Category: Health and Safety

The Myth of the Self-Esteem “Myth”
By Categories: Counselors, Educators, General Interest, Health and Safety, Overcoming obstacles, Parents, Students, Taking care of yourself Leave a comment

What self-esteem is, and is not On this page you will find a comparison between the characteristics of someone with a healthy, functional sense of self-worth vs. the characteristics of someone whose sense of worth, value, esteem, and deservingness is weak or low. See below for additional information. Self-esteem clearly goes beyond simply “feeling good…

Stress and the Brain
By Categories: Body and Brain, Counselors, Educators, Emotionally safe schools, Health and Safety, Leadership, Learning, Parents, School climate Leave a comment

Fact Sheet: The impact of stress on learning and behavior Here are a few things to remember about the impact of stress on the brain, and on an individual’s ability to function effectively—academically and behaviorally—in a learning environment, where the climate and energy within is affected by a wide range of factors. While originally developed…

Healthy vs. Unhealthy Friendships
By Categories: Counselors, Culture and Community, Educators, General Interest, Health and Safety, Parents, Social and Emotional Growth, Students, Tolerance and Respect 16 Comments

Learning to tell the difference Think about someone in your life who leaves an open space for you to be yourself. No one is more valuable. I would rather have a pillar of trust in my life than a pillar of strength. —Deepak Chopra Do you have friends who leave you feeling happy and uplifted?…

Perfectionism with Dr. Miriam Adderholdt
By Categories: Counselors, Culture and Community, Educators, General Interest, Health and Safety, Parents, Podcast, Self-care and Inspiration, Social and Emotional Growth, Students, Taking care of yourself Leave a comment

What’s Bad About Being Too Good? Episode Summary: In a culture that praises and rewards excellence and accomplishment, how can we avoid crossing the line to a dangerous desire for perfection? Dr. Jane Bluestein talks with Dr. Miriam Adderholdt about what perfectionism is, how it can negatively affect our social and emotional health, and the difference…

Bullying Podcast with Stan Davis
By Categories: Counselors, Creating community, Cultural Changes, Culture and Community, Educators, Emotionally safe schools, Health and Safety, Podcast, School climate, Schools in Society, Social and Emotional Growth, Tolerance and Respect Leave a comment

Learn what kids say works best, and what makes things worse Episode Summary: Dr. Jane Bluestein talks with author and retired therapist Stan Davis about the true value of the advice kids receive and the interventions they experience when they experience mistreatment at the hands of their peers. 

Are We Still Guilty of Gender Stereotyping?
By Categories: Counselors, Cultural Changes, Educators, Emotionally safe schools, Health and Safety, Parents, School climate, Social and Emotional Growth, Tolerance and Respect Leave a comment

A self-assessment survey for teachers, childcare workers, and others Update It is now 2022 and I read over this post (and recalled the examples from my teaching days) and am delighted at the positive shifts I’ve seen—in education, in the workplace, and in many areas of our culture—since my first days in the classroom in…

Perfectionism vs. Healthy Pursuit of Excellence
By Categories: Counselors, Educators, General Interest, Health and Safety, Parents, Social and Emotional Growth, Students, Taking care of yourself Tags: , , , , , , 2 Comments

Explaining the difference The following information was excerpted from Perfectionism: What’s Bad About Being Too Good? by Dr. Miriam Renée Adderholdt and reprinted with her permission. Perfectionists reach for impossible goals. Pursuers of Excellence enjoy meeting high standards that are within reach. Perfectionists value themselves by what they do. Pursuers of Excellence value themselves by who they are. Perfectionists…

Jane Bluestein Discusses Emotionally Safe Schools
By Categories: 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…

Staying Positive in the Face of Negativity and Horror
By Categories: 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…

The Dignity Stance
By Categories: Counselors, Creating community, Educators, Emotionally safe schools, General Interest, Health and Safety, Parents, Problem solving, Relationships, Social and Emotional Growth, Students, Taking care of yourself Leave a comment

Tips for responding to meanness or bullying by Naomi Drew Note from Jane Bluestein: Ms. Drew recommends teaching kids the following strategies. I think this information would also be valuable for adults in a similar situation.