Archive for the ‘What can Dr. Doug do for you?’ Category

A professional development plan is a strategic tool that guides your career trajectory toward success. It empowers you to take charge of your growth by providing a structured approach to achieving your professional goals. Embracing this plan can dramatically enhance your effectiveness and satisfaction in your
career.

Understanding the Role of Self-Assessment in Career Growth

Self-assessment plays a crucial role in any career development plan, serving as the bedrock for genuine professional growth. By critically evaluating your skills and weaknesses, you not only pinpoint areas that need enhancement but also recognize your strengths to capitalize on them. This process facilitates the setting of tailored, realistic goals that align with your broader career ambitions. Continuous self-reflection helps you adapt to changes in the professional environment, keeping your career trajectory on track.

Balancing Work and Life for Professional Success

Maintaining a work-life balance is essential, not only for personal well-being but also for peak professional performance. This balance helps prevent burnout and sustains your mental and emotional health, enabling you to excel at your job. Effective strategies like taking regular breaks, setting clear boundaries, and managing your time can keep both your career and personal life thriving. Ultimately, a harmonious work-life balance boosts productivity and fosters innovation in your professional endeavors.

Advancing Your Career by Earning a Degree Online

Earning a degree online can be a powerful way to advance your career while maintaining the flexibility to work and manage personal commitments. With a wide range of programs available, online education allows you to gain specialized knowledge and skills that can enhance your qualifications and make you more competitive in the job market. Pursuing an online EdD degree, in particular, enables you to influence curriculum development and policy, as well as evaluate instructional and assessment methods to improve learning outcomes, making a lasting impact on the education system.

Networking and Joining Professional Associations

Networking is a powerhouse tool for career advancement, opening doors to new opportunities and insights through robust professional relationships. Participating in conferences, joining professional associations, and engaging in online communities are effective strategies for expanding your professional network. Membership in professional associations also grants access to exclusive educational resources and industry insights. These networks can lead to pivotal career opportunities, including job offers and collaborations that can significantly propel your career forward.

Leveraging Feedback for Career Advancement

Receiving constructive feedback is invaluable for both personal and professional development. Feedback from peers and mentors provides perspectives that pinpoint both strengths and areas for improvement, often highlighting unseen opportunities for growth. Embracing this feedback and integrating it into your development strategy can dramatically enhance your career trajectory. Continually refining your skills in response to feedback ensures ongoing improvement and success in your professional life.

Developing Adaptability

In today's dynamic professional landscape, adaptability is essential for career progression. Embracing new challenges, learning cutting-edge skills, and innovating within your field can distinguish you from your peers. Staying open to change not only prepares you for the evolving demands of the job market but also turns potential challenges into opportunities for growth. Cultivating a flexible approach to your career can lead to new roles and responsibilities that enhance your professional journey.

Continuous Learning and Certification as Career Boosters

Committing to lifelong learning is crucial for staying relevant and competitive in any field. Engaging in ongoing education through workshops, certifications, and keeping abreast of industry trends ensures you meet the evolving challenges in your sector. Certifications, in particular, underscore your dedication to your profession and can open doors to advanced career opportunities. Making continuous learning a cornerstone of your professional development guarantees
you are always ready for the next step in your career.

How Side Projects and Hobbies Can Enhance Your Career

Your personal interests and side projects can significantly enrich your professional skill set. These pursuits not only develop transferrable skills like creativity and problem-solving but also enhance your professional profile. For instance, managing a personal blog can sharpen your communication skills, while community service can bolster your leadership capabilities. Integrating hobbies and side projects into your career planning not only fosters personal satisfaction but also elevates your professional prospects.

Implementing a professional development plan can be transformative, offering a clear route to personal and professional fulfillment. By actively managing your career development, you ensure continuous progress and adaptability in a competitive world. This proactive approach is key to unlocking your full potential and achieving long-term career success.

Enhance your educational practices with professional development resources
from Dr. Doug Green, perfect for educators, administrators, and parents.

Emily Graham
Emily is the creator of MightyMoms.net. She believes being a mom is one of the hardest jobs around and wanted to create a support system for moms from all walks of life. On her site, she offers a wide range of info tailored for busy moms — from how to reduce stress to creative ways to spend time together as a family. You can email her at emilygraham@mightymoms.net. She lives in Arizona.

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Noise: A Flaw in Human Judgement by Daniel Kahneman, Oliver Sibony, and Cass Sunstein details how noise and bias result in errors in judgment. From our courts to fields as diverse as medicine and insurance they show how noise leads to unfair and harmful results. They also provide ways to identify noise and techniques that any organization can use to reduce it. This book is a must for any professional development library. (10-15 minute read)

Introducion: Two Kinds of Error

• Whenever you look at human judgments, you are likely to find noise. From the courtroom to medicine to forecasts to forensics and personal decisions our lives are full of noise. This book will help you recognize it and give some tips for getting rid of at least some of it. Start with an analogy that features targets and groups of shooters to see the difference between noise and bias If shots are scattered all over the target, that’s noise. It the shot are all in the lower right, that’s bias.

