DON’T ONLY PRACTICE YOUR ART, BUT FORCE YOUR WAY INTO ITS SECRETS Ludwig van Beethoven

Student Effort Made Simple: The TOP 5 1.Relationships 2.Compelling Goals w/ Stellar states 3.3:1 Feedback Ratios w/ quality 4.Boost Hope & Grit 5.Interdependency 2

Behavior-Building The TOP 5 Relationships C & S rules/rituals Engage, Redirect & Teach How to Behave Foster Community Self - Regulation 3

Fast-Track Relationship Builders to Jumpstart the Long-term Process 1 and Done Do 1 favor or connection or show of empathy SO powerful, students remember it 2’ for 10 Invest 2 min./day for 10 consecutive days with a student most “needing” a connection 3 in 30 Discover 3 things (other than a name) about every student you have in 1 st 30 days 4

“Me Bag” Activity (from student to peers and teacher)… Student share with the class 4-6 items from a bag that are meaningful. Writing assignment 1 (from student to peers)… ”What most people don’t know about my life away from school.” Writing Assignment 2 (from student to teacher)… “What I wish my teacher knew about me…” 3 Relationship Builders 5

The difference in the amount of parental conversation with kids in families on welfare versus professional families is: a) double b) triple c) four fold d) ten-fold Hart and Risley (1995) 6

Age of Child (In Months) Cumulative Word Exposure (In Millions) 26 Million Words Middle SES 13 Million Words Low SES 45 Million Words High SES Hart, B. & Risley, T (1995) Meaningful Differences in the Everyday Experience of Young American Children. Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co. Early Language and Low SES 7

Stress (on/off) is healthy for us! Distress (chronic) is toxic to our brain and body! Reality: Poor children are exposed to: 1) more intense and longer lasting stressors, and 2) have fewer coping skills than their higher SES counterparts. Evans, G.W., Kim P. (2007) Childhood poverty and health: cumulative risk exposure and stress dysregulation. 8

Of all the things researchers have discovered about the value of quality relationships, one of the most surprising is that they are strong mediators of stress. Good relationships diffuse stress and make your life easier. Relationships Can Lower Stress; How Well Do You Connect? Miller-Lewis LR, Sawyer AC, Searle AK, Mittinty MN, Sawyer MG, Lynch JW. (2014) Student- teacher relationship trajectories and mental health problems in young children. BMC Psychol. 12, 27. 9

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Once a week share a personal story about a stress or challenge you had. Set up story as: 1) problem 2) “How would you have solved it?” 3) call on students w/ gratitude, and 4) share your thinking and solution. Teach Coping Skills 11

Why Positive Engagement? Over Time, Good States Contribute to… SCHOOL FUNCTIONING: Improved mindsets, widens scope of attention, broadens behavioral repertoires, increases intuition and creativity. HEALTH OUTCOMES: speedy recovery from cardio-vascular problems, increased immune function, boosts resilience to adversity, supports psychological function, supports lower levels of cortisol, reduces inflammatory responses to stress, reduces subsequent-day physical pain and adds resistance to viruses. Fredrickson, BL & Losada, MF (2005) Positive Affect and the Complex Dynamics of Human Flourishing. Am Psychol. October ; 60, 678–