How Children Succeed

Our team @WaukeshaNorth1 just got done reading and discussing this book. The thought-provoking parallel that kept coming up was the question, "how do our experiences in childhood make us the adults we become?"

As teacher leaders, administrators and school support personnel, we cannot expect to solve the intricate problems of a school without taking into account what is happening in the community. Reading about the correlations between adverse childhood experiences and negative adult outcomes was stunning.

Children who grow up in stressful environments generally find it harder to concentrate, harder to sit still, harder to rebound from disappointments, and harder to follow directions.

Notice I didn't mention the word poverty here, which is often times brought up as a determining indictor. It isn't poverty itself that is compromising executive functions but rather the stress that goes along with it.

Being a teacher is one of the most important professions in the world. Being a caring and engaged parent is the most high-stakes job that eventually will impact your child for their entire lifetime. Love, live, laugh and make each moment count. A special thank you to my Mother, Granny and Grandpa Collins for their everlasting love.