Assistant Superintendent Greg Wolcott on "Building Relationships in Today's Classrooms"

Welcome back to the “Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast” this is Andrea Samadi. This interview will be broadcast on YouTube as well as on the regular podcast channel, so be sure to look for the YouTube link in the show notes if you would like to view the video.
Our special guest today is Greg Wolcott.  He is someone who is “always on the cutting edge of education.”  Greg is the author of the book Significant 72: Unleashing the Power of Relationships in Today’s Schools[i] and is on a serious mission to impact our schools with this movement. Greg currently serves as the Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Learning in a suburb of Chicago as well as an adjunct professor. As an educator in the Chicago area for over 20 years, he is passionate about developing opportunities for all students to succeed as well as finding ways for all teachers and staff members to utilize their strengths to maximize learning. I’m excited to have Greg share more about the “Significant 72” initiative that’s implemented in over two hundred schools across the United States and Canada.  Welcome Greg.
Q1: As we dive into the relationship competency, I know there isn’t anyone I could think of that could cover this topic better than you. Can you give some background on the reason why you wrote this book? I remember hearing you talking about the concept of “Significant 72” on an SEL Webinar back in 2016. I remember you mentioned it had to do with the importance of relationship building after 3-day weekends. Where did the concept begin, what does Significant 72 look like in a school (every day, every month and after long breaks)?
Q2:  When you mentioned the research you had done, and found the key attribute that all great teachers do—their ability to form strong, caring relationships with students, how did you take this information to help build on this strength to connect with students on a deeper level? 
Q3: We know from the research that “When students perceive that their teacher knows them both academically and personally, they are better positioned to take ownership of their learning.” (Edwards & Edick, 2013).  We can all recall are favorite teachers who inspired us to learn, but how did they do it? There’s that fine line of showing you care and being too intrusive when asking students about their feelings or personal lives. How did you handle this to get the results you were looking for? GREG: It all began with John Hattie’s research on effect size and how relationship building yielded a gain of 2 years.[ii]
Q5: Can you give us your TOP tips used in “Significant 72” for improving relationships with students?
Q4: What are the outcomes and results from the schools using this method? How are you measuring this data? GREG: They use Panorama Education Surveys[iii]
Q5: What is your 3-5 year vision of where you see “Significant 72” going?
Q 6: To sum this all up, what are some final words of wisdom that you think we can all do (parents, as well as educators) to build stronger, meaningful relationships that foster that home/school connection? GREG: Connections Before Curriculum!
Thank you Greg, for taking the time out of your day to speak with us and share your Significant 72 book, ideas and resources. If someone wants to learn more, they can go to www.significant72.com  and find you on Twitter @GregJWolcott to reach you.
[i] www.significant72.com
[ii] https://visible-learning.org/hattie-ranking-influences-effect-sizes-learning-achievement/
[iii] www.PanoramaEd.com

Helen Maffini, from the Mindful Peace Summit on "Launching Mindfulness and Meditation in Our Schools"

In today’s episode we have Helen Maffini, a Canadian/British international educational consultant. You can watch the video of this interview on YouTube as well as listen on our regular podcast channel. Helen is the host of the Mindfulness in Education and Peace Summits, a doctoral researcher, author and educator and will share with us her experience as the host of  "The Mindful Peace Summits" that bring educators, business leaders, researchers and experts in the field together in one place, to share their ideas, resources and expertise on the future of "Mindfulness and Meditation" in our schools. With time, these practices will be implemented in more and more schools worldwide, and workplaces will follow the way (like in the UK where meditation is used in parliament). Here Helen's thoughts on the following questions.
 
Q1: I’ve been blessed to be interviewed by you for your Mindful Peace Summits where you interview leaders across the world in the area of SEL and neuroscience with guests like Dr. Daniel Siegal, the author of Brain Storm: The Power and Purpose of the Teenage Brain (and countless other books) as well as many others. Why did you create the Mindful Peace Summits? What have YOU learned from your interviews?
Q2: It was powerful watching 14-year-old Adam Avin hosting your last Mindful Peace Summit in February. I think that student-voice is trending in the country, and Adam is spearheading his way. How did Adam impact your Summit? What did you notice about his participation?
Q3: I know we have similar visions for where we see education going, and we have both come from similar backgrounds. Where do you think SEL is right now in the US opposed to Canada and Internationally? Is the US behind/at the same pace? (I see Canada as being ahead from the fact that in 2016 they hired me to present on SEL/Neuroscience whereas the US is just catching onto this topic). Curious what you think?
Q4: Can you explain your MindBe Curriculum and how it’s impacting schools in Asia? What is your vision for your curriculum? (Canada/USA)?
Q5: What’s on the 3-5 year plan for you? I know you are always working on something. What’s next?
 
