Arkansas A.W.A.R.E.

In Atlas of the Heart, Brené Brown talks about “Places We Go When We Feel Wronged.” In those places we might feel things like anger, disgust, dehumanization, self-righteousness and even contempt. Contempt, my friends, is one of Gottman’s Four Horsemen. The Four Horsemen are indicators of a corroding relationship. The other three are Criticism, Defensiveness and Stonewalling. Yikes. We wonder if th...

Atlas of the Heart Continued: Shame Brene says, “Shame thrives on secrecy, silence, and judgment. [However, when] we reach out, share our shame experiences with someone who responds with empathy, [then] shame dissipates.” - Atlas of the Heart, Brene Brown. Today we talk about the impact of shame in the classroom. In teacher student relationships there is a power differential. Are we expecting stud...

Fast and Directive Welcome to season 4 of Arkansas A.W.A.R.E.! What speed do educators run at? Fast and Directive. It's fast and directive ALL DAY LONG. Is this possibly why some skills are more uncomfortable for educators? It's really hard to listen non-judgmentally in a fast and directive way. This episode gets a little spicy as we struggle with the needs in every classroom and the pace we all g...

Sympathy & Compassion Fatigue Welcome to season 4 of Arkansas A.W.A.R.E.! Today is our final conversation around Brené Brown's new book Atlas of the Heart. We discuss the concepts of compassion, sympathy, empathy and then we get into compassion fatigue. Is sympathy a bad thing? We also process a little around the balance of believing a person's experience and still having sound judgment and wi...

Mixed Feelings Welcome to season 4 of Arkansas A.W.A.R.E.! In this episode we continue our discussion around concepts from The Atlas of the Heart by Brené Brown. Today the focus is on "places we go when things aren't what they seem" and mixed feelings like nostalgia, cognitive dissonance, and paradox. This brings up some of the concepts we have previously discussed, like the idea of "both/and," fr...

Boredom Welcome to season 4 of Arkansas A.W.A.R.E.! Currently on the AWARE podcast we are talking about The Atlas of the Heart by Brené Brown. In this episode we discuss ideas around boredom and education. Is it ok for students to experience boredom? Are student expectations such that they never want to be bored at all? Does it impact student productivity or work ethic? We also discuss a situation...

Functional Hope Welcome to season 4 of Arkansas A.W.A.R.E.! In this episode, Betsy and Nicole continue to discuss "Atlas of the Heart", the latest book by #1 New York Times bestselling author Brené Brown. Today we look at the concepts of hope, hopelessness and despair. Join Betsy Kindall, Nicole Fairchild, and Stacy Moore as they discuss issues related to mental health in education. Their conversa...

Open the Atlas Welcome to season 4 of Arkansas A.W.A.R.E.! In this episode, Betsy and Nicole begin a discussion about "Atlas of the Heart", the latest book by #1 New York Times bestselling author Brené Brown. Join Betsy Kindall, Nicole Fairchild, and Stacy Moore as they discuss issues related to mental health in education. Their conversations are witty and relate-able, simultaneously shedding ligh...

Using Typical Counseling Skills Therapists use basic skills that we generalize in society in many ways. We might call them active listening skills, conflict resolution, communication skills, empathy skills, etc. It’s true that all of these skills are things counselors do – but getting good at them does not make you a counselor! It makes you a better human. Today we talk about how the trainings we...

De-escalation & Returning to Regulation How long does it take you to come back to a state of regulation after you have been triggered? Today we discuss realistic expectations for de-escalation and how long it takes for humans to return to regulation. Welcome to season 4 of Arkansas A.W.A.R.E.! Join Betsy Kindall, Nicole Fairchild, and Stacy Moore as they discuss issues related to mental health...

100th Episode! Welcome to season 4 of Arkansas A.W.A.R.E.! The AWARE team looks back on where we have been and where we are going. If you are wondering what this podcast is all about – this is a great episode to check out. Please rate and review on this special day! We would love to see the stars and read your feedback. Join Betsy Kindall, Nicole Fairchild, and Stacy Moore as they discuss issues r...

Team Building & the Enneagram The Enneagram is social and emotional learning for grown-ups! Today we talk about how self-awareness and awareness of others are critical to healthy work environments. Nicole also walks around the Enneagram and talks about possible self-care ideas for each type. Welcome to season 4 of Arkansas A.W.A.R.E.! Join Betsy Kindall, Nicole Fairchild, and Stacy Moore as th...

