The Developing Adolescent and Creating a Positive Learning Environment

This session was more about the developing adolescent than creating a positive learning environment. Having read The Teenage Brain, a lot of the information shared was not new to me. One interesting take away - an MRI of a brain after eating sugar is similar to an MRI of a brain on drugs (I think it was heroin). The few examples of creating a positive learning environment included incorporating movement and allowing for interaction. I was hoping to take away ideas on how to get students who are hesitant to join groups and participate more involved.

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Positive Classroom

I was struck by the importance of creating a positive environment for my students. One presenter showed a picture of a woman who had a fearful expression on her face. Most of the teachers in the room said she looked afraid; however, the presenter said 8/10 middle school students thought the teacher was angry. We need to be careful how we express ourselves in front of our students, knowing that they misread some of our thoughts.

A middle school principal's dream come true...

I am so grateful that we were able to take nearly our entire faculty to AMLE, and so proud of our staff for making the day a dream come true for me! We started the day with a near perfect bus ride into Philadelphia, our driver, (Daraan DeShields), gracefully maneuvered our bus to the main entrance of the Philadelphia Convention Center. He was awesome! He started our day by greeting us with a smile, letting us know his expectations for the bus, and also letting us know he would do everything in his power to ensure our trip was comfortable and safe. From that moment, I knew it was going to be a great day. Daraan obviously buys into our vision of creating a school that teaches kids to love school. He even played the radio for us. Thank you Daraan! I think all would agree that individually we each got more out of some sessions than we did other sessions. For me Dr. Monte Selby's session on teacher morale and motivation was the most impactful for me. Monte is one of most entertain...

Bridges to Wellness - Countywide Conference

While at the Bridges to Wellness conference, I attended a session highlighting the program "Rachel's Challenge" Although this program has been around for many years, and may be familiar to us, I am still inspired by its message. Rachel Scott was killed in the Columbine High School shooting, and she was a student who reached out to students with disabilities, new students, and students who were picked on. She wrote about her moral principles in her diary, which was found after her death. Her father has since created an educational program, spreading Rachel's ideas internationally. The CCIU is promoting Rachel's Challenge in Chester County again. "Rachel's Challenge builds compassion in relationships and strengthens community within schools. Guided by a set of five challenges, students and faculty are encouraged to model and enforce behaviors, and start a chain reaction of their own." The five Challenges are: 1. Look for the Best in Others ...

Patton @ AMLE 2017

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