The 2017-2018 school year started off with a great excitement in Roxbury this year! With the support of Corwin, our district was delighted to welcome Mrs. Debbie Silver, author of Teaching Kids to Thrive, Deliberate Optimism, and Fall Down 7 Times, Get up 8, as keynote speaker. She delivered an exhilarating address to over 500 staff members getting them excited about the prospect of a new school year, mindfulness strategies, and self-efficacy. She then led independent breakout sessions for our elementary and secondary populations with a focus on stress management and deliberate optimism. I can't imagine a better way to have kicked off our school year and gotten our staff excited about the return of our students than Debbie. She was entertaining, heart-warming, and knowledgeable, what a perfect combination. I would recommend Debbie to any school looking to establish these skills without hesitation.
-- Charles Seipp
Teaching Kids to Thrive: Essential Skills for Success is a book that not only argues effectively for including social and emotional learning in every classroom, it also shows teachers how to do it. Debbie Silver and Dedra Stafford demonstrate how SEL instruction can be woven into all subject areas at every level of preK-12 education. They descriptively outline what SEL-friendly classrooms look like, and they provide a wealth of tools and strategies for educators who want to teach beyond the standards. I recommend this book for new and veteran teachers alike who want to help students learn to thrive both now and throughout their future lives.
-- Todd Whitaker, Professor of Educational Leadership
Reading Teaching Kids to Thrive was like feeding my brain with PopRocks! It had me captivated, wondering, and marveling...all at the same time. Debbie and Dedra provide insightful research, actionable skills, and inspirational stories, while recognizing the voices of students and teachers at the turn of every page.
-- Dr. Russell J. Quaglia, Executive Director
There are some books that you pick up and just cannot put down. Well, this is one of them. If you are ready to move beyond grit, then Teaching Kids to Thrive is the linchpin needed in every school system. The authors provide relevant research to build their case and share easy and simple teacher-approved strategies that can be used immediately. Any stakeholder in education who wants to transform school culture must make Teaching Kids to Thrive required reading. -- Simon T. Bailey and Marceta Reilly, Authors
Debbie Silver and Debra Stafford go to the heart of schooling students in this century - addressing the power of mindfulness, the value of empathy, and boosting the resilience of young people at a time the world requires such a skill the most. Using relatable stories and strategies the goal to help students THRIVE is central in every chapter. Like a favorite piece of music, the authors' passion for education is extremely contagious and memorable.
-- Jennifer Buchanan, MBA, MTA
Hoorah! Here is help with the overlooked aspects of teaching that matter most. Don't just read it, study it, live with it, and you too will thrive.
-- John Lounsbury, Dean Emeritus
'Good teachers teach subjects. Great teachers teach students.' This often repeated quote of unknown origin typifies both the authors of this book and the intent of the book's content. In a world where all data counts but all that counts in not data Debbie Silver and Dedra Stafford provide guidance and important information on how teachers can teach students some of the most important of all lessons, things that do not become part of the data base which too often defines students. Teaching students to Thrive guides teachers in how to incorporate essential social and emotional skills into daily routines. These are the essential skills students need in order to realize their potential not only as students but as successful and fulfilled members of society. As well as essential information, the authors incorporate practical activity guides to enable teachers to help their students become more successful in school and in life. Anecdotes, examples, and practical activities guide the reader to become more adept in incorporating social and emotional learning skills into everyday classroom environments. This book is a must-read for all teachers who harbor the desire to help their students develop the skills to successfully navigate not only school but life itself.
-- Duane Inman, Ph.D., Professor of Education
In college courses, education students learn how to teach academic content. In Teaching Kids to Thrive, Silver and Stafford emphasize the importance of also teaching students. In a world changing at a pace rarely seen in human history, merely learning coursework won't be enough. Today's children need to be prepared to face challenges, and have the capacity to flourish, regardless of what life throws at them. Thrive has teacher-friendly strategies and support that allow even the most experienced educators to see real cognitive, social, and emotional growth in their students.
-- Cheryl Mizerny, Educator and Blogger
Why should you read Teaching Kids to Thrive? Students today may be the most connected generation in history, but they can't find ways to connect with themselves. Dr. Debbie Silver and Dedra Stafford masterfully illustrate that Thrive skills can no longer be considered soft. This book evidences that learning how to control their bodies and emotions is every bit as essential to the modern learner as understanding how to control the devices that students love so dearly.
-- Jared Covili, Author
Teaching Kids To Thrive: Essential Skills For Success is an excellent practical guide for educators who want to apply the ideas of Social Emotional Learning to their classroom.
-- Larry Ferlazzo, Teacher, Author and Education Week Teacher advice blogger
Silver and Stafford have answered the question educators have asked time and again: How, exactly, do I create a classroom culture conducive to growth, collaboration and critical thinking? The book explores the importance of resilience, empathy, persistence and skills related to active listening to creating the mindset that will nurture and accelerate the continuous-improvement process. These are not soft skills that live on the periphery of textbook-driven, correct-answer-seeking lessons. They are life skills students need to practice - and teachers need to model - on the road to success in school, college, the workplace, and in a democracy. This is an eminently practical resource with enough research, examples, frequently asked questions, exercises, stories and humor for all educators; and all educators should have a copy of this book.
-- Ron Nash, Author/Consultant
I am doing backflips over having this book in my life! I work with teachers every day and every day I field questions on how to support learners in being open and present for learning. It is true-- we are educating a different type of learner than those of earlier generations. And so our teaching must shift, remembering that we teach children, not curriculum. Silver and Stafford have written the guide to working with this new generation of students; one which begins with the social-emotional health of each learner. They tackle head-on the most challenging and real moments of teaching, creating a research-based, practical, tried-and-true (yet cutting edge) handbook to simply and powerfully show learners how to ground and bloom. While this book focuses on students, the outcomes will bring joy, fulfillment, and gratitude to teachers. I have been waiting for this book without knowing it and now it will be my go-to resource and recommended text on teaching students how to thrive in all educational settings and in life.
-- Patty McGee, Author/Consultant
There are no convenient, instant answers to solve tough issues in education, and no one event can make a difficult student easy to teach. Great teaching is hard work. This book lays out a brilliant process for building Thrive skills. Read the book. Practice the skills. Practice patience and perseverance. Enjoy the rewards.
-- Dr. Monte Selby
Plain spoken and practical with enough neuroscientific research to support what teachers and parents have been sensing but didn't have the knowledge to articulate. -- Dr. Susan Grant,Ph.D, LLC
It is now time for student to truly thrive! Educators have been looking for a resource that puts the reality back in education. Silver and Stafford have done just that. The authors know about the importance of students understanding content, but they also realize that students must be optimistic, show integrity, understand empathy, and believe in gratitude. What we can learn from this book is that you may never lose a job in life because you're too smart; you get fired because you're not a nice person. Make sure you look at their examples and situations and try to change your practices within our classroom or school. Let's help our students thrive in all aspects of their life!
-- Jack Berckemeyer, Educator, Author, Humorist and Consultant