Part I: Finding Noise

1. Crime and Noisy Punishment

• We start with the noise associated with crime and the sentencing of the guilty parties. In 1973, Marvin Frankel, a famous judge, realized that people committing the same crime were getting vastly different sentences depending on who the judge was. Judges gave harsher sentences when they were hungry and the day after their team lost. Blacks got harsher sentences and people are less likely to be granted asylum when it’s hot. The sentencing reform act of 1984 helped narrow the differences, but the Supreme Court struck it down in 2005 and discrepancies increased again. Female and Democrat judges are more lenient.

2. A Noisy System

• Here we encounter he basic tool called the noise audit that all organizations need to consider. Its essence is to have many people look at the same information and make independent judgments. The variance in these judgments will give you a sense of the magnitude of the noise in the system. The authors use the median difference from the mean in the audit as a measure of noise. Keep in mind that errors do not cancel out, they add up. In many cases, the person making a judgment might as well be chosen by lottery. It’s important not to confuse judgment with taste or opinion. It’s important to have people with different perspectives when you are trying to solve a problem.

3. Singular Decisions

• Singular decisions are those that don’t recur with any great frequency. Getting married or buying a house are examples. While they are not free from the factors that produce noise, the definition of noise does not apply and you can’t do a noise audit. Practices that reduce error for recurrent decisions should be just as effective when it comes to singular decisions.

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Personality Poker: The Fast, Fun Way to Unload Innovation, Collaboration, and Predictable Growth by Stephen M. Shapiro 4th Ed offers a fun game that any organization can use to help everyone determine their dominant and secondary personality types. It makes it easier to put people in positions that best suit their personality strengths, better drive the innovation process, and help connect people with complimentary personalities. Once you know your hand, you can compliment it when you hire new staff. To date, the game has been played by over 250,000 people and scientifically validated.

Introduction

• Personality Poker is a fast-paced game that helps you discover and understand your unique contributions to your team’s success, whether in driving innovation, strengthening collaboration, shaping culture, or achieving shared goals. Once everyone knows their strengths, the goal is to place the right person in the right position. Creativity is about generating new ideas. Innovation is about shifting culture to implement valuable new ideas.
• Stephen divides people by suits. The Spades dig and organize data. Diamonds are the idea people. Clubs plan and execute. Heats engage the hearts and minds of team members. Stephen has used this system with success with organizations of all sizes since he invented it in 1999.

Part I: Are You Gambling Your Company’s Future? 1. Pregame Warm-up

• Personality Poker can be used as a powerful conflict resolution tool. It focuses on what people like as opposed to what people are like. People often game personality tests by picking what they think is the “right” answer. People in a good mood solve more problems through flashes of insight and creativity. How others see you is an indicator of your behavior. Some personality traits such as inquisitiveness, are difficult to observe. First impressions can be “sticky.” Work roles often prescribe a particular behavior.

Part II: Playing Personality Poker 2. Before Getting Started

• It’s important to know the difference between your preferred style and your adapted style. Your adapted style is a learned behavior that you develop on the job due to the role you are put in. You can tell it’s an adapted style as it tends to sap you of energy whereas using your preferred style is more likely to energize you at work. If you are different at home, you are probably using an adapted style at work.

3. How to Play

• You first need a deck of the special cards that have style descriptive words on each regular playing card. The solitaire version involves going through the deck and placing cards in piles that are most like you, least like you, and others. The goal is to get nine cards in the like you and not like you piles. When you have that you should know which style you are most like, which style(s) are somewhat adjacent, and which are your opposite.
• You can also do a five pile version, which adds like me but I infrequently use it and like me but an adapted skill piles. In a five-card draw version each player gets five cards and players trade cards until they get a hand with cards most like them. There is also a 52 card pick up version.

4. Finding and Understanding Your Style

• The black cards are more rational and are more liked by people who rely on expertise and knowledge. The red cards are more relational in nature. These people like to connect ideas, experiences, and people. If your five cards don’t tell you what your primary style is feel free to get more cards. You are more likely to have two or three suits than only one or all four. Like the author, my primary style is diamonds and my secondary style is spades. The suit or suits you are missing are the styles you need to rely on from colleagues.

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Image: Freepik

Practical Strategies to Manage Stress in Daily Life by Emily Graham

offers great advice for teachers, parents, and kids. Please share.

In an era where demands on our time and energy are relentless, managing stress is not just beneficial but essential for maintaining a healthy lifestyle. The pressures of modern life can lead to overwhelming stress, affecting both mental and physical health. However, by adopting practical strategies, individuals can mitigate these effects and foster a more balanced existence.