 
 

Social-Awareness: How to Change Your Social Brain

Our goal with this podcast is to close the gap recent surveys show exists in our workforce where 58 percent of employers say college graduates aren’t adequately prepared for today’s workforce, and those employers noted a particular gap in social and emotional skills. Research shows that social-emotional skills like social awareness, self-management, and growth mindset are crucial to college and career readiness. We have chosen six social and emotional learning competencies to dive deep into over the next 6 episodes to use as a springboard for discussion and tie in how an understanding of our brain can facilitate these strategies. We want the ideas you take away with you to be actionable whether you are an educator working in a school, an employee or manager in a corporation, or someone just looking to take their skills to the next level. We have done all of the research for you and look forward to hearing about the results that you create.
As a recap, in our first episode, we shared with you the “Why behind implementing an SEL/emotional intelligence training program in your school or workplace.” In the second episode, we introduced the first of the six SEL competencies (self-awareness). With each competency, we’ll investigate the best practices and strategies that you can use to develop and improve your own SEL/Emotional Intelligence and well-being practices, before extending these strategies to your districts, schools, classrooms, workplaces and communities. We’ll offer ideas, tools and resources (in the show notes section) so that anyone can apply these skills themselves, and then teach others for improved results, focus and productivity.
Our next competency is social-awareness.
What is Social-Awareness and Why is it Important?
“Social awareness is the ability to take the perspective of and empathize with others from diverse backgrounds and cultures.” [i]  Being socially aware means that we have the ability to:
Recognize our own emotions in addition to other people’s emotions
Use information about our emotions to help guide or direct our thoughts, feelings, actions and behaviors
Be aware of the thoughts, feelings and motivations of others
Be able to take another person’s perspective
“As an educator, part of our role is to help students see the world through others’ eyes.” [ii] How can we become more socially mindful of others? We know that research shows that students with strong social awareness adapt easily to their environment, are empathetic to others, and have fewer behavioral problems.” [iii] This creates a setting where students can focus on learning. Findings also show that students who demonstrate strong social awareness are better able to engage in effective communication with their peers to resolve conflicts and challenges when they arise.
In the workplace, there are a lot of components to think about. We are all equals (men vs women) and of diverse backgrounds and everyone on the team can contribute in a different way to achieve the end goal.  We’ve must learn to communicate between different departments-- marketing can’t work without sales and sales can’t operate without marketing. It’s important to learn strategies to connect with all our colleagues. 
Tap into Your Own Social-Awareness in 4 Steps
There is a way to train your brain to increase social awareness and create substantial neural changes in your social brain. This practice will help you to change your behavior and in turn, will cause others to trust and connect with you more.  Imagine you have a team meeting and you know the outcome that you want from the meeting. There are some steps that you can take BEFORE the meeting that can prime your brain for these results. 
STEP 1: Prepare yourself to engage in the present moment. Yawn, stretch, relax and release any negative thoughts and feelings that might be on your mind. You don’t want to carry anything into the meeting to affect the outcome that you want.
STEP 2: Find your power word. Think of a word that resonates with you that represents the outcome of the interaction you are about to have and repeat this word. Words like successful, harmonious, teamwork are examples.
STEP 3: Prime your brain for the outcome. Think of a happy memory that puts you in a good mood. This memory will make you smile and when others see you, will be more trusting of you. This is called neural resonance and can easily be felt. It’s when you feel connected to someone and can’t explain it. There’s a resonance that occurs at the brain level.  It can also be felt when you don’t feel a connection to someone, and you get a bad vibe from them. There’s something that your brain doesn’t connect with or it just feels off. This is our mirror neurons at play that help us with social understanding and empathy.
STEP 4: Visualize the interaction you want to have, and you will have with a positive outcome.  Remember, your brain can’t determine the difference between what is real and what is imagined, we can use this skill of visualization or our imagination to make our brains fire the exact same way as if we were experiencing what we are thinking or imagining to impact our results.
When you intentionally follow through with a plan to be more socially aware, you will be amazed at the results. It does take practice, but even a few minutes a day can yield outstanding results with how others perceive you.
Think About This: For Educators
Discussion Questions to Increase Your Student’s Social-Awareness
How can you tell when one of your friends is sad, or having a bad day?
What can you do to help someone else if you notice they are “off” when they come to school?
How can you help others fit in and feel included more?
Why is it so important to be in tune with other people’s thoughts and feelings?
Think About This: For the Workplace
Discussion Questions to Increase Workplace Social-Awareness  
If you notice your colleague is off, what are some things you can say to them that can be helpful?
When someone new comes to your team, what can you do to help them integrate into the team?
Why is it important to being aware of your colleagues’ unique attitudes, and emotional states?
Outcomes and Results
Positive Classroom Climate: Students with strong social awareness adapt more easily to their environment, empathize with the perspectives of others, and engage in fewer disruptive classroom behaviors. This, in turn, creates an environment where students can focus on learning.[iv]
Better Relationships: Students who demonstrate strong social awareness are able to engage in constructive communication with their peers and resolve conflicts when they arise. These students benefit from peer learning and know how to take advantage of social supports. [v]
Greater Career Success: An employer survey conducted by the Partnership for 21st Century Skills demonstrates that four of the five most important skills for high school graduates entering the work force are linked to social awareness: professionalism, collaboration, communication, and social responsibility. [vi]
Make it common practice to develop these skills, thinking of ways that we can continually give back and help others solve problems, and it will improve the perception that others have of us.
To sum this all up, think of someone you know who is socially mindful. Notice what they do when they are speaking to connect with others. How do they activate your mirror neurons to connect with them empathetically with social understanding? They are connecting with your Limbic/emotional brain where our emotions are controlled, as well as our motivations and the brain’s reward circuit. With practice, this skill can become a habit and yields outstanding results while connecting, impacting others and making you memorable (since emotions help memories form and stick).[vii]
Strategies to Build Social Awareness:
As with all the SEL competencies, when we build our own social awareness, we can model this skill for others. For adults, you can strengthen this skill by using Active and Constructive Responding. “Responses from others perceived to be active and constructive were associated with emotional well-being with better relationship quality, whereas responses perceived to be destructive or passive were negatively associated with these outcomes.” (Gable et al, 2004). [viii]
Strategies for educators/workplace include:
Encouraging your colleagues to share positive news or ideas with each other.
Practice being active and engaged with your response by saying something that shows you listened to the news or idea vs ignoring or half listening.
Try Social Perspective Taking: the capacity to discern the thoughts, feelings, motivations, and points of view of others from their point of view.[ix] Consider the culture the other person comes from and see if you can take another perspective to that person’s thoughts/feelings.
Strategies for students
Have students take out of piece of paper and write down a list of 5 people they would like to improve their relationship with by being more socially mindful of and with them. Each time they interact with a person on the list, have them go through the 4 steps to improve their social interactions (prepare for the interaction, find their power word, prime their brain for the outcome, and visualize the positive outcome). With time and practice, they should notice their relationship with these people improving as neural resonance develops.
 
