Wanted to resurrect this thread again to hopefully instill some hope in you all.
As many of you know my job has changed quite a bit this year, and while there have been some bumps in the road getting to today, November 9, 2021 - I can honestly say today was the most reinvigorating day of my career.
I have taken over Social/Emotional Learning consulting at my ISD (ISDs in Michigan are the middle man between local districts and the state department of Ed. We provide professional learning and support to a number of local districts in our region. The one I'm primarily housed out of services 7 schools. Another vein of my job has me shared between 10 ISDs (which is 134 school districts) - but that last part isn't relevant to this story, just gives you a sense of what ISDs are)
Today was the first professional learning opportunity under this new hat I wear. We had 3 of our 7 locals at the table (two couldn't come today but are coming to our next meeting) to begin building a shared language of what Social Emotional Learning is and isn't, and began to take steps to build it into the fabric of all we do in schools. The teams that came today were made up of social workers, guidance counselors, a few teachers, a few paraprofessionals, several principals - all from the makeup I required for attendance.
You guys - when I tell you the conversations we had today were amazing, I phrase it that way simply because my exhausted brain can't process a better word or sentence. At it's heart, SEL is about getting to the heart of people. We have competencies on self awareness, social awareness, responsible decision making, relationship skills, and self management. In each of those exist things like empathy, kindness (and a boatload of other good things). The conversations that were had today all centered around how to build this into the framework of these three locals and I believe it's the right people to begin that work. It's going to take some time to get off the ground, but more importantly my new boss sat in for most of the day and is finally starting to "get" why this is important (and that I sort of know what I'm talking about - it's not about buying a program!)
I have a lot of hope for our rural area in undertaking this work. Seeds were planted today that will blossom and grow over the coming months and years. I love what I did today, and I can't wait to bring them back together again in January.
So the "good people" I want you all to know about are some nameless counselors, social workers, principals, paraprofessionals, and teachers in a small area of Northern Michigan. Send them all a little light as they grow to be light workers themselves in their districts changing the narratives. I'm certain they can do it!
So the "good people" I want you all to know about are some nameless counselors, social workers, principals, paraprofessionals, and teachers in a small area of Northern Michigan. Send them all a little light as they grow to be light workers themselves in their districts changing the narratives. I'm certain they can do it!
Thank you for resurrecting this thread with a personal story of your own. I love reading about all these unsung heroes in your district. I want to add the name of another good person who raises us up higher -- You, Dannyboy.
Hi dannyboy,
I had a quick look online to see if that was something we might also do here. I have found some websites, which may or may not be of interest. Glad you are enjoying what you are doing now.
https://beyou.edu.au/fact-sheets/social-and-emotional-learning
https://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/teachers/health/mentalhealth/Pages/socialemotion.aspx
Regards
Matildagirl
@matildagirl that’s the stuff exactly! :-)
one of hundreds of things other countries have done a lot longer than US in the field of education but - we’ve been chasing the almighty standardized test score as the indicator of teacher worth longer and harder than anyone. That’s why the push to bring this in is so exciting - it’s a silver lining for the pandemic as a whole that it’s brought a focus to the social and emotional needs of people back to the forefront. And my teams are so powerful!
@jeanne-mayell, @lynn I appreciate your kind words. Providing the space to have the conversation is nowhere near as important as going back and doing the work, but I’ll admit I fought hard to provide the space. Maybe I’m the initial grow lamp? ?. Seriously though you’re too kind and I appreciate everyone here so much for giving me a place to remember the good in the world.
As a longtime educator i hang on your every word. Your job sounds interesting and inspiring.
For me it is the spirits of the children that shine so brightly, leading the way, reminding us of our best selves.
This is why I chose to become a teacher, and not make singing my career. Children bring so much light to this world.
It's a privilege to be a teacher.
For me it is the spirits of the children that shine so brightly, leading the way, reminding us of our best selves.
Leaving the classroom was the hardest decision ever, but I still find ways to get my "kid fix" when I need it. They truly are remarkable and they always fill me with hope.
Given the current climate I'd say we're one more pandemic year away from a mass uprising of educators.
Cats. Don't overlook them. They can find a venomous snake in your Christmas tree and save you life. Good kitties.
https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/14/africa/christmas-tree-snake-scli-intl/index.html
Great story. Speaking of....years ago shortly before Christmas, as I walked into the living room, I thought there was something odd about our 7 foot tree. It finally dawned upon me that there was a new and interesting ornament right below the angel topper. Our newly adopted black and white kitten was resting regally on a branch looking outward, surveying his domain. Every Christmas, for the rest of his life, I learned to look for him somewhere in the tree, often finding him stretched across branches in the center, sleeping soundly in his fir-y bed. (couldn't resist..)
In Other News, Puerto Rico just exited bankruptcy following the largest public debt restructuring in history.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2022/03/16/puerto-rico-exits-bankruptcy/7064653001/
Oh I hope this works well because I hate spam.
Spam emails are undesired messages that are often sent to many random users in bulks. These messages can contain advertisements, but also phishing links or malware. The automatic filtering of emails and the identification of spam messages is highly advantageous, as it can reduce the risk of phishing attacks and make it easier for users to navigate their accounts.