Limit Exposure to Social Media

Social media often amplifies the pressures people feel to meet unrealistic expectations, fueling self-doubt and anxiety. The constant comparison to curated snapshots of others’ lives can distort perceptions of personal success and happiness. Overexposure to idealized images and narratives may also contribute to feelings of inadequacy or fear of missing out. These platforms can blur boundaries between reality and projection, leaving individuals vulnerable to heightened stress or diminished self-worth.

Find Stress Relief Through Hobbies and Recreation

Engaging in hobbies and recreational activities can be a powerful way to manage stress, offering both mental and physical benefits. Activities like painting, jogging, or even gardening can release endorphins, your body’s natural mood enhancers, which help reduce anxiety and elevate your mood. These pursuits also provide a mental break from daily responsibilities, allowing you to focus on the present moment and enjoy a sense of accomplishment. By incorporating hobbies into your routine, you not only improve your physical health but also foster a more positive mental state.

Try Holistic Approaches to Stress Management

Alternative therapies offer a natural approach to managing stress and fostering relaxation in everyday life. Magnesium is a vital mineral that helps relax muscles and calm the nervous system, making it a popular choice for stress relief. Ashwagandha, an adaptogen, supports the body’s stress response by balancing cortisol levels and promoting a sense of calm. CBD and THCa diamonds interact with the body’s endocannabinoid system to reduce tension and enhance relaxation without causing a high.

Leverage Technology for Effective Stress Management

In our fast-paced world, utilizing technology can be a powerful ally in managing stress. Wearable devices with biofeedback sensors, such as those that track heart rate, offer insights into your stress patterns. By pairing these devices with meditation apps, you can enhance relaxation and maintain a consistent sleep schedule, both crucial for reducing stress. Additionally, stress relief apps provide immediate interventions during high-stress situations, potentially improving your quality of life.

Try Aromatherapy

Aromatherapy taps into the powerful connection between scent and emotion, using essential oils to promote relaxation and balance. Certain fragrances, like lavender or chamomile, are known for their calming effects, while citrus or peppermint can uplift and energize. These oils are often diffused, applied topically, or added to baths, offering a simple way to create a soothing environment. Engaging the senses through these natural scents can ease tension and encourage a sense of well-being.

Integrate More Exercise into Your Routine

Exercise provides a natural outlet for stress, channeling physical energy into movements that promote mental clarity and calm. Activities like walking, swimming, or strength training stimulate the release of endorphins, which elevate mood and reduce tension. Beyond these immediate benefits, consistent physical activity helps regulate sleep patterns and build resilience to everyday challenges. The rhythmic nature of many exercises also creates a meditative state, offering a mental break from worries.

Seek Help from Healthcare Professionals

Healthcare professionals are essential in managing stress-related health conditions, offering a comprehensive approach that addresses both physical and psychological aspects. By collaborating with specialists like endocrinologists, they can tackle underlying metabolic issues that may worsen stress. This holistic strategy is crucial because stress can lead to significant physiological changes, such as altered hormone levels, potentially resulting in chronic health problems. Addressing these issues early can prevent the escalation of stress-related disorders, ultimately enhancing patient outcomes.
Stress management thrives on consistency and intentionality, weaving small but meaningful habits into daily life. By fostering mindful awareness and embracing supportive practices, it becomes easier to navigate challenges with greater ease. These approaches empower a stronger sense of control and emotional balance in the face of life’s demands.

Emily Graham
Emily is the creator of MightyMoms.net. She believes being a mom is one of the hardest jobs around and wanted to create a support system for moms from all walks of life. On her site, she offers a wide range of info tailored for busy moms — from how to reduce stress to creative ways to spend time together as a family. You can email her at emilygraham@mightymoms.net. She lives in Arizona.

Visit DrDougGreen.Com to explore curated book summaries and educational resources to enhance your professional development.

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Practical Strategies to Overcome Single Parenting Challenges and Thrive

Single parents and the educators and school administrators who support them often carry a quiet question: why does daily life feel like it’s always one step from falling apart? The emotional challenges of single parenting can stack up fast, grief, guilt, isolation, and the pressure to be the steady one, while single parent stressors keep coming without a pause. Financial difficulties for single parents add another layer, turning ordinary needs into constant calculations and hard trade-offs. Add the daily struggles of single parenthood like logistics, school communication, digital learning demands, and limited childcare, and the strain becomes predictable, not personal failure. Practical help starts with naming what’s real.

Understanding How Single-Parent Stress Stacks Up

Single parenting pressure rarely comes from one problem. It builds when emotional load, money limits, and daily logistics collide, especially around time, childcare, and who you can call when plans break.

This matters because generic advice assumes extra hours, flexible work, and backup adults. When educators understand that children under 18 living in a single parent household is common, support can shift from judgment to realistic planning and resource-sharing.

