So You Want to Write a Book?

By Dr. Jane BluesteinDecember 28, 2012September 26, 2022 Blog, Professional growth 2 Comments

Tips for Would-Be Authors (and Speakers) I wrote this piece a few years ago after numerous requests for help from individuals who aspire to seeing their ideas in print. The following suggestions are based on my own experiences and conversations with other authors. There are loads of books and articles on getting published that will…

What’s a Purchase Order?

By Dr. Jane BluesteinDecember 28, 2012May 23, 2022 Blog, Counselors, Educators, General Interest, Professional growth building a career as a speaker, building a speaking career, career arc, educational consulting, entrepreneurship for educators, getting paid to present, growing a business, marketplace changes, media promotion for your book, publishing your book, speaking, the arc of a career, working with the media, writing and publishing, you need a website 3 Comments

Confessions of an Accidental C.E.O. The following article begins with an adaptation of a chapter for Tricia Gallagher’s 1991 book, For All the Write Reasons: Forty Successful Authors, Publishers, Agents, and Writers Tell You How to Get Your Book Published. I have followed this excerpt with updates on what’s been happening in the years since…

Spectrum Podcasts by Guest

By Dr. Jane BluesteinDecember 26, 2012May 8, 2022 Podcast Leave a comment

Guests on Spectrum Podcast Programs Dr. Jane Bluestein chats with experts on topics relevant to educators, counselors, and parents. The following individuals have appeared on Spectrum Podcasts to talk about topics relevant to educators, counselors, community and social service workers, and parents. (View programs by title and topic.)

Spectrum Podcasts by Topic

By Dr. Jane BluesteinDecember 26, 2012May 8, 2022 Podcast Leave a comment

Topics of Spectrum Podcast Programs The following topics have been explored on Spectrum Podcasts, a series of programs relevant to educators, counselors, community and social service workers, and parents. (Also available: a list of podcasts by program guest.)

Jane Bluestein Discusses Emotionally Safe Schools

By Kate BedfordDecember 26, 2012May 8, 2022 Assessment and Testing, Body and Brain, Counselors, Creating community, Culture and Community, Differentiating Instruction, Educators, Emotionally safe schools, Health and Safety, School climate, Social and Emotional Growth, Taking care of yourself, Tolerance and Respect Leave a comment

Interview by Kate Bedford ©2001 Kate Bedford, Six Seconds Jane Bluestein is an award winning author and speaker. Her newest book, Creating Emotionally Safe Schools, is a comprehensive look at how we can make any educational institution safer— from an emotional, academic, behavioral, social, and physical standpoint. Formerly an inner-city classroom teacher, crisis-intervention counselor, and…

Picking up the Pieces

By Dr. Jane BluesteinDecember 23, 2012May 8, 2022 Blog, Counselors, Educators, Emotionally safe schools, General Interest, Increasing Positivity, Parents, Recognition and Reinforcement, School climate, Social and Emotional Growth acceptance, emotional safety, emotionally safe classroom, encouragement, feedback, healing, identity and failure, self-concept 6 Comments

Reclaiming our essence “I can never read your writing.” “That was awful. Maybe you should leave the athletics to your sister.” “I can’t tell what this drawing is supposed to be.” “You’ll never be any good at…” Do any of these sound familiar? I know very few adults who grew up without at least some…

The Power of Discouragement

By Dr. Jane BluesteinDecember 20, 2012May 8, 2022 Avoiding burnout, Blog, Counselors, Educators, Emotionally safe schools, General Interest, Overcoming obstacles, Parents, Recognition and Reinforcement, Self-care and Inspiration, Social and Emotional Growth, Students 1 Comment

The impact of feedback on achievement Years ago working in Slovenia, I met an art teacher, Andrej Grošelj, who stayed in touch over the years and became a friend until his recent and sudden death. With the help of Google’s Language Tools, I was able to translate email messages he occasionally sent in his native tongue. One…

Rules and Boundaries

By Dr. Jane BluesteinDecember 17, 2012May 9, 2022 Avoiding power struggles, Behavior Management, Behavior Management, Building responsibility, Counselors, Discipline, Educators, Motivating cooperation, Rules and Boundaries, Win-win authority Leave a comment

Effectively creating structure in your classroom When I started teaching, I had some reservations about being completely in charge and responsible for the rules, so I tried involving the students in this task. Part of my intention was an honest stab at building a positive, win-win classroom environment, wanting to acknowledge the students’ needs for…

Staying Positive in the Face of Negativity and Horror

By Dr. Jane BluesteinDecember 15, 2012May 9, 2022 Blog, Counselors, Creating community, Educators, Emotionally safe schools, Health and Safety, Increasing Positivity, Parents, School climate, Schools in Society, Social and Emotional Growth Leave a comment

Staying positive in the face of negativity and horror I am, by nature, a positive person. For my own sanity, and for the sake of maximizing my potential contribution to the world, I try to look for the good in all things. That said, I am also extremely sensitive to violence and cruelty, and seem…

What Jane’s Been Up to: 2012

By Jane Bluestein and Jerry TereszkiewiczDecember 12, 2012May 8, 2022 Blog Leave a comment

December 12, 2012: Happy Holidays This post was adapted from our 2012 holiday letter. I did not keep a blog this year, though many of the highlights are noted below. Greetings from Albuquerque, where it just got cold after an unusually warm fall and early winter. We hope that 2012 has been a good year…

