Authoritarianism feeds off the feelings of hopelessness that obdurate social problems produce. The despair that Democracy will never be able to overcome its failings; that the majority of the citizenry lack the fortitude to make society great. That if large sectors of the populace cannot exercise self-control, then there must [...]
The first step in any Self-Reg undertaking is to understand the conceptual distinctions that we are dealing with. In this case, we might begin with the democratic versus authoritarian view of strong society. According to the former, a strong society is one that embraces consensus politics and the rule of [...]
If ever there was a time to heed Santayana’s warning, this is it. It is tempting to dismiss what is happening in the US today as an aberration. This might be true in some respects; in others, not. The end of the Cold War saw a surge of new Democracies. [...]
As a child, I loved worms. I remember collecting them off my driveway after a good rain, and digging for them in the mud at other times during the year. There was something so wonderful about holding that wiggling worm on your hand and watching it transform into shapes, letters, [...]
One of my favourite things to do on the weekend is to go out for brunch, especially with family members or friends. It often becomes the perfect time to connect with people. After my subitizing learning focus over a year ago now, brunch outings also offer new opportunities to add [...]
As a Kindergarten teacher, I understand the value of dramatic play. I know that students communicate much of their thinking and learning in this way. There are so many opportunities for oral language, including the development of new vocabulary, as part of dramatic play. But the truth is, I rarely like [...]
Kindergarten marks a major transition in children’s lives: from being coddled infants to being treated as responsible individuals. They are students now, and as such they have to meet certain expectations, as noted in an article published on education.com: “He can follow the lead of a teacher and will honor [...]
My mom closed her eyes for the last time on a Sunday night last September and she took her last breath almost 5 days later. Over a short series of blogs to follow, I will share some personal reflections on the five steps of Self-Reg as practices that helped me [...]
The more that you learn about Self-Reg, the more that it seems to govern your views of everything in your life. Sometimes I'm sure that Stuart Shanker's questions of, "Why?" and "Why now?" never leave my head. And yet, no matter how much we've learned about Self-Reg, sometimes we miss [...]
Psychiatrist Jean Clinton has been an internationally renowned expert and advocate for children’s mental health for over 30 years. We were thrilled to have Dr. Clinton at our summer symposium once again last summer. In her keynote address, Dr. Clinton drew from her wealth of experience and knowledge to address [...]