1. A New Approach to School Discipline
I may sound like a late-night TV commercial (New! Improved! It really works!), but if you haven’t yet read the article about Lincoln High School in the US, it is well worth your time - this school has taken a new approach with troubled students, based on the effects of toxic stress.
Children with toxic stress live their lives in fight, flight or fright (freeze) mode. They respond to the world as a place of constant danger. They can fall behind in school, fail to develop healthy relationships with peers, or develop problems with authority because they are unable to trust adults. With failure, despair, and frustration pecking away at their psyche, they find solace in food, alcohol, tobacco, methamphetamines, inappropriate sex, high-risk sports, and/or work. They don’t regard these coping methods as problems. They see them as solutions to escape from depression, anxiety, anger, fear and shame.
… Replace punishment, which doesn’t work, with a system to give kids tools so that they can learn how to recognize their reaction to stress and to control it. “We need to teach the kids how to do something differently if we want to see a different response.”
… Kids need adults they can count on, who they know will not hurt them, and who are there to help them learn these new skills, Turner tells the Lincoln High staff. If it’s not happening at home, it had better happen at school. Otherwise that teen doesn’t have much of a chance at life.
2. Text Publishing Supporting Footpath Library
This week Text Publishing (who’ve brought you books by many fabulous YA authors including David Levithan, Vikki Wakefield, Leanne Hall, and Tim Pegler) are donating a book to the Footpath Library for every new follower they get on Twitter, and ‘like’ on facebook.
The Footpath Library aims to bring books to the homeless and disadvantaged, as well as changing attitudes to these people.
Get click-happy for a good cause!
The festivities start next week in Sydney! You may be interested in:
- Events for children and families, including an overnight writing workshop with Michael Pryor.
- The Young Adults program, including a discussion about darker topics with Margo Lanagan, Lucy Christopher, and Kirsty Eager.
- School days for primary and secondary students.
- The final of 0 Comments on ‘Net News: 7th May 2012 as of 1/1/1900
