BIG PICTURE Social Emotional Learning Podcast

If you've noticed that the standard responses of many teachers and parents to the strong-willed and neurodivergent kids in their care only creates more problems - for everyone, then you really want to tune into this conversation with Kirk Martin. Kirk is a master at providing deeply effective and easily implemented strategies that actually make life better for everyone - - - in the classroom and a...

Welcome again to the Big Picture Social Emotional Learning podcast, even though this upcoming conversation, in defense of SEL, is one I would never have predicted needing to be shared… but , and you don’t need me to tell you: these are wild times, in which just about any topic, especially around education, can ignite extreme and heated reactions. So troubling!  …and so I reached out, again , to El...

We see so much division, and it's terrifying some of us. People trying to change others opinions is not doing much more than splitting us further apart, because (research has proven, beyond a doubt) people will ground into their own opinions, their own biases, their own perspectives when they experience differences of opinions and ideas. What to do? Give children, starting at an earlier age, think...

In this episode of the Big Picture Social Emotional Learning Podcast, I share conversation with Elizabeth Peterson, a 3rd grade teacher in the state of New Hampshire.  Our conversation started with Elizabeth’s deeply considered definition of a term with which we’re all familiar: whole child.   I wanted to learn her personal perspective, because I feel that how we, as educators, define this term ha...

You know how sometimes you learn about something you didn’t have even a clue about the fact that you were completely unaware of what you didn’t know?  That’s what happened to me in the following conversation with Sherri Fickensher who is an Education Support Specialist, serving deaf and hard of hearing students at Clarke Schools for Hearing and Speech for more than 20 years. Hearing is a sense mos...

Peter Vermeulen, Ph. D., doesn't feel there's much value in ‘defining’ people on the #autism #spectrum by describing their difficulties around social interaction, communication, patterns of behavior, etc., etc. - because he sees all  those elements as # consequences of having brains that work in #autistic ways . Conversely , he's written that autism can only be defined in terms of perception...

Instagram link to the Big Picture Social Emotional Learning Podcast Here’s a link to a Bill’s book : The Self-Driven Child , showing the Table of Contents to give you a quick overview of the book’s value. Here’s a link to a quick YouTube video that explains the difference between Fixed Mindset and Growth Mindset … and here’s another way to understand MINDSETS , and some fascinating brain science a...

Communication is a major component of children’s social and emotional learning and development… but some children experience persistent challenges with one or more elements that are necessary for successful verbal communication… and then they can spiral into frustration, or negative self-image, or retreat into various forms of social isolation... so I know this conversation will be valuable for le...

Too few parents and teachers are having actual back-and-forth conversations with young kids… conversation that last for awhile, that have a progression, that build on exchanged ideas… What a wasted opportunity if ever there was one… in terms of bonding, building trust, and because the brain development that can happen when back-and-forth conversations do happen can make all the difference in child...

https://monicawesolowska.com/leo-lea Author, Editor, Speaker, Teacher Leo + Lea, illustrated by Kenard Pak (Scholastic, August 2022) Elbert in the Air, illustrated by Jerome Pumphrey (Dial, February 2023) Holding Silvan: A Brief Life (Hawthorne, named a "Best Book" of 2013) So… just a quick reminder to check out Monica’s website for more info and a resource or 2 that will help you to extend studen...

Connect with me on Instagram - on the Big Picture Social Emotional Learning Podcast page: https://www.instagram.com/nini.white/ SEL is about the human and humane sides of all our actions and interactions… and since “different” people ARE treated differently in the world, on the street, in the classroom, on playgrounds… differences must be acknowledged. Have you heard that expression ‘oppression wi...

Please join our Big Picture Social Emotional Learning Facebook group. Working and living with young children is never without challenges… most of us were mostly aware of that fact when we jumped into teaching and/or when we became parents. The thing is: there are challenges and then there are CHALLENGES. Some challenges that the young ones in our lives present, even though uncomfortable to deal wi...

