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Susan Hopkins

Dr. Susan Hopkins is the Executive Director of Dr. Stuart Shanker's organization, Susan has been a teacher, school administrator, inclusive schooling coordinator, curriculum developer, educational researcher, and educational leader. She has worked in every area of education from the early years to post-secondary, from remote Northern schools to the Department of Education, and across contexts that include Italy and the Northwest Territories.

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Self-Reg Diaries with Susan & Siena Hopkins

Self-Reg Diaries with Susan & Siena Hopkins

The MEHRIT Centre’s Executive Director, Susan Hopkins talks with her daughter Siena about our current situation with COVID-19. They chat about how talking with kids helps, and how we can help them (and they can help us) Self-Regulate. Watch the series below or on our...

The Time Mom “Went Limbic” Over Some Pancakes

The Time Mom “Went Limbic” Over Some Pancakes

“Can you cut my pancakes for me mom?” “No Siena, you need to cut your own pancakes.” Then came the 9-year-old version of a protest: that slumped over, big sigh drama moment about the unfairness of my response. In a perfectly non-Self-Reg parenting moment I responded,...

Stranger Danger

Stranger Danger

In this vlog, Susan applies a Self-Reg lens to the question of whether or not giving children the message that strangers are dangerous really makes them safer. She shares her personal opinion that it might be better to help kids develop their own internal compass...

Self-Reg Schools: The 6 x 6 Series

Self-Reg Schools: The 6 x 6 Series

In this series of short videos, Susan Hopkins looks at six role areas in education. She also offers six signs that practitioners in each of those roles are practicing Self-Reg. Watch the series below or on our YouTube channel here. Introduction First, Susan introduces...

Be Who You Are

Be Who You Are

In this personal vlog, Susan talks about neurodiversity, “weirdness” and individuality. She explains how her thinking about “normal” has changed and broadened over the years, and also relates an anecdote about a situation where her daughter was quite comfortable with...

Girls, Body Image, and Food

Girls, Body Image, and Food

Susan Hopkins initiates a discussion on how best to help girls develop healthy and positive relationships with their bodies and food. She shares some of her own experiences around this issue and talks about the strategies and messages she is using with her...

See A Teenager Differently

See A Teenager Differently

A Self-Reg Reframe of a Teen “At-Risk” My teenage years remain a blur. I was one of the troubled ones. I was “THAT” teenager—the at-risk kind of kid that neighbours whispered about and relatives avoided asking about at family gatherings. I was THAT kid. My deep...

What If? Series: Reframing Report Cards

What If? Series: Reframing Report Cards

Sparked by recent news about upcoming changes to Ontario’s Elementary report cards, Susan Hopkins and Stuart Shanker muse about how reframing the idea of report cards could make them a more enriching and informative experience for parents and students. In this...