In this companion volume to Brave Parenting, Krissy Pozatek, author of The Parallel Process, employs the skills she learned in wilderness therapy to show how teachers can build emotional resilience and regulation and mindfulness in their students, as well as nurture their abilities to problem-solve and develop life skills.
With examples drawn from the practical experiences of Sarah Love, a fourth-grade teacher, Krissy demonstrates how educators can create a dynamic and engaged student body, communicate effectively, and manage emotions and expectations in contemporary classrooms, schools, and in parent–teacher relationships.
“I am a teacher at a high school where the students perform very well academically but are often highly stressed. With all of the demands and stressors in today’s world, it is imperative that our children develop emotional resiliency to be both successful AND well-adjusted. Schools can greatly help our children grow in this area but frankly many teachers, administrators, and parents struggle with resiliency themselves or are unable to properly articulate to students what it means to be emotionally resilient.
“It is critical that we as adults value students feelings and struggles, while helping children to curtail their negative behaviors and take ownership to solve their own problems as much as possible. But it takes hard work and some initial discomfort at a new way of thinking. It’s difficult for adults to avoid getting frustrated or to avoid trying to fix the problem. We have to resist this urge, so that students are more accountable for solving their own problems. Unfortunately, most professional development focuses on instructional issues and not enough on cultivating students’ resiliency and problem-solving to support academic growth—beyond what I feel are generalities and nonspecific platitudes.
“This is why Brave Teaching is so helpful. The author does an excellent job of outlining how to help students improve their resiliency and problem-solving. Strategies are presented in a clear, concise fashion. The strategies are relatively easy to implement once you get the hang of it, and the examples provided to highlight the strategies are easy to follow and present a balanced perspective of some of the challenges which may occur. Teachers are given language and vocabulary to help them become more consistent and natural with executing the strategies. Frankly, the book is a quick read and easy to comprehend.
“I really enjoyed Brave Teaching and look forward to refining my practice in the coming school year. If you are a current teacher or going to be a new teacher in September, read this book. I promise that you will find it extremely helpful.”—Jeff K (review on Amazon)