Resources:
Social Awareness Toolkit https://www.transformingeducation.org/social-awareness-toolkit/
The Montgomery County (Ohio) Education Service Center and Ohio Department of Education video on Social Awareness https://vimeo.com/339150372/c50495aebe 
Student:
Transforming Education “Social Awareness in Students’ Words” YouTube Uploaded Feb 1, 2017 (2:25) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d75gxU6Nyq0
REFERENCES:
[i] Social Awareness Toolkit https://www.transformingeducation.org/social-awareness-toolkit/
[ii] Former Education Secretary, John King.
[iii] Social Awareness Toolkit https://www.transformingeducation.org/social-awareness-toolkit/
[iv] Greenberg, M. T., Weissberg, R. P., O'Brien, M. U., Zins, J. E., Fredericks, L., Resnik, H., & Elias, M. J. (2003). Enhancing school-based prevention and youth development through coordinated social, emotional, and academic learning. American psychologist, 58(6-7), 466.
[v] Social Awareness Toolkit https://www.transformingeducation.org/social-awareness-toolkit/
[vi] Casner-Lotto, J., & Barrington, L. (2006). Are They Really Ready to Work? Employers' Perspectives on the Basic Knowledge and Applied Skills of New Entrants to the 21st Century US Workforce. Partnership for 21st Century Skills. 1 Massachusetts Avenue NW Suite 700, Washington, DC 20001.
[vii] Your Brain: 100 Things You Never Knew (National Geographic)
[viii] Social Awareness Toolkit PowerPoint Slide 5 https://www.transformingeducation.org/social-awareness-toolkit/
[ix] Social Awareness Toolkit PowerPoint Slide 24 https://www.transformingeducation.org/social-awareness-toolkit/

