- Research shows there is a 58% increase in narcissism and 40% decrease in empathy among college aged students?
- The average child is "plugged in" 7.5 hours a day, losing face-to-face connection.
- Experts observe more cheating & weaker moral reasoning in youth (70% admit to cheating as they feel it is necessary to get a head.)
- Teen stress is at an all time high due to our plugged-in culture
This past week, I had the honor of listening to Dr. Michele Borba, a globally-recognized educational psychologist and parenting expert whose aim is to strengthen children's empathy and resilience. She has authored over 24 books and appreard on the NBC Today Show over 135 times. She has recently written a book called "UnSelfie". Her book is her attempt to bring focus to our self-absorbed society in hopes to help our children learn how to develop empathy for others. Her presentation really struck me. I think we all feel the world is changing and our students are coming to us with more stress in their lives than ever before. She shared startling data, such as 20% of our students think about suicide on a daily basis. Her research also showed that previous generations of students always aspired to be doctors, firemen, teachers, counselors because they wanted to help people, in contrast to the current generation who is looking for a high paying career that is focused more on their own success!
Dr. Borba knows that empathy starts with human connection. Building relationships with our students is more important than ever before. Research also shows that empathy is not something that we are born with, but it is something that can be learned. The work we are doing with our Social Emotional Learning Curriculum is necessary as we help our students develop emotional literacy, self-regulation, perspective taking and a moral identity. We know that school is no longer about only teaching reading, writing and math. We are challenged to provide a holistic educational experience, teaching students how to navigate their social/emotional health as well as 21st Century skills.
I am excited about the work that all of you are doing to learn and grow in this area! If you are interested in reading this book, please let me know. I will share! :-)
Here are a few quick ways to help our kids become emotionally intelligent children that are tuned into their feelings:
1. Face to face contact is the best way kids learn to read emotions and develop empathy.2. Kids use digital devices at least 7.5 hours a day, which robs them of not only connecting with their family but also developing crucial empathy habits.
3. Real, meaningful, emotion-charged, up-close-and-personal experiences work best to help kids understand feelings.
4. Kids need an emotion vocabulary to discuss emotion, and guidance for using it, to become emotionally literate.
5. Parents discuss, explain, and encourage daughters to share feelings farm more than they do their sons.
School Updates:
Skyward - I am working on getting the grade books set up so you can see your class rosters. I hope to have this finished by late next week. As you know, schedules will continue to bounce around, especially through the Back To School Night. Please let us know if you have any questions.
Master Schedule/Class Rosters - In the email you can find a copy of the updated Master Schedule. Also, we are working on doing some work on the back end so you will be able to see your class rosters soon. I will let you know when that work is complete.
Updates from "501" (Jeremy) - As some of you know, the key updating machine has not been working this summer due to Matrix making some changes. We have learned that it has been fixed, so you should be able to update your keys! The custodial staff is still working very hard on getting the building to look nice for the new school year. We appreciate their work!
Computer Updates - The computer tech team has been working hard to clean up computers and update them for this upcoming school year. They have also unpacked 400 new chrome books. This school year, all students will be receiving a chrome book, unless they are enrolled in a course that requires a laptop. If you teach a course that has been identified to need a laptop, you will have laptops in your classroom with student names on them. We will let you know what the plan for distribution will be closer to school starting. Also, teachers who have not picked up their laptops in the office will now find them in their classrooms.
Summer Professional Development Opportunities:
* New Teacher Orientation - New teachers are invited to attend New Teacher Orientation and learn more about our Perry Central Family! We will meet in the high school library at 10:30 a.m. on July 19th. Agenda items include: Central Office News, Perry Central Philosophy, Standards Based Grading and Grading Practices Overview, Student Supports, PBIS, Trauma Informed Care, School Safety and Skyward! We are looking forward to working with everyone! Lunch will be provided.
* Math Teacher Workshop - Laurie Ferry will be at Perry Central for three days to work with math teachers in grades K-12. Junior/Senior High Teachers will meet on July 26 & 27. We will be looking through data, discussing our Visible Literacy Mathematics book, working on vertical alignment and updating our standards based grading scales! Looking forward to a couple of great days!
* Special Education Transition Work - Melissa Toothman will be leading two days of transition work for assistants and students. We appreciate her leadership and work to help make sure our students have the best learning opportunities!
* Back To School Retreat - Our Back To School Retreat will be July 31st from 8:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. for our entire corporation. We are excited to bring Lori Desautels to Perry Central. She is an assistant professor at Butler University, engaging her students through neuroscience education, integrating mind-brain teaching and learning strategies. She will bring us great information that will help us continue to learn more about Trauma Informed Care and how we can further impact learning at Perry Central. We look forward to seeing everyone at this event!
* PowerED Up Conference - This conference will be a one day event this year on August 1st! Our E-Learning Team has put together a great day of learning. If you haven't registered yet, please use the link below to register for the event and see the agenda for the day.
Registration Link
Agenda Link
* 7th Grade Orientation - We will be welcoming incoming 7th grade families on August 1st at 5:30 p.m. It is a very exciting and important program for our students. If you teach 7th grade students, we would LOVE to have as many 7th grade teachers at the event so you can meet your students and parents. We typically have about 85% of all students attend. It is a great time to build relationships with both parents and students.
* Back To School Party - Our annual Back To School Night will be Thursday, August 2nd from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. The school will be full of students and families. If you are able to join us for this exciting time we would love to have you! Please let me know if you have any questions.
Important Dates:
July 19 - New Teacher Orientation 10:30 a.m.- 3:00 p.m.
July 26 & 27 - Math Team with Laurie Ferry and lunch book study
July 31st - Back To School Retreat 8:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
August 1st - PowerED Up 8:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m./ 7th Grade Orientation 5:30 p.m. - meal
August 2nd - Back to School Party 5:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
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