.

At the felt, anything can happen in the short run. Unfortunately, it seems that most players only learn this at a cognitive level (if that).

What do those players need to develop, then?

First of all, a desire to play well. Second, the habit of seeing their results from a larger perspective. Bear in mind, though, that none of that will necessarily save you from going on tilt.

Theres another reason why this happens to poker players.

When you decide to get serious about improving your game, its common to develop a series of habits.

You start reading books, joining forums, and watching tutorials about poker. You keep track of how long you spend at each session (both online and offline). You spend hours analyzing different hands youve played searching for what couldve been done differently.

Then, you pay attention to your nutrition, sleep, exercise routine, and so on. You even experiment with different kinds of meditation, visualizations, and affirmations.

In short, you do everything you can think of to give yourself even the slightest edge at a poker table. And you definitely should. But, as great as those habits are, they may present a certain danger.

The danger is not in any of those practices themselves, but in how you relate to them. Because, if you do everything right, you might expect to play as close to perfect as humanly possible.

And when youre not able to do this, youre bound to get frustrated.

Poker player and author Mike Caro calls this second type of tilt the scratched-car syndrome.

He named it as such because of something that happened to a neighbor of his a long time ago. His neighbor just bought a new car, of which he seemed to be very proud of. And he polished it frequently. That is, until a scratch appeared on it.

After that incident, the man felt it wasnt worth it anymore to do anything about his once precious car. As Caro observes, such is the case for those poker players who come into a table expecting to play great all the time.

All it takes is a costly misjudgmenta bad call on the river, for examplefor them to feel like their whole session was ruined. Although the circumstances behind this type of tilt are different from the other, the underlying reason is the same.

Both types of players get frustrated because of some kind of attachment. In our first case, as weve seen, that attachment is mainly to amassing chips. In this second case, players tend to be attached mainly to their self-image as poker players.

These would do well to ponder on the following advice from Caro:

[] You are where you are and the past is the past. Are-are, past-past. Try to play perfectly, but expect to fail.

I know, I said Id talk about only two types of tilt, but theres another one which deserves at least a brief mention here.

Sometimes, you go on tilt not because of a bad run of cards, a hand poorly played, or anything else thats part of the game.

Sometimes, you just cant get some personal problems out of your head.

Maybe your mother is sick. Or youve argued with your spouse. Or youve had an altercation with another player about something unrelated to poker.

Whatever the case may be, its unlikely that youll be able to focus on that game you happen to be in. I say its unlikely because some players are actually able to do it. Somehow, theyre able to detach from anything else that may be bothering them outside the felt.

If thats you, I salute you. If thats not your case, maybe its better to skip that particular poker session. Or, at the very least, try to make use of some techniques that involve some kind of relaxation.

None of us are immune to going on tilt when playing poker. This can happen even to top pros (as you may have seen on TV).

The secret, if there is one, is to learn how to bounce back quicker each time it happens. And the first step towards this goal is to learn to develop an accepting attitude.

Tilt, as weve seen, comes from frustration. And frustration comes from one thing, and one thing onlya lack of acceptance.

So, as long as you can stop wanting things to be different from the way they are, youll be a winner. Thats a tricky feat, because you do want to improve and develop. But you dont want to be attached to neither the cards nor to your performance when playing poker.

Read the original post:
What is Tilt When Playing Poker? - Different Types of Tilt at Poker - BestUSCasinos.org

Tuesday May5,2020at3:26PM

After having its ceremony continuously following bad weather and the school closure, Kirksville High School has announced its Student Leaders of the Month for January and February.

Olivia Chapman is the recipient for January and Charlie Tiedemann was picked for February.

The students were supposed to be honored the Renaissance Breakfast on Feb. 13, which was delayed due to the weather. That event was rescheduled for March 19, which was canceled as the school closed for coronavirus precautions.

Kirksville High School partners with the Truman State ROTC and Missouri National Guard to recognize a student leader each month. Students are nominated by teachers and staff for exemplifying the following: An individual of excellent character whose values hinge on loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity and personal courage. This individual should inspire others, exemplifying a higher standard that encourages others to strive to be their best. This individual possesses resiliency in the face of adversity and a self-awareness that promotes improvement through diligence and a strong work ethic. This individual does not necessarily have to be the best student, best scholar or best athlete, but is someone who has demonstrated great improvement and consistent values.

The rest is here:
Kirksville announces Student Leaders of the Month for Janurary, February - Kirksville Daily Express and Daily News

BASED in Alfaz del Pi El Jardn de Esther has been giving free mindfulness workshops followed by 30 health professionals from different areas of Spain.

One of the promoters, Daniel Mendialdua, a sociology graduate and mindfulness instructor, said the initiative has been very positive, both in the response and the information obtained.

The most important objective has been achieved, which is to help those who are helping us the most to stop the Covid-19 pandemic, by providing a place for deep rest, after the emotional stress to which they are subjected, and providing useful tools to cope with the day to day situation, explained Daniel.

Alfaz councillor for Health, Marisa Corts, said: It is good to know that an association from Alfaz, made up of specialists in caring for people who care for others, has got down to work and is giving such useful and necessary workshops in an altruistic way.

David and all the members of El Jardn de Esther, are now considering starting a new workshop, dedicated to family members who live together and care for patients with different diseases.

The association is mostly made up of professionals who work at the Universities of Alicante and Miguel Hernndez in Elche.

Mindfulness can help improve the ability to maintain perspective, gain greater acceptance of pain, find vitality and inner peace, and release stress and anxiety, said Daniel.

He added: Mindfulness seeks, through meditation, to achieve a state of full consciousness in the present moment, generating unbiased observation and freeing the mind from harmful thoughts.

By integrating mindfulness into their daily lives, patients will learn useful techniques for cognitive pain control, stress reduction and tension relief. They will also enhance self-care and self-awareness of their own body.

The association is happy to answer queries by emailing: eljardindeesther@gmail.com.

View post:
Costa Blanca experts helping health workers across Spain cope with the day to day stress during the pandemic - Euro Weekly News