Picture a parent who gets a school behavior email during a work shift, while childcare cancels, and rent is due. That same week, 33% compared to 8% becomes more than a number, because stress keeps compounding.

With the stack identified, routines, communication, budgeting, support networks, and reliable childcare can reduce friction fast.

Use This 7-Step Playbook to Stabilize Your Week

When single-parent stress stacks up, it’s usually not one “big” problem, it’s the daily friction of time, money, logistics, and emotional load. This weekly playbook reduces decision fatigue by turning your highest-stress moments into predictable systems.

A stable week isn’t a perfect week, it’s one with fewer urgent decisions and more predictable support, which frees up the bandwidth you need to build resilience that lasts.

Sustainable Habits That Keep You Out of Survival Mode

Start with a few small habits.
These practices turn coping into capacity building, so you can apply practical strategies with confidence even when the week gets messy. They also translate well into professional development reflections for educators and parents because each habit is observable, repeatable, and easy to track.

Two-Minute Self-Check

One-Problem Plan

Anchor Meal + Backup Plate

15-Minute Paperwork Power Block

Ask-and-Thank Loop

Choose one habit this week, then adjust it until it fits your real life.

Common Questions Single Parents Ask

When life feels full, quick clarifications can lower the pressure.

Q: How can single parents establish a consistent daily routine to reduce stress and create stability for their children?


A: Start with two anchors that rarely change, like a wake-up routine and bedtime steps. Keep the rest “good enough” by using a simple visual schedule and prepping one item the night before. Build in recovery time by treating self-care as part of your time budget, not an extra.

Q: What are effective ways for single parents to find and build a reliable support network among friends and family?

A: Make one specific ask that includes the task, time window, and backup plan, such as “school pickup on Tuesdays, 3:00 to 3:30.” Rotate small requests so no one person carries the load, and follow up with a brief thank-you and next check-in date. Reliability grows when expectations stay clear and manageable.

Q: How can single parents manage their finances wisely to avoid feeling overwhelmed by economic pressures?


A: Create a one-page spending plan that covers essentials first, then automate bills when possible to reduce decision fatigue. Add a small “buffer” line, even if it is modest, to prevent one surprise from derailing the month. If you are unsure where to start, track three categories for two weeks to spot the fastest wins.

Q: What strategies can single parents use to communicate effectively with their children while balancing multiple responsibilities?


A: Use short, predictable touchpoints like a five-minute check-in at dinner or lights-out to hear the high, low, and next. When you are rushed, reflect feelings first and then give one clear choice or next step. This keeps connection strong without needing long talks.

Q: What options are available for single parents who want to further their education online while managing parenting and work responsibilities?


A: Look for programs with flexible pacing, clear weekly workload estimates, and strong advising, so you can plan around childcare and shifts. For RNs exploring a BSN, structured cohorts can provide steady deadlines, while competency-based paths may offer faster progress if you can dedicate focused time and compare bsn completion programs. Protect your energy by scheduling 10-15 minutes out of each day to reset before studying.

Small steps, repeated often, build a calmer home and a steadier you.

Turn Single-Parent Stress Into Steady, Sustainable Family Strength

Single parenting often means carrying the mental load, money worries, and school-day logistics all at once, with little room to breathe. The path forward isn’t doing more, it’s empowerment for single parents through applying parenting strategies with steady priorities, realistic planning, and ongoing support. When those pieces are practiced consistently, daily decisions feel clearer, kids get more predictable care, and long-term well-being becomes something you protect, not postpone. Small, consistent choices build resilience in single parenthood. Choose one next step today: pick a single routine, boundary, or support you’ll keep for the next seven days. That steady follow-through is what sustains a hopeful outlook on single parenting and builds stability for the whole family.

Emily Graham

Emily is the creator of MightyMoms.net. She believes being a mom is one of the hardest jobs around and wanted to create a support system for moms from all walks of life. On her site, she offers a wide range of info tailored for busy moms — from how to reduce stress to creative ways to spend time together as a family. You can email her at emilygraham@mightymoms.net. She lives in Arizona.

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Quit: The Power of Knowing When to Walk Away by Annie Duke

goes beyond winners never quit to winners quit a lot. Everyone should read this to avoid sticking with goals that become no longer worthwhile. Grit can help you reach worthwhile goals, but it can also help you stick with goals that are no longer have positive expected value. Every school should have a copy in its professional development library.

Prologue: The Gifted Scale

• Success lies in picking the right things to stick to and quitting the rest. Just because you stubbornly stick to something doesn’t mean you will succeed at it. Unfortunately, quitting almost uniformly has negative implications, while being gritty and staying with something is considered in a positive light. The science of quitting spans disciplines from economics to game theory to behavioral psychology.

