Blogs
Will your students help to shape Australia’s future?
Currently some politicians, media commentators and education bureaucracies have a narrow focus on literacy and numeracy, measured by NAPLAN, as signifiers of school success. However, many teachers and parents agree that while all children need to be literate and numerate, it is also important to help them achieve their personal best – from those with
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Achievement of top performing students declines
A recent inquiry into gifted students in Victoria found that a large number were ‘dumbing down’ in order to fit in. This is not isolated to Victoria. It is an Australia wide issue. These children are often bored and frustrated, acting out in the classroom or in some cases simply not coming to school. Many are underachieving
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Resilience: What you think determines the way you feel
Many children and adults mistakenly believe that what happens to them (the situation) determines how they feel. For example, their train is late and they feel angry or they have to give a presentation to a big group of people and they feel scared. In the 1960s Psychiatrist Aaron Beck theorised that this is not
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How to inform parents of issues at parent teacher interviews
Parent teacher interviews offer a great opportunity to build partnerships with your students’ parents. In particular mid-year interviews allow you opportunity to talk with parents about their child’s school progress and any issues the student is experiencing. Planning for an interview with parents of a challenging student, or a student with recently discovered difficulties can provoke
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Foundations for building resilience
As the colder months approach more and more issues seem to arise with students. Whether it is illness, friendship conflicts, slower progress with learning, problems at home or a myriad of other concerns the middle months of the year can be tiring for students and school staff. To help you and your students beat the
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What do children say about friendship?
Teachers will often be asked by a parent to help with their child’s friendship issues. Some parents may want the teacher to step in and ‘fix’ things for their child. In some cases, for example if bullying is occurring, this will be necessary, however in most cases the most powerful way parents and teachers can
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Recent media reports have highlighted high levels of parent anger and, at times threats and even violence, towards principals and teachers. Understanding and dealing with anger is critical in helping all stakeholders whether they are parents, principals, teachers, administrative staff or students to calm themselves and think clearly rather than resorting to threats or violence.
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Tips for working with children who have experienced a very recent trauma
Children who experience or witness a traumatic event typically suffer from intense emotional, physical, and/or psychological distress. Traumatic events include a serious accident, a natural disaster, a physical attack, war, or other extremely stressful event that threatens the child’s safety. At school the child may behave differently such as becoming withdrawn or angry; having difficulty
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Teachers often ask me what to do when a student becomes agitated or angry. The question is usually asked about a student who is repeatedly angry, causing disruption in the classroom, and a lot of stress for the teacher. There are many issues and conditions that can lead to agitated or angry behaviour, from challenging
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Tips for using Psych4Schools resources and services at school
Browse or search the website Select resources that are relevant to your students. You can also share key strategies with others, and provide a single hard copy of an ebooklet to a parent or teacher in regards to their child or student. Keep an online notebook of good practice for the classroom Cut and paste
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Learning difficulties screening tool for school beginners
FREE learning difficulties screening tool to use with students in the first year of school. The screening tool can be completed by a pre-school or early years primary school teacher. The person completing the form must have known the child for at least four weeks. How you use the tool is up to you and
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Teachers: Looking after yourself
Dealing with the everyday demands of working in a school can be very stressful. By this term you may be feeling tired and ready for the summer holidays. Now is a good time to look back on the school year to see what has worked well and what hasn’t worked so well. Take the time
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Friendship, peer relationships and getting along with other people is an important part of any child’s development. For many students making and keeping friends seems to be quite effortless, but for others it can be a challenge. Research by Psychologists Gladys Williams and Dr Steven Asher for the national network for child care found that
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Can praise cause students to under perform?
You have probably heard that praising children is beneficial. However some types of praise may actually be detrimental. Praise that identifies innate qualities about the child such as talents or strengths, for example, ‘You’re really good at maths’, ‘What a good artist you are’ or ‘You are so clever’, may be causing children to under
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Encourage a child who refuses to come to school back
The beginning of a new term can provoke anxiety for some children. Some children will cope with this anxiety by refusing to go to school. When a significant number of school absences occur that are not related to illness, this may be described as ‘school refusal’. School refusal is a more serious condition than separation
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Manage fears brought up by the September 11 in your classroom
This week saw the 10 year anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center. The extensive media coverage, reporting of these events, and the repetition of images and stories over the past week means that many children will have been exposed to what occurred on September 11 2001. Experts say that repeatedly viewing
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