Ready to Rumble Welcome to season 4 of Arkansas A.W.A.R.E.! Join Betsy Kindall, Nicole Fairchild, and Stacy Moore as they discuss issues related to mental health in education. Their conversations are witty and relate-able, simultaneously shedding light on issues that can sometimes be hard to confront or understand. These episodes are chunked into small bites and packed with information that would...

AWARE Season 3 Finale Today we wrap up Season 3 of the Arkansas AWARE podcast. Join us as we reflect on what we’ve learned and talked about this school year. We also chat about our summer plans and summer reading lists – you know, the important stuff! Welcome to season 3 of Arkansas A.W.A.R.E.! Join Betsy Kindall, Nicole Fairchild, and Stacy Moore as they discuss issues related to mental health in...

AWARE Trainings and the Enneagram This month Stacy and Nicole are talking about the professional development courses they have planned for this summer. Today we talk about Teacher Wellbeing and the Enneagram. We have talked about teacher wellbeing and self-care quite a bit over the course of this AWARE grant. Our thoughts about it have shifted and refined as we have tried different things and hear...

Motivational Interviewing for School Professionals This month Stacy and Nicole are talking about the professional development courses they have planned for this summer. Today we talk about Motivational Interviewing for School Professionals. This is a 6 hour, in-person, course offered at OUR on July 22nd, and Arch Ford on August 3rd. Motivational Interviewing is a powerful set of tools that assists...

Blending Social and Emotional Learning into the Classroom This month Stacy and Nicole are talking about the professional development courses they have planned for this summer. Today we talk about Blending Social and Emotional Learning into the Classroom. There is a virtual 3 hour offering of this course on June 1st. Stacy and Nicole will be doing in-person 6 hour courses at Arch Ford on June 9th a...

School Climate – The Three Foot Fork Today the AWARE team reflect more on the topic of School Climate, and Nicole remembers another story. Have you ever wondered how to eat with a fork that is 3 feet long? Well, you’ll find out today! And we’ll even tell you what that has to do with school climate. For those of you able to get to the OUR Educational Cooperative, we will have a training on School C...

School Climate – How’s the Weather? School Climate is an important topic as we look at how to build awareness around wellness and resiliency in education. Today we get a little taste of Stacy’s training on School Climate. You’ll want to experience this in-person! And if you can get to the OUR Educational Cooperative on August 1st – you can do just that! We are asking for a team of 3-5 from each bu...

Interview with Dr. Candra Brasel The Arkansas AWARE team is joined by Dr. Candra Brasel, a superintendent with an extensive background in counseling and behavior. We know you’ll gain a lot of insight from this inspiring interview. We talk about the needs schools have, school based services, how to support teachers and even a little about PBIS Welcome to season 3 of Arkansas A.W.A.R.E.! Join Betsy...

Alice Cooper - A Spirit of Gratitude It’s not everyday we get to interview a friend that’s been in education for 50 years. But today we did that very thing!! We laughed, cried, and hugged a lot for this podcast episode. We invite you to listen to our conversation with Mrs. Alice Cooper at Jasper High School and learn about her amazing resiliency and time in the classroom! We think you will agree t...

Alice Cooper - A History of Resilience It’s not everyday we get to interview a friend that’s been in education for 50 years. But today we did that very thing!! We laughed, cried, and hugged a lot for this podcast episode. We invite you to listen to our conversation with Mrs. Alice Cooper at Jasper High School and learn about her amazing resiliency and time in the classroom! We think you will agree...

Reflection as a Tool Today we talk about the power of reflection and how it can help us to be more resilient, healthier?, and have better relationships. Do you have space in your day, or even your week, for reflection? Any quiet? Any intentional time to contemplate, consider, and plan? Welcome to season 3 of Arkansas A.W.A.R.E.! Join Betsy Kindall, Nicole Fairchild, and Stacy Moore as they discuss...

Repairing the Relationship Sometimes we have to fracture our rapport with a student. Sometimes we have to make a withdrawal from the emotional bank account we have with our students. We have to correct, ask for something difficult, discipline, etc. When that happens, is a return to compliance, or obedience, the same thing as repair? Or is there something else that needs to be done about that fract...

Building Student Resilience Our conversations about our resilience as adults led us to think about student resilience. We have heard a lot of educators say that students are less motivated right now. We wonder if this has something to do with their lack of resiliency resilience? ? Are they overwhelmed? What’s happening? Welcome to season 3 of Arkansas A.W.A.R.E.! Join Betsy Kindall, Nicole Fairchi...