Over the past few years, computer scientists have developed increasingly advanced computational models to automatically detect spam emails. To perform well, however, most of these models need to be trained on large email datasets, which were manually labeled by humans.
Researchers at Sinhgad Institute of Technology Lonavala in India have recently created a new technique for the automatic detection of spam emails. This technique, presented in a paper published in the International Journal of Intelligent Robotics and Applications, could help to improve the security of users, while also helping them to skim irrelevant or undesired emails.
https://techxplore.com/news/2022-03-automatically-filter-spam-emails.html
How about some good news?
A cat from Odessa separated from his owner during the Ukraine war has been reunited with his mom who is currently in Arkansas. The process it took for the cat to be reunited is amazing. A very happy ending.
P.S. the cat is absolutely adorable. And fluffy.
How about some very good news today?
In a blow to a gold and copper mining company, the Biden Admin EPA is saying "no" to a proposed mine at Bristol Bay Alaska so that the world's largest salmon fishery and spawning area can be protected.
This is also a HUGE win for native Americans who fought against the mining company for 12 years and finally appears to have won.
"Using a rarely used authority under the Clean Water Act to protect wetlands from being dumped with waste, agency officials found the proposed mine would destroy 8.5 miles of streams and lead to “unacceptable” injury to the region’s salmon."
https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2022/05/25/biden-epa-bristol-bay-salmon/
More good news:
The Guardian: Monarch butterfly numbers in Mexico rise by 35%
"Mexican experts have said that 35% more monarch butterflies arrived this year to spend the winter in mountaintop forests, compared with the previous season.
Experts say the rise may reflect the butterflies’ ability to adapt to more extreme bouts of heat or drought by varying the date when they leave Mexico.
The government commission for natural protected areas said the butterflies’ population covered 2.84 hectares (7 acres) this year, compared with 2.1 hectares last year."
This is for the Eastern monarch population, not for the US West Coast, which is counted separately.
I've read elsewhere that a healthy population of monarchs should occupy 6 hectares, so we've got a ways to go still to help them get there.
If you're a gardener, consider planting native milkweed plants (often found at local native plant society sales). Milkweed is the only plant that Monarchs will lay their eggs on, so if milkweed is depleted, there's simply nowhere for them to reproduce.
I needed to see something like this today: a very promising potential cure for AIDS:
Bo knows baseball.
Bo knows football.
Bo knows how to be a bright light during a dark time.
Bo Jackson was the anonymous donor who paid for all of the Uvalde funerals after that horrible shooting.
As much as Bo knows sports, Bo knows how to spread healing light during the darkest of times.
May Bo inspire a new generation to act in love and shine a bright light. We can all shine a light. We can all act in love.
I was reading an article about what types of changes we can make personally to lesson our carbon footprint and making an impact to help the environment. Most were things which have been discussed frequently on our site, especially be @jeanne-mayell. Things like purchasing g an electric vehicle, getting rid of gas’s heating and gas appliances, knowing how your local politicians/candidates stand on climate issues, eating less animal protein and so forth. But one thing was mentioned which I had not seen listed anywhere before.
Updating groups ( texting, family chat, friends, advocacy, school mates websites you are a member of) on plans and actions you are putting into place in your own life to help the environment. Big things and small. That walk to the grocery store, the up cycling of items, repurposing things, show shopping trips are changing for you, where you are letting you dollar speak, and so forth,
I like that idea. We can motivate ourselves and the people we interact with in so many positive ways. I know you have all impacted my climate consciousness , certainly the more we discuss, learn and apply information , the greater the impact we can all have, one carbon footstep at a time.
So let’s discuss here and in other circles we interact with, small and large ways we are trying to make a difference. I think the benefits might surprise us in the long and even short run.
OK here are a few really small things supporting nature and the environment that I do and I admit they are things I enjoy which makes it easy.
- I have begun making lemonade in the summer instead of buying it in plastic jugs, being totally appalled at the volume of waste even though the jugs went into the recycling bin. Lemon juice and zest, simple syrup, water – re-using the same jug.
- Also, I have a clothesline plus indoor racks and rarely use a dryer. I have an inordinate love of the outdoor clothesline and also folding laundry. Maybe because it was my job as a kid to bring in the clothes from the line at the end of the day. It feels settled and calming.
- Thrift shopping/re-use stores
Homemade lemonade is is so much better. Store bought is usually too sweet for me . I also enjoy real lemons. I had not thought about the plastic jugs which are not needed, great thinking. We have a tangelo tree in our yard and in the spring we make fresh tangelo juice which is naturally sweet and refreshing. Also, not plastic waste.
it is so hot here in the summer I can acc so no sometimes do dry my clothes outside. Our community does allow use to have a clothes line so I hang the clothes on a hook for our potted plants. Haha.
I need to do this again as I stopped last month before heading out of town.
I would love to see more towns have “reusing” centers . I was pleasantly surprised to find a place near where my daughter lives that recycles and reuses many house hold items including cardboard, metals and glass. People were both dropping off and picking up items..
There are 40% more tigers in the world than previously estimated.
(here kitty, kitty,kitty ... )
https://www.npr.org/2022/07/23/1113186725/tigers-population-numbers-endangered-species