Section I: The Case for Quitting

1. The Opposite of a Great Virtue is also a Great Virtue

• On Mt. Everest, there is a quitting plan. It goes if you haven’t reached your goal, the summit or a camp higher up, by 1:00 pm, turn around. Over the years, people who have ignored this plan have been much more likely to die, as you are eight times more likely to die on the way down. In Silicon Valley, the motto is Fail Fast. Since most projects fail, knowing when to quit is key in terns of conserving resources.
• Luck often plays a big part in success. When we make a decision, we usually don’t have all the information we need. As we move forward after making a decision, we need to be constantly on the lookout for new information. As new information arrives, be sure to analyze it as it may point toward quitting or changing course. Once you quit, you won’t know what would have happened if you didn’t. You need to be ok with that. In poker, this is like folding hands that would have won. This is why pros play about half as many hands (15-25%) as amateurs (50%).

2. Quitting on Time Usually Feels Like Quitting Too Early

• We start with an owner of a computer game that appears to be successful as he’s adding players at 7% a week. When he sees that new players are much less likely to stick, he can see it will be a money pit and quits. The key concept here is to calculate expected future value be it a function of money, happiness, or anything else. This requires some mental time travel. This involves educated guesses and thinking like a poker player.
• You also need to look for clues from the past, be it your past or someone else’s. When a decision to quit is near 50-50, quitting is more likely the best choice. This includes big life decisions. If you are unhappy in a situation, you are likely to be unhappy in the future. This should make quitting an easy decision. Many athletes and TV shows have lingered too long. Those that went out on top are usually thought to have quit too soon. They didn’t.

3. Should I Stay or Should I Go

• Studies of cab drivers show that they generally use the wrong heuristic for deciding how long to drive. Most drive until they have reached an income goal. That means that they often stop when conditions are good and keep driving longer shifts when conditions are poor. Experienced cab drivers tend to do better. They seem to understand the concept of expected gain.
• The same is not true for professional stock traders. While they tend to make good buying decisions as they have studied the assets they are buying, their sell decisions are not as good. These people usually sell something to free up money for things they want to buy. What they sell tends to be either stocks that have gained the most or lost the most. They are not doing expected gain analysis. What they should also do is follow the sold stocks closely to get feedback on their decisions. Most don’t.
• For most decisions we make, feedback is hard to come by. If you change majors, colleges, or jobs, all you have is what if questions. We also tend to have a greater negative emotional impact for losses than positive emotions for gains. This loss aversion creates a preference for options associated with a lower chance of loss.

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Relocating: Helping Your Children Learn in a New Environment by Amanda Winstead offers great advice for parents who have to move. It’s now easy for children, but here are some things to ease the pain. Thanks. Amanda.

Introduction

• Moving can be the beginning of a new adventure. It can be a chance to start fresh. It can also be an opportunity to expand your network of friends and colleagues. Moving to a new location holds all sorts of potential — it is what you make of it.
• Unfortunately, many kids don’t see moving in that light. For many, the idea of moving to a new place is terrifying. It is taking them away from something they know and are comfortable with and putting them into a completely new situation. This means a new bedroom, a new school, and new friends. Starting over is enough to make any child struggle.
• Thankfully, there is a lot parents can do to help make the transition a bit easier. Helping children adapt quickly and successfully to their new home and life is key to keeping kids on the right track. Taking the time to help them work through the emotions associated with such a large change can also help everyone in the family begin to adapt to a new home.

Preparing for a Big Move

• Perhaps one of the most important things you can do as a parent to help your child adjust to a big move and a new school is to start the conversation early. Just like adults, children need time to process the idea of a big change in their lives. Surprising them with something like that and not allowing time for the news to really sink in is asking for trouble and anxiety in your kid.
• Moving is stressful — there’s no doubt about that — but kids are extremely perceptive when it comes to your emotional well-being. If you want them to have a positive attitude about the move, you must do as well. Of course, this doesn’t mean that you avoid talking about the things that make them nervous or that will be hard, but it does mean trying to focus on the things that won’t change such as still having recess or a packed lunch and the benefits of moving like choosing their own bedroom.
• As with most adults, the core of a child’s fear about moving tends to be related to a lack of control in the situation. Do your best to give them whatever control you can and help them feel involved in the decision-making process. This can be as simple as letting them choose how they decorate their new bedroom or picking out their backpack and extracurricular activities. It can also mean getting them involved with packing their things and deciding if there are toys or clothing they don’t want to take with them to the new place.

