You are who you eat lunch with. Emotions are contagious. There is an actual science behind this contagion of emotions. When we catch someone else’s emotions, we can thank our mirror neurons, (or our empathy neurons, as we like to call them). Educators tend to have an abundance of these neurons at our disposal -we are especially empathetic people! We talk about how this impacts our  work with kids in our book, Connecting Through Conversation: A Playbook for Talking with Students. Turns out, it is just as important to be aware of our mirror neurons when we think about the educators we work with!

When a student has not yet learned to read or solve a math equation, educators don’t get angry or take it personally. The same thing needs to be true for behavior.

Students are going to make mistakes. Educators must remember that mistakes don’t define a person. When we help students understand this, they are much more willing to make changes and become a better version of themselves.

You love kids. We know this because you are reading this. Plus, this work is too hard to do for any other reason - after all you didn’t go into it for the money! If this is not ringing true for you, we invite  you to consider a different profession. For real. 

If you are still reading this, we are going to assume you love kids. You know that. We know that. Your colleagues know that. You know who probably doesn’t know that? Your students. 

Ever felt frustrated and just needed to vent, only to be bombarded with advice? Did it leave you feeling even more irritated? Check out a better way to connect through conversation using Acknowledge, Validate, coach. It works for preschoolers, high schoolers, colleagues, and even your most challenging family members!