Blogs on Mental Health

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David MarkusDecember 14, 2012

Editor's note: See David Markus's latest blog, "One Week Later: Healing Sandy Hook."

Words fail. Our hearts are broken. Only deeds matter after tragedy takes away our children and the adults who teach and care for them. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.

President Obama spoke to the nation about this morning's heartbreaking events.

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Christopher PepperDecember 11, 2012

Drug addiction, pregnancy prevention, and eating disorders are all part of the curriculum in the high school health education class I teach. As attention-getting as those topics may be, I like to start the semester by focusing on a health issue that affects almost all teens in high school today: stress.

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Randy TaranDecember 7, 2012

In this nine-part series, we will look at important factors that influence the happiness and social and emotional learning of elementary school age children. These are very useful in helping students learn, manage emotions better and increase empathy. Each blog features one letter of the acronym HAPPINESS:

H = Happiness
A = Appreciation
P = Passions and Strengths
P = Perspective
I = Inner Meanie, Inner Friend
N = Ninja Mastery
E = Empathy
S = So Similar
S = Share Your Gifts

In this blog, we’ll explore passions and strengths.

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This Thanksgiving, I considered expressing my thankfulness for great teachers -- but I've got a Teacher Appreciation playlist already that says it all. Instead, I'd like to express some love for a few of the things that I am thankful for, and share some stories of generosity and kindness.

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October is Bullying Prevention Month, and schools and families across the country are having frank discussions to raise awareness about bullying. It's a subject that's grown increasingly complex and troubling over the years: while in-person teasing and harassment has never flagged, new technologies have given rise to cyberbullying, which can be equally as damaging -- and even more public. And news of tragic consequences stemming from cases of both kinds spreads quickly through social media.

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Randy TaranOctober 2, 2012

In this nine-part series, we will look at important factors that influence the happiness and social and emotional learning of elementary school age children. These factors are very useful in helping students learn, manage emotions and increase empathy. Each blog features one letter of the acronym HAPPINESS:

H = Happiness
A = Appreciation
P = Passions and Strengths
P = Perspective
I = Inner Meanie, Inner Friend
N = Ninja Mastery
E = Empathy
S = So Similar
S = Share Your Gifts

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Tony BaldasaroSeptember 10, 2012

In April, Mark Phillips wrote this article for Edutopia that highlighted the importance of recognizing the introvert in your classroom. If you haven’t had a chance to read it yet, please do.

It’s okay, I’ll wait.

Phillips most poignant point was this:

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Randy TaranSeptember 5, 2012

Happiness is something we all want, and new research shows that happiness and well-being can be taught! But who has time to teach happiness when there is so much else to cram into a school day? At the university level, we see courses at Harvard and University of Southern California on the Science of Happiness. There are good reasons why those courses are among these schools' most popular classes. Happier people tend to be healthier, more productive, more generous and kinder to others. They also learn more easily and enjoy life. Who doesn’t want some of that?

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Mark PhillipsAugust 22, 2012

I was in a local shopping mall a while ago and two girls who couldn’t have been more than 9 or 10 walked past me. Both were wearing makeup and dressed as if they were about to pose for a soft porn ad in Rolling Stone. I wasn’t even surprised. It just reconfirmed what I already knew about how girls are being sexualized at very early ages.

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Nicholas ProvenzanoAugust 8, 2012
As I gear up for my 11th school year, I start to get the same butterflies in my stomach that I did getting ready for my first. The uncertainty of the type of students I'm about to get and the inevitable administration curve balls hang on my mind as each day passes. Over the years, though, I have learned to do a few things that make the nerves rest a bit. Here are some simple tips to cure the pre-school butterflies as the school years draws closer. Read More
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