Author and Speaker Jennifer Miller on "Building Connections with Parents and Educators"

Welcome back to the “Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast” this is Andrea Samadi. This interview will be broadcast on YouTube as well as on the regular podcast channel. Today we are speaking with Jennifer Miller, she’s an author and illustrator of the blog Confident Parents, Confident Kids[i] with over 22,000 followers. She has her master’s degree in Instructional Leadership with a focus on social and emotional development, and has a new book coming out just shortly after the SEL Exchange[ii] this October called Confident Parents, Confident Kids: Raising Emotional Intelligence in Ourselves and Our Kids — From Toddlers to Teenagers.[iii]
Welcome Jennifer, it’s great to meet you after following your work for the past few years. I was excited to see you as a speaker at Casel’s SEL Exchange this coming October where you will be showcasing your research with educators nationally and internationally.  This is very exciting!
 
Q1: Can you give us a sneak peak of the insights you will be sharing at Casel’s pre-conference institute this fall? 
Q2: I know we’ve both heard this question many times, and it’s often the question kicked around in many different settings. I hope that this interview can shed some light on some solutions to bridge the gap that exists with the question. The question is….“Whose job is it to educate our kids?” Of course, we know the role of our schools to educate students, but teachers can’t be the only solution. With the fact that students are with their teachers around 6 hours/day, about 180 days/year, [iv] we can’t rely on only the school because there’s a lot of time they are not in school, bringing us to you, for your expertise.  Whose job is it?
Q3: What can/should parents be doing at home to support their child’s social and emotional learning? What does SEL look like integrated into family life? (examples for young children-teens)
Q4: How do parents access and translate the robust knowledge base from schools to support them in raising confident, responsible children?  What should parents be doing more of to support this new and emergent field?
Q5: How can schools who prioritize social and emotional learning authentically partner with families to maximize success with our children?
Q6: What would be your top 5 tips for a parent to improve their role to support their local school/educator?
Q7: Would be your top 5 tips for teachers to improve their role to support/connect better with parents?
Q8: I’m looking forward to the release of your book Confident Parents, Confident Kids: Raising Emotional Intelligence in Ourselves and Our Kids — and look will do all I can to promote your book to help more families. Can you give us some background on why you wrote this book, and the support it will provide for parents?
Q9: Thank you Jennifer for taking the time out of your day today. Is there anything you think we have missed, any final thoughts for parents/educators who either watch the video on YouTube, or hear the podcast, to learn more about supporting the home/school connection with social and emotional learning?
[i] https://confidentparentsconfidentkids.org/
[ii] https://selexchange.casel.org/
[iii] Pre-order Jennifer Miller’s Book on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Confident-Parents-Kids-Emotional-Intelligence/dp/1592339042/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=jennifer+miller+parenting&qid=1563316995&s=gateway&sr=8-2
[iv] Leading Education Podcast with Jeff Rose https://www.leadingedsolutions.com/about

Ron Hall of Valley Day School, PA on "Launching Your Neuroeducational Program"

