Book: The Beginning Teacher’s Survival Guide

By Dr. Jane BluesteinAugust 13, 2021April 27, 2023 Assessment and Testing, Avoiding burnout, Avoiding power struggles, Beginning Teachers, Behavior Management, Behavior Management, Body and Brain, Books, Building responsibility, Classroom management, Creating community, Cultural Changes, Culture and Community, Discipline, Educators, Emotionally safe schools, Feedback and encouragement, Health and Safety, Homework, Increasing Positivity, Intervening negative behavior, Leadership, Learning, Learning styles, Life Management, Mentorship, Modeling positive behavior, Motivating cooperation, Non-traditional learners, Parent-Teacher relationships, Problem solving, Professional growth, Recognition and reinforcement, Relationships, Rules and Boundaries, School climate, Schools in Society, Self-care and Inspiration, Social and Emotional Growth, Special Needs, Taking care of yourself, Teacher Appreciation, Teacher retention, Teaching, Teaching, Tolerance and Respect, Win-win authority avoiding power struggles, beginning teachers, boundaries, challenges for new teachers, creating community, difficult students, discipline, emotional safety, emotionally safe classroom, learning differences, parent-teacher relationships, positive consequences, professional development feedback, professional growth, professional identity, school culture, self-care, student behavior, student self-management, teacher retention, teaching

Win-Win Strategies for Success by Dr. Jane Bluestein At the start or your career or at the end of your rope… Get your teaching career off to a winning start—or recharge your passion for your work! The new & revised edition of Dr. Jane Bluestein’s pivotal guide for your teaching career! A great gift for new…

37 Ways to Spread Love On Random Acts Of Kindness Day (& Every Other Day, Too!)

By Dr. Jane BluesteinFebruary 6, 2019April 30, 2022 Counselors, Creating community, Educators, General Interest, Gratitude and inspiration, Increasing Positivity, Life Management, Relationships, Self-care and Inspiration, Social and Emotional Growth, Taking care of yourself, Teacher Appreciation, Tolerance and Respect 1 Comment

Share your good vibes with the world. by Dr. Jane Bluestein No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted. — Aesop Think of the times you’ve been on the receiving end of someone’s courtesy, thoughtfulness, or patience — and how good it felt to get a call from an old friend or when that…

“Constructive Differencing” Notes and Highlights

By Dr. Jane BluesteinAugust 29, 2016April 30, 2022 Counselors, Creating community, Cultural Changes, Culture and Community, Educators, General Interest, Parents, Problem solving, Relationships, School climate, Social and Emotional Growth, Tolerance and Respect Leave a comment

How to disagree and still maintain contact The following offers additional resource material related to the conversation with Dr. Jared Scherz, (audio file/podcast). The main points include: One of the most stress-producing obstacles in any relationship is the need to be right when it requires others to be wrong. Differences in school systems occur on…

Presentation: Perfectionism—What’s it Costing Our Kids?

By Dr. Jane BluesteinJune 26, 2016June 1, 2022 Counselors, Cultural Changes, Educators, Feedback and encouragement, General Interest, Health and Safety, Increasing Positivity, Parenting, Perfectionism, Tolerance and Respect Leave a comment

The high cost of the pressure to be perfect What’s wrong with perfectionism? Everything! Here are the causes and consequences of perfectionism—plus a few suggestions for potential “cures.” Some young people continually strive for excellence, trying to do their best, willing to make mistakes and learn from them, and take on challenges to grow their interests. Others chase perfection,…

Bouncing Back

By Dr. Jane BluesteinJune 4, 2016June 9, 2022 Creating community, Culture and Community, Educators, Emotionally safe schools, Health and Safety, Increasing Positivity, Problem solving, School climate, Schools in Society, Social and Emotional Growth, Tolerance and Respect asset-building, bouncing back, emotional safety, emotional support, emotionally safe classroom, prevention, protective factors, resilience, resiliency, response to stress, risk factors, school failure, school success Leave a comment