Making the Time to Make it Home

• If you can choose where you are moving, it will be worth taking the opportunity to look into the quality of the schools in the area. It may come as a surprise, but children are frequently more successful in school districts that have a smaller number of students. Smaller towns rather than big metro areas can provide more one-on-one interaction opportunities between students and teachers because the classroom sizes are typically smaller.
• To help relieve some of the anxiety associated with going to a new school, try to take some of the mystery out of it before the first day. Take your children to explore the school, the playground, and what their walk home from school will be like if you’re close enough for that. Likewise, set up a meeting with teachers and school administration staff. Anything that helps the new location feel more familiar to your child and gives them an idea of what to expect will be a benefit on the first day.
• As your child starts their new school, it is valuable to stay involved and assess how things are going. Set aside time after school every day to see how their day went and listen closely to the things they have to say. Ask questions to keep them talking. If there are opportunities, see if they are interested in inviting some of the new kids they’ve met for a playdate which can help facilitate them making new friends.

Other Moving Opportunities

• Depending upon the age of your child, there may be an abundance of other ways to help them get involved. For instance, maybe you are moving to a new area where there are more types of extracurricular activities outside of school than there were previously. For instance, maybe the nearby city pool has a swim team they can get involved in or the library has a children’s book club. Although some of these activities aren’t directly tied to the school, they can help your children settle into the new place and make friends more quickly.
• Some older students may want to opt out of doing the new school thing altogether. If you feel that it would be a good fit for your child, you could look into e-learning. Doing school online can open up several opportunities to take different or more challenging courses than what is offered at the new school. Of course, going online isn’t for every student — it is important to evaluate whether or not your high school-aged child would be successful or flounder in this environment before making that decision.
• Moving to a new area and starting your child in a new school can be hard on everyone. Helping your children adjust is an important step in successfully adapting to a new school. Doing things such as giving them time to prepare, showing them around the school before the first day, and helping them get involved in activities can make a huge difference.

Amanda Winstead

• Amanda is a freelance writer out of Portland focusing on many topics including educational technology. Along with writing she enjoys traveling, reading, working out, and going to concerts. If you want to follow her writing journey, or even just say hi you can find her on Twitter.

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Reset: How to Change What’s Not Working by Dan Heath shows how you identify leverage points that can improve any organization. He encourages you to look for bright spots, reallocate your resources, start with a burst, recycle waste, tap motivation, and let people be more autonomous. These principles apply to any organization so school leaders should take note and get a copy.

Introduction

• Dan starts with a story about a hospital mail room that went from taking three days to deliver packages to delivering all packages the day they arrived. They went from dysfunction as the natural state of affairs to resetting and getting unstuck. Sometimes it takes more resources to sustain a bad system. The key thing is to look for and find a leverage point to transform the way you work. Part one will help with this. Learn how to shake off bad habits so you can go from spinning your wheels to rolling forward.

Section I – Find Leverage Points: 1. Go and See the Work.

• If you are a manager of others, or a school administrator, you need to go see what people and students are doing in person. Sitting around a table and talking about something is not the same as seeing it up close. (Doug: As a principal, I prided myself on managing by walking around, which allowed me to see what students and teachers were doing.
• In some cases, the work people are doing may not be visible. This is when you have to get creative and make it visible. Be sure to check out the links in this book at Reset-Links.

2. Consider the Goal of the Goal

• Before you sink effort into a difficult task, make sure it’s the right task. If you lock into a goal too quickly, you may be blind to the bigger picture and alternate routes. Dan introduces the concept of the miracle question, which helps you identify the first productive steps to take. Be skeptical about the goals you select. Asking what’s the goal of the goal helps identify your destination and why it is important.

3. Study the Bright Spots

• Bright spots are your most engaged employees. You need to analyze them and do what you can to replicate them.

4. Target the Constraint

• Constraints are limiting factors or bottlenecks. They are standing in the way of greater success. As you deal with one constraint, the constraint will shift to somewhere else. Dan tells the story of Chick-fil-A and how their constraint shifted from ordering to food prep as they worked to maximize their drive through business. If you don’t direct investments at your constraint, they may be wasted. If you change your goal, your constraint may also change.

5. Map the System

• Sometimes you have to take a big picture view of a situation to improve things. One approach is to look at multiple silos at the same time to see if a change in one can help the other. There is a story here that shows how this can work. There is another story about how a methane monitoring satellite launched in 2024 is helping the industry find and plug leaks of this greenhouse gas. Be sure to ask questions like why do we do that and can we do it better?

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Rethinking Traditional Teaching Methods to Better Accommodate Students Living with Anxiety Disorders and Depression by Sara William offers great advice for teachers, parents, and students. We know that anxiety and depression are more common, so it’s important that school districts address this matter head on. What is your district doing?

The landscape of modern education is shifting. For decades, the traditional classroom model relied heavily on standardized lectures, rigid scheduling, and high-stakes testing. While this approach served a purpose in a different era, it often fails to account for the diverse emotional and mental health needs of today’s student body. As rates of anxiety disorders and depression rise among youth, educators find themselves on the front lines of a growing mental health crisis.
Creating an environment where students feel safe, seen, and supported is no longer just an optional goal; it is a fundamental requirement for effective learning. When a student is consumed by internal worry or the heavy fog of depression, the curriculum becomes secondary to their need for stability. By rethinking traditional teaching methods, educators can build classrooms that not only foster academic achievement but also act as sanctuaries for mental well-being.

