Helping Students Cope With a Difficult Year
As students return to the classroom after over a year of remote and hybrid learning, loss and trauma are ongoing themes. As many as 43,000 children have lost a parent to Covid-19. Lockdowns and quarantine meant social isolation, which has resulted in increases in depression and anxiety in children and adolescents.
In the face of widespread trauma, strategies rooted in emotional regulation, self-growth, and relationship building can help students heal from stress and loss. Read more ›
What is cultural humility and why does it matter? As parents, we are our children’s first teachers. It is from us that our kids learn how to be accepting and respectful of those from diverse backgrounds. In this Voices of Compassion episode, 
Many minority households routinely have open discussions about racial issues and how they impact their daily lives. White families, on the other hand, sometimes are uncomfortable with such discussions even amid news coverage related to systemic racism and the Black Lives Matter movement. Johns Hopkins All Children’s pediatric 
Humility is not necessarily about modesty or pretending to be less than you are. In fact, people who are humble often have a high sense of self-worth; it’s just that they can recognize their own strengths and limitations. Research about humility also suggests a 
As American families become increasingly diverse and complex in terms of race, ethnicity, immigrant status, socioeconomic circumstances, and family structures, it is imperative that we practice cultural humility – to move beyond simply being aware of or sensitive to people’s cultural differences, and actively work to identify and address systematic inequalities. 
Most people are familiar with the concept of being humble. To be humble is to demonstrate “humility,” which is commonly defined as “freedom from pride or arrogance.” What, then, might it mean to practice “cultural humility?” 
California-based education, advocacy and civil right groups are calling for schools to make a “restorative restart” that emphasizes relationship-building, staffing supports and promoting equity as students return to schools in the fall. 
Regardless of your teaching and learning situation (fully online, hybrid, or in person), we know that the intentional and explicit weaving of SEL into the fabric of our everyday learning and life is critical. 
In an ordinary year, a child’s entrance into kindergarten is a major milestone for students and their families. Some kids enter more prepared than others, with more support and more exposure to formal educational settings. Other children will have experienced nothing like it before.
As parents, we can’t control the course of the pandemic. But we can help teens by modeling good coping skills, encouraging healthy habits, and working to understand and relate to what they are going through. 