6 Reasons to Not Ask “Why”- For Parents

By Dr. Jane BluesteinDecember 10, 2012May 9, 2022 Avoiding power struggles with your kids, Counselors, Discipline, Intervening negative behavior, Parenting, Parents, Rules and Boundaries, Win-win parenting authority Leave a comment

No more excuses! This post is about not asking for excuses by asking your kids to explain why they did something wrong or forgot to do something they were supposed to do (or had agreed to do). This is a common pattern that will create problems and can undermine your authority. Here’s why asking “why”…

11 Reasons to Use Boundaries- For Parents

By Dr. Jane BluesteinDecember 10, 2012May 9, 2022 Avoiding power struggles with your kids, Counselors, Discipline, Intervening negative behavior, Motivating your kids, Parenting, Parenting, Parents, Rules and Boundaries, Win-win parenting authority Leave a comment

Establishing your authority with boundaries * Boundaries allow you to express your limits and to communicate the conditions or availability of certain privileges that your children desire. * Boundaries prevent conflict and build win-win power structures. They help you take care of yourself while attempting to accommodate your children’s needs or desires. * Boundaries build…

9 Things to Remember when Setting Boundaries- For Parents

By Dr. Jane BluesteinDecember 10, 2012May 9, 2022 Avoiding power struggles with your kids, Counselors, Discipline, Motivating your kids, Parenting, Parenting, Parents, Rules and Boundaries, Win-win parenting authority Leave a comment

Practical tips for making boundaries work * Use boundaries to let your children know your limits and tolerances, your availability, the conditions under which you will participate in some activity, which privileges are available, or the conditions under which a privilege is available to your children. Use boundaries to give your children information they can…

Behavior Intervention Strategies for Teachers

By Dr. Jane BluesteinDecember 9, 2012June 5, 2022 Behavior Management, Behavior Management, Classroom management, Discipline, Educators, Increasing Positivity, Intervening negative behavior, Motivating cooperation, Recognition and reinforcement, SEL- Social and Emotional Learning behavior management, building cooperation, classroom management, intervening negative behavior, motivating, negative student behavior, neutral student behavior, on-task behavior, positive consequences, positive student behavior, reinforcing kids, school climate Leave a comment

Different approaches for different behaviors Depending on how your students are behaving, certain teaching strategies are more effective than others at maintaining those behaviors, motivating behaviors they are not exhibiting, and stopping undesirable or disruptive behaviors. These strategies can be quite effective with kids of all ages. Please note that they are not interchangeable. POSITIVE…

Examples of Some New Ways of Thinking

By Dr. Jane BluesteinDecember 9, 2012June 9, 2022 Counselors, Educators, General Interest, Intervening negative behavior, Mental Health, Modeling positive behavior, Motivating your kids, Parenting, Parents, Perfectionism, Perfectionism, Relationships, Rules and Boundaries, Self-care and Inspiration, Social and Emotional Growth, Taking care of yourself, Win-win authority, Win-win parenting authority authority relationships, constructive thinking, creating more positive thinking patterns, impact of others, personal relationships, respect for others, responsibility, rules and boundaries, self-care, victim thinking, win-lose vs win-win Leave a comment

Transforming old messages into more constructive thoughts Old message: If only my students (or kids, spouse, boss, parents, the government, etc.) would change, my life would be better. New message: If my current behaviors (or thinking patterns) aren’t working for me, I am willing to change them. Old message: Other people’s actions, words and attitudes create my feelings…

Expert on Bullying Discusses Ways to Reduce the Problem

By Grace MerrittDecember 8, 2012May 12, 2022 Counselors, Creating community, Culture and Community, Educators, Emotionally safe schools, Parents, Problem solving, School climate, Social and Emotional Growth Leave a comment

Interview by Grace Merritt with Dr. Jane Bluestein © 2010, from the Hartford Courant, reported April 14, 2010 Dr. Jane Bluestein, an author and expert on bullying and creating a positive school environment, was the keynote speaker last week at a statewide conference on bullying prevention for teachers, school leaders, and parents. Bluestein believes that fostering…

Myers-Briggs Scales and Categories

By Dr. Jane BluesteinDecember 6, 2012May 22, 2022 Differentiating Instruction, Educators, General Interest, Learning, Learning styles, Non-traditional learners, Parents, Special Needs Leave a comment

Personality inventory scales and categories The Myers-Briggs assesses where we place on the following four scales: E<——————>I Extrovert<——————–>Introvert N<——————>S Intuiting<———————–>Sensing T<——————>F Thinking<———————–>Feeling J<——————>P Judging<———————->Perceiving (Finish Oriented)<———–>(Process Oriented) The four scales above allow for a possible 16 combinations with variations within any one category depending on the placement or strength in any one scale. David Kiersey’s…

Myers-Briggs Personality Types

By Dr. Jane BluesteinDecember 6, 2012June 8, 2022 Body and Brain, Differentiating Instruction, Educators, Learning, Learning styles, Non-traditional learners, Parents, Special Needs Leave a comment

Descriptions of personality inventory categories Overview of David Kiersey’s four temperament groups, based on the 16 Myers-Briggs categories (which is only one of over 200 “quadrant models”). Note that people in each group share certain similarities in their reality and their approach to the world, and that the people in one group operate from a…