The Invisible Barrier: Recognizing Signs of Distress

Before an educator can accommodate a student, they must be able to identify when a student is struggling. Anxiety and depression often wear masks, appearing as behavioral issues, academic apathy, or sudden social withdrawal. Because these conditions are internal, they are frequently misidentified as laziness or defiance.

Common Indicators in the Classroom

Teachers should be alert to sudden, unexplained changes in a student’s baseline behavior. In cases of anxiety, you might notice excessive perfectionism, a fear of participating in group work, or physical symptoms like headaches or stomachaches that frequently occur before tests or presentations.
Depression often presents differently. It may manifest as irritability, a loss of interest in extracurricular activities, or a noticeable decline in hygiene or attendance. Some students may seem to “shut down,” staring blankly during lectures or failing to turn in assignments that they previously completed with ease.

Beyond the Label

It is essential to understand that these conditions exist on a spectrum. A student does not need to have a clinical diagnosis to benefit from a more flexible teaching style. By normalizing the conversation around mental health, teachers can reduce the stigma that prevents students from seeking help. When a teacher proactively mentions that they understand the challenges of stress and burnout, they signal to students that the classroom is a safe space to be human.

Rethinking Instruction for Diverse Learners

The traditional model of “one size fits all” is inherently flawed. It leaves fast learners bored and struggling learners frustrated; furthermore, it creates an environment of intense pressure that can trigger anxiety and worsen depressive episodes. Rethinking instructional delivery can help accommodate those with mental health struggles while simultaneously improving outcomes for every student in the room.

Moving Away from High-Pressure Testing

The modern reliance on high-stakes testing is a primary driver of school-based anxiety. To mitigate this, educators should integrate more varied assessment methods. Instead of relying solely on written exams, incorporate oral presentations, creative projects, or portfolios. These alternatives allow students to demonstrate their knowledge in ways that play to their strengths rather than their triggers.

Differentiated Instruction as a Mental Health Tool

Differentiated instruction is the practice of tailoring teaching to meet individual needs. By offering choices in how students consume content—such as reading articles, watching videos, or engaging in hands-on activities—teachers can lower the barrier to entry. For a student with social anxiety, a choice between a group project and an individual assignment can be the difference between a successful lesson and a panic attack.

When students have agency over their learning process, their stress levels drop. They feel respected as individuals, which helps combat the feelings of helplessness often associated with depression. This approach turns the classroom into a partnership rather than a hierarchy.

Structuring the Classroom Environment

The physical and procedural structure of a classroom significantly impacts mental health. Rigid, loud, and unpredictable environments can be overwhelming for students living with anxiety. Conversely, a predictable, structured, and calm environment can serve as a stabilizer.

The Power of Routine

Students dealing with anxiety disorders often find comfort in routine. When the expectations for the day are clearly posted on the board and the structure of the lesson remains consistent, it reduces the “unknown” factors that trigger apprehension. While variety keeps lessons engaging, it should be balanced with a predictable flow that students can rely on.

Flexible Seating and Quiet Spaces

Consider the layout of your room. Does every student have a place where they feel comfortable? Some students with social anxiety may struggle when they are forced to sit in the center of the room or work in large, noisy groups. Providing options for flexible seating, or even a designated “quiet corner” where a student can take a five-minute break to regulate their breathing, can provide a necessary outlet for students who feel overwhelmed.

Incorporating Mindfulness

Integrating brief mindfulness exercises into the start of a lesson can help reset the room’s energy. This does not need to be a long or complex process. A simple two-minute breathing exercise or a moment of silent reflection can help students transition from the stresses of the hallway or their home life into the classroom setting. By normalizing these practices, you provide students with tools they can use independently when they feel their anxiety rising.

When to Seek Professional Support

While teachers play a vital role in supporting mental health, they are not therapists. Understanding the boundaries of your role is essential. You are an educator, a mentor, and a support system, but you are not a clinical practitioner.

Knowing the Threshold

If a student expresses thoughts of self-harm, exhibits severe withdrawal, or shows signs of a mental health crisis that is beyond classroom management techniques, it is time to involve the school counseling team or administration. Every school should have a clear protocol for crisis intervention.

Leveraging Digital Resources

In some cases, students may benefit from external support that bridges the gap between home and school. While many families prefer traditional therapy, some might explore a virtual psychiatrist for consultation when access to in-person care is limited or wait times are too long. Familiarize yourself with the resources available in your district so that you can provide parents and guardians with helpful information when a student’s needs exceed what can be provided within the school day.