Homeschooling has really come up in the world thanks, in no small part, to the pandemic we all just lived through. In this episode we get to learn from 3 parents who share heartfelt insights that have led to, literally, expanding and deepening their definitions of parenthood, family life, and even how they perceive the role of education for kids, and for ourselves. Of course we got into one of the...

“If children are to keep alive their inborn sense of wonder, they need the companionship of at least one adult who can share in their sense of wonder, by re discovering with them the joy, excitement, and mystery of the world we live in." ~ Rachel Carson Maggie O’Reilly is an Occupational Therapist (OT) who uses a strengths-based approach, along with evidenced based interventions and curriculums, t...

We hear a lot in educational circles about preparing today’s youth for the future, most often in terms of increasing academic scores and achievements, but Destination Imagination casts an even wider net, by inspiring and equipping Kindergartners - 12th graders to imagine, innovate and collaboratively problem solve, with peers, while focusing on STEAM challenges. Some of the Social Emotional values...

First thing: Please accept Holly's invitation to ask questions (and share stories, too).  You can post your questions by connecting with us on the Big Picture Social Emotional Learning Podcast FACEBOOK PAGE . Here's the marvelous (short YouTube) link of Sir Ken Robinson describing a young girl who barely escaped a terrible life by being misdiagnosed.  Definitely worth watching! Here is a...

Afrika Afeni Mills is an Education Consultant and the author of Open Windows, Open Minds: Developing Antiracist, Pro-Human Students . Afrika is all about helping teachers, coaches and administrators develop and sustain student-centered learning experiences that are diverse, that are inclusive, and that are equitable. Afrika is brilliant at providing the essential support that enables, empowers rea...

One of my mentors emphasizes beginning with the end in mind… and very clearly that is one point of focus for Mike Kaechele, who is convinced that we don’t need to prepare students for “someday,” but that they should take on meaningful work right now… no matter their age. Mike is a teacher with over 20 years experience, and he’s an author. Mike is also a consultant who helps educators across the co...

Social Emotional Learning (SEL) is as wide-reaching as any subject matter that we can be incorporating into our students' education and development.   The way to experience most success at our efforts to nurture kids' SEL is to give careful attention to maintaining a healthy balance between the 2 root definitions of "EDUCATION."    Teachers need courage and creativity to go bey...

Everyone, even (and maybe especially) little ones, feel when they're respected (and when they're not).  This episode is a quick look at the deeper elements of, as well as the long term impacts of early exposure to, respect . If you would like to receive the PDF of a cool poster inspired by today's topic, please send a quick note to me and ask for it:  niniwhite@icloud.com Thank you.

Angela Dalton lives in Oakland, California, has a background in producing online kids’ games, and is a published children’s book author Angela’s books center Black children as main characters in ways she wishes she had seen when she was growing up… which is another reason I loved sharing conversation with this woman: she had a frustrating, unsatisfying, unfulfilled area of her life, and rather tha...

Brian Silveira and Nadia Jaboneta are Pedagogical Leaders at Pacific Primary Preschool in San Francisco, California. They each bring about 25 years experience as Early Childhood Educators, and clearly that combination of 50 years teaching experience has only deepened their commitment to providing relevant and alive education for their young students. Their bios, below, are extensive and impressive...

In this episode of the Big Picture Social Emotional Learning Podcast you’ll be introduced to Dave Fromer, and his multi-awarding winning album that teachers and parents love, thankfully… because young kids love listening to Dave’s song’s over and over and over again. Do you use songs to help improve and manage transitions during the day? Songs that young kids enjoy can serve as wonderfully helpful...

How we see the kids in our care, (whether they’re in our classroom, our Afterschool facility or our home), how we see them… determines how much they can grow and develop as a result of our influence.   Kahlil Gibran quote:  Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.  They come through you but not from you,  And though they...

This is a quick update on why episodes have been so sporadic for the last couple of years and, more importantly, why this is a whole new season for solutions-oriented episodes around all things social emotional learning (SEL). This season we'll be incorporating, amongst many other relevant SEL topics, the important work of equity and inclusion that is top of mind for educators, caregivers and pare...