The art of resiliency Excerpt from “Emotional Safety: Personal and Character Development,” from chapter 15 of Creating Emotionally Safe Schools by Dr. Jane Bluestein © 2001, Health Communications, Inc., Deerfield Beach, FL. This excerpt was extracted from the manuscript for this book and may be slightly different from the actual printed copy. The entire bibliography of Creating Emotionally Safe Schools is…

Ways to Build Tolerance and Respect for Diversity

By Dr. Jane BluesteinMay 1, 2016April 30, 2022 Counselors, Creating community, Culture and Community, Educators, Emotionally safe schools, Parents, Problem solving, School climate, Social and Emotional Growth, Tolerance and Respect acceptance, appreciating others, appreciation for diversity, classroom social dynamics, friendship skills, leadership skills in children, opportunities for service, respect, respect for diversity, respecting differences, social competence in children, social interaction, sociograms, status among students, student social behavior, teaching tolerance, tolerance Leave a comment

Practical strategies for positive change • Pay attention to peer-to-peer interactions. Increase awareness, advocacy, and a willingness to take immediate, positive action (regarding how kids treat one another). • Advocate for the underdog. Encourage kids to connect with children who seem isolated. Emphasize the value of inclusion. • Interrupt any instances of meanness, name calling,…

The Problem with Zero Tolerance and Push Out Strategies

By Dr. Jane BluesteinMarch 16, 2015May 2, 2022 Behavior Management, Classroom management, Counselors, Creating community, Discipline, Educators, Increasing Positivity, Intervening negative behavior, Leadership, Motivating cooperation, Rules and Boundaries, School climate, Schools in Society, Tolerance and Respect, Win-win authority Leave a comment

How these programs are making things worse On March 4, 2015, I had the privilege of keynoting the National Youth At Risk Conference for the second time. In meeting with many of the participants who attended the keynote and my follow-up session, as well as what I’ve observed in my visits to schools around the country and…

13 Manières de Créer un Model de Respect pour votre Enfant

By Dr. Jane BluesteinMay 14, 2014May 2, 2022 Behavior Management, Counselors, Creating community, Educators, Leadership, Parenting, Parenting, Parents, Tolerance and Respect Leave a comment

Par Jane Bluestein Ph.D. • Ecoutez. Regardez-le dans les yeux quand votre enfant vous parle.• Frappez avant d’entrer dans la chambre de votre enfant, surtout si la porte est fermée. • Employez le type de langage et le ton de voix qui serait acceptable si votre enfant vous parlait. • Appréciez le besoin qu’a votre enfant de s’amuser…

It’s Only Disrespect if I Think it’s Disrespect

By Dr. Jane BluesteinNovember 12, 2013July 4, 2023 Avoiding power struggles, Avoiding power struggles with your kids, Behavior Management, Behavior Management, Counselors, Discipline, Educators, General Interest, Intervening negative behavior, Intervening negative behavior, Modeling positive behavior, Parents, Tolerance and Respect classroom climate, defensive kids, don't take the bait, positive interactions, school climate, snarky students, teacher-student relationships, understanding defensiveness, validation Leave a comment

Attitudes are in the eye—and ear—of the beholder Do you have snarky people in your life? This post was adapted from material originally written for beginning teachers. The same ideas and strategies are equally effective in home and work environments, as well as any educational setting. Just substitute “student” (or “kid”) for “child,” “co-worker,” or…

Creating Kindness

By Dr. Jane BluesteinJuly 14, 2013June 9, 2022 Counselors, Creating community, General Interest, Increasing Positivity, Self-care and Inspiration, Taking care of yourself, Tolerance and Respect darkness in the world, dealing with outrage, fear, healing, kindness, learning from trauma, positive outlet for pain, reframing trauma, staying positive, stress, surviving trauma 4 Comments

Finding a positive outlet for outrage and pain Update, 2022: I wrote this piece in response to a specific incident that happened several years ago. We’ve certainly had more than enough “outrage and pain” since this post appeared. I have left the original reference in for historical purposes and context. I believe that the content…