Conclusion: The Path Forward

Reimagining traditional teaching methods is not about lowering standards; it is about widening the doors to ensure that every student can walk through them with confidence. By recognizing the signs of anxiety and depression, diversifying our instructional strategies, and creating predictable and supportive classroom environments, we can transform education from a source of pressure into a source of empowerment.
The most effective classrooms of the future will be those that value the human being just as much as the academic outcome. When we support the mental health of our students, we aren’t just teaching a subject; we are helping them build the resilience they need to navigate the world outside our walls.

Sara William

Sara is a contributing writer specializing in health, home improvement, food, personal finance, and lifestyle. She lives in Illinois. You can email her at infoguestposters@gmail.com.

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Safe Ways to Encourage Kids to Play and Explore Outdoors by Emily Graham offers excellent advice for parents and teachers about getting kids outdoors for fresh air and exercise. It’s easy to just let them sit around inside and play computer games or watch TV, but with a little effort and this advice, you can make them healthier and more vibrant. Thanks, Emily.

Introduction

• Research shows that more of today’s modern kids are spending their time inside, and parents get to see this firsthand. Today’s kids are busy with their video games, computers, and gadgets, and they’re not getting the fresh air, sunshine, and physical activity they need as a result. Dr. Doug Green shares some ways to encourage your kids to get outside and play safely, and get them out of the house.

Help Them Hunt for Treasure

• Turn outdoor exploration into a fun treasure hunt and make a game out of it. Try an idea from Momtastic and make a list of flowers, plants, trees, birds, and bugs that can be found in your own backyard or in close proximity. Have kids take a photo or draw a sketch of each of these items to add it to their list of found treasures. This is an observation-only event, so kids can use just their eyes to find treasures rather than poking their fingers into strange holes or trying to pluck plants. Kids will end up learning more about the natural world, and have fun doing it.

Stage a Backyard Camping Trip

• You don’t have to go on a road trip to enjoy camping. Set up a tent in your own backyard, lay out some sleeping bags and stage a fun camping adventure that will be much simpler than actually heading out on the road to find a campsite. You can easily keep an eye on the kids while they have their backyard adventure. Give them some fun snack items like trail mix, and stuff to play with like balls and jump ropes. This will keep kids outside instead of glued to their video games.

Just Add Bubbles

• Pretty much every kid loves to play with bubbles, and they can stay busy for hours outdoors having fun with this activity. Mix up your own bubble solution using ordinary dishwashing soap and glycerin, according to What to Expect. Make a bubble wand out of a bent coat hanger, and kids can make enormous bubbles for hours and hours. They’ll have fun blowing bubbles, chasing them around, and seeing how many bubbles they can make.

Build Some DIY Bird Feeders Together

• Make some bird feeders with the kids, and encourage them to watch the birds that come to enjoy your DYI project. You can even turn this into a learning project, and get your kids a book on different birds so they can look up the feathered friends who visit. You don’t need much to make a bird feeder. In fact, an old shoe will work. Take the shoe and nail it directly to a tree or a post. Fill it with birdseed, and watch your avian visitors enjoy their meals. If you’re more creative, you can make a bird feeder out of almost anything, from an old cup and saucer to a used wine bottle.

Outside Safety Tips

• Keep kids safe when they play outdoors by taking some simple safety measures. First, don’t get a trampoline. They cause horrible accidents frequently and should only be used under careful supervision for training and exercise — not recreation. Second, don’t let your kids wear drawstring clothing. Drawstrings are accidents begging to happen because they can come untied and get snagged, cause kids to trip, and get hung up on toys and playground equipment. Thirdly, make sure all your playground equipment is totally safe. It should only be on a soft surface, not hard decking or concrete, and safely away from tall buildings, trees and structures.
• Make sure your kids stay on your property by installing a fence to surround your yard. Fence companies charge an average of $4,500 to install a fence, but peace of mind is priceless. Before hiring a fence installer, it’s a good idea to review customer feedback and ratings. Always get three estimates and make sure the company is insured and licensed.
• Most importantly, keep an eye on your kids when they’re outside. Outdoor play is healthy and good for children, but it can be dangerous. Monitor your kids and take steps to make sure they’re staying safe. You can’t prevent every accident, but there is a lot you can do to make sure your kids avoid accidents and injuries when they’re outside. (Doug: Consider getting a camera or two so you can see your backyard from a TV or computer.)

Photo Credit Pexels.com

Emily Graham

• Emily is the creator of MightyMoms.Net. She believes being a mom is one of the hardest jobs around and wanted to create a support system for moms from all walks of life. On her site, she offers a wide range of info tailored for busy moms — from how to reduce stress to creative ways to spend time together as a family. You can email her at emilygraham@mightymoms.net. She lives in Arizona.

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