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Back-to-school articles

Best Back-to-School Articles for Parents: 2024

Back-to-school is always a time when parents and teachers revisit what is important for children and how to best support their positive development. This popular list of back-to-school articles, started in 2012, has been updated for the 2024-25 school year. Most articles bring you the latest thinking and research on […]

Compass-Inspired

Family Engagement: A Two-Way Partnership

I’ve been an advocate for family engagement in education for many years. But throughout those years, one of the most challenging tasks has been to define this two-way partnership. What is it that parents and teachers need to understand about working together? And why is this partnering so important to […]

Compass-Inspired

Good Grades May Harm Student Health

Good grades are positive, right? The answer is not as straightforward as you might imagine. Of course, good grades can be terrific. That is, unless the stress of getting them causes children to feel unworthy or fail to develop abilities that matter much more than grades. Even for children who […]

Compass-Inspired
Character Strengths: What Are They and Why They Matter? | Roots of Action

Character Strengths: What Are They and Why They Matter?

What are character strengths? What meaningful role does character play in child and adult development? It is widely acknowledged that character –not beauty, high test scores, or wealth–account for life satisfaction and well-being. Derived from the field of positive psychology, the term character strengths has become synonymous with a group […]

Resilience
Character Education: What Good Teachers Do Best | Roots of Action

Character Education: What Good Teachers Do Best

Good teachers understand that character education is at least half their jobs.  While teachers are hired to develop children’s skills and abilities in academics like reading, writing, history, geography, and math, there is a lot more going on in the classroom than meets the eye. Opportunities abound for students to […]

Integrity
Who is my role model?

What is a Role Model? Five Qualities that Matter to Youth

A positive role model serves as an example–inspiring children to live meaningful lives. Role models show young people how to live with integrity, optimism, hope, determination, and compassion. They play an essential part in a child’s positive development. Natalie, age 18, described her role model as a person with “a […]

Integrity
Kindness: How You Can Teach Children to Care for Others, by Marilyn Price-Mitchell, PhD

Kindness: How You Can Teach Children to Care for Others

Martin Richard lost his life when the second of two bombs exploded near the finish line of the Boston Marathon in 2013. This 8-year-old boy believed in peace and kindness, values he proudly displayed on a poster he made at school. How do we honor Martin’s wish for a more […]

Empathy
Mentoring Youth: Being a Good Teacher and Helpful Friend, by Varda Meyers Epstein

Mentoring Youth: Being a Good Teacher and Helpful Friend

Robert Moskovits began mentoring David* at a summer camp when David was 12. For the next four summers, the two spent time together during camp sessions, chatting about the deep stuff in life. Even after David was too old for camp, Robert stayed in touch, calling him from time to […]

Resourcefulness
All Children Have Special Needs, by Marilyn Price-Mitchell PhD

All Children Have Special Needs

Do you parent, teach, or mentor a child with special needs? Of course you do! As you know, the term special needs is most often associated with disabilities. It usually refers to a child who needs special assistance or accommodations for medical, psychological, or learning deficits. But have we allowed […]

Self-Awareness
The Immeasurable and Enduring Role of Teachers, by Marilyn Price-Mitchell PhD

The Immeasurable and Enduring Role of Teachers

Do you ever think about the role of teachers in your life? Those from grade school, sport teams, or mentors from after-school activities? I hadn’t thought about mine for quite sometime. That is, until I recently received a small package from Bill Mash, an 82-year-old who is grieving the loss of […]

Curiosity
David McCullough Jr. Claims Everyone is Special, by Marilyn Price-Mitchell PhD

David McCullough Jr. Claims Everyone is Special

When David McCullough Jr. delivered the commencement address at Wellesley High School in Massachusetts in 2012, it turned out to be more special than anticipated. Why? Because McCullough was gutsy enough to speak words rarely heard by teenagers. “You are not special,” he said. “You are not exceptional.” As he […]

Compass-Inspired