Why Most Goals Fail (And What to Do Instead) Every January, we do the same thing. We set ambitious goals. We feel motivated and hopeful. We tell ourselves this year will be different. Then February arrives, and most of those goals have quietly disappeared. The students who promised to turn in homework on time are back to old patterns. The reading goal you set for yourself gets buried under lesson planning. The intention to incorporate more movement into your classroom falls a

Why Winter Break Transitions Hit Different Let me paint a picture you probably recognize: It's the week before winter break. Your carefully established routines have dissolved. Students are bouncing off the walls. Half your class is already mentally on vacation, and the other half is stressed about changes in their home routines. Meanwhile, you're trying to finish assessments, close out the semester, and somehow maintain instructional momentum when everyone—including you—is r

Why Some Celebrations Miss the Mark I used to think celebration was simple. Praise the A students, applaud the test scores, hand out the awards at the end of the year. Done. Then I started paying attention to student reactions. The kid who shrank when I called attention to their perfect score. The student who worked incredibly hard to move from an F to a C but got no recognition because a C isn't "award-worthy." The ones who achieved amazing social growth but never heard abou

The Achievement Trap We're All Caught In We live in a culture obsessed with measurable success. GPA. Test scores. Competition results. College acceptance rates. And look, I'm not saying those things don't matter. But when they become the only things we celebrate, we send a dangerous message to our kids. We tell them that their value is tied to performance. That being a good person counts less than being a high achiever. That effort only matters if it results in visible succes

The Real Story Behind This Semester's Growth Let's be honest—when December rolls around, most of us are running on fumes. We're thinking about winter break, planning for next semester, and maybe counting down the days until we can sleep past 6 AM. But before we close the books on this semester, there's something worth doing: helping students reflect on where they've been and how far they've come. And I'm not just talking about academic progress, though that matters too. I'm t

Why Reflection Actually Matters (And Not Just as a Feel-Good Exercise) Look, I get it. Adding one more thing to your parenting to-do list probably sounds about as appealing as volunteering for cafeteria duty. But here's why helping your child reflect on growth  is worth the effort. When kids take time to look back on what they've learned and how they've changed, something shifts. They start to see themselves as capable. They begin to connect effort with outcomes. They develop

From Understanding to Action You've learned to recognize executive function and SEL skill gaps. You've observed patterns in your students. You understand that academic struggles often stem from these foundational skills, not content knowledge. Now what? Because noticing the problem is only half the battle. The real question is: what do you actually do when a student is struggling? That's what we're tackling today. Practical, targeted strategies that address the most common ac

The Problem with Prioritizing Compliance Let's be honest. Most of us were trained to value compliance in the classroom. The "good student" sits quietly, raises their hand, follows directions the first time, and doesn't disrupt the lesson. The challenging student questions rules, has big emotional reactions, or can't seem to "just do what they're told." We've built entire classroom management systems around compliance. Behavior charts. Clip systems. Reward programs for followi

Why Observation Matters More Than Assessment You don't need a formal assessment to understand which executive function skills your students are struggling with. You need to know what to look for. Because the truth is, students show you every single day. They show you when they can't get started on an assignment. When they forget materials even though you just reminded them. When they rush through work or shut down during challenging tasks. When they struggle to work with peer

The Student Who "Should Be" Doing Better Let me guess. You have at least one student right now who's confusing you. They're clearly capable. They participate in discussions. They understand the concepts when you explain them. But when it comes time to actually do the work? Something falls apart. Maybe they can't get started. Maybe they rush through and make careless mistakes. Maybe they shut down the second something gets hard. Maybe they're disorganized, distractible, or con

Understanding Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) is a comprehensive approach that helps students develop...

We all want to see students thrive—not just academically, but in a way that sparks lifelong curiosity and confidence. That’s where...