Welcome back to the “Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast” this is Andrea Samadi. This interview will be broadcast on YouTube as well as on the regular podcast channel, so be sure to click on the link if you would like to view the video.  In this episode we have a special guest, Ron Hall, the Executive Director of Valley Day School[i] in Morristown, Pennsylvania to discuss how his school improved behavioral outcomes with a neuroscientific approach. If you take one look at Valley Day Schools website in the News Section you can see the forward-thinking nature of this school that is applying cutting edge technology in PE class that combines movement with intellect, challenging students to think while they move. They are using virtual reality to travel to different regions of the world and develop empathy. Teachers hold community meetings with students to get to the root cause of behavioral problems over punishment, and they teach their students about table etiquette, and social/emotional intelligence though advanced technology tools.Welcome Ron, thanks for joining us today.
When I saw the article written about your focus on social support rather than the old punitive approach, I knew I had to contact you so you could share your experiences to help other schools that might be thinking of implementing a program like yours. The more I read on your In the News Section of your website, the more excited I got to speak with you to learn more. I know that summer time is a time to get some rest to rejuvenate for the next year, so I do appreciate you speaking with me during the summer break to help others to see some of your strategies. 
Let’s dive into the questions… 
In your recent interview “Lessons in Leadership: How an Alternative School Improved Behavioral Outcomes with a Neuroscience Approach”[ii] from educationdive.com you mentioned how you were interested in using an understanding of the brain to facilitate learning prior to being hired at Valley Day School over 15 years ago. It was just a bit longer than that when I was a teacher in the classroom and looking for something like this to help me manage a classroom of behavioral students. My principal sent me to a Tribes workshop, but this was not even close to what I needed. What made you look at brain-based learning back then and what did you discover?
We know that 15 years ago there wasn’t the research around social and emotional learning that we now know impacts student achievement and behavior. What do you think is different now than 15 years ago with schools using these strategies to help improve student behavior that we know is tied into achievement? How are you teaching these skills?
What happens if some staff do not buy in, or you see some outliers? How do you handle that? Can you explain the demographics of Valley Day School so that other schools can learn from your experience and model your approach?
When I looked up your website valleyday.org right on your home page banner under “Cutting Edge Technology” I see a student on a computer with a brain jumping out of the screen. It looks like augmented reality (something I have been following for some time now). What program is that? How are you raising funds for such innovative tools?
Where do you see neuroeducation going in the next 5 years and I’m really curious what’s on your roadmap for your next steps in innovation?
I really do wish I knew these strategies back when I was in the classroom. It was probably one of the reasons I burnt out of the profession. I know that you believe that to “effectively manage behavior and improve learning, all staff members need to have a thorough understanding of how the brain operates.” Where would you suggest a school begin when looking to implement a neuroscientific approach to prevent teacher burnout? What are the most important components that teachers should grasp about the brain? Ron suggests starting with Harry Wong’s book, The First Day of School.[iii] What do you think students need to know about how the brain works? Teach students how the brain works. “If students understand how the brain works, they can gain greater control over their personal growth.  Therefore, we teach all students how the brain works.  The student will learn where emotions and thoughts come from; how the body reacts to stress and threats; and how life choices of nutrition, exercise, and sleep can profoundly impact their functioning.” (RH)
I know that your approach[iv] is centered around developing an environment focused on success. Can you explain how you have used the Bloom Sanctuary Model and Sanchez Resiliency Model to impact your school culture and climate?  
We know that what we can measure improves and there’s such an emphasis on measurable outcomes these days, how does what you cannot measure translate into measurable outcomes for you?
What are some of the Behavioral and Clinical Supports that you use for students? What do you have in place to help educators handle the stress that comes along with the job?
For some first steps to implement these strategies in a school or district, I know that having all staff on the same page is important to begin an implementation. “Do your work and research the leaders in the field. I recommend Dr. Lori Desautels [v] and Horatio Sanchez[vi] to begin with. Also Greg Benner [vii]
Is there anything else that I have missed that you think would be important for a District or School to know to implement neuroeducation as a strategy for improving student behavior and achievement?
[i] https://www.valleyday.org
[ii] https://www.educationdive.com/news/lessons-in-leadership-how-an-alternative-school-improved-behavioral-outcom/556977/
[iii] https://www.effectiveteaching.com/store/products/books/new-the-first-days-of-school-5th-edition
[iv] https://www.valleyday.org/domain/20
[v] http://revelationineducation.com/
[vi] https://www.learningandthebrain.com/education-speakers/Horacio-Sanchez
[vii] Gregg Benner @GJBenner on Twitter
 
 

Self-Awareness: Know Thyself

In this episode, we will introduce the first of six social and emotional learning competencies (self-awareness) that we will be diving deep into over the next six weeks. With each competency, we’ll investigate the best practices and strategies that educators/and the workplace can use for themselves to develop and improve their own SEL/Emotional Intelligence and well-being practices, before extending these strategies to their districts, schools, classrooms, workplaces and communities. We’ll offer ideas, tools and resources (in the show notes section) so that anyone can apply these skills themselves, and then teach others for improved results, focus and productivity.
With the buzz of the importance and need of social and emotional learning in our schools (and emotional intelligence training in our workplaces), we all know that developing a child’s SEL skills is just as important as their academic content to ensure student motivation and success throughout their school years as well as in their future careers. We do know that students with strong SEL health “demonstrate self-control, communicate well, problem solve, are empathetic, respectful, grateful, gritty and optimistic.”[i]  All of the skills our workforce is actively looking for.
We also know that neuroscience has advanced our understanding of these SEL skills. We know that there is a clear connection between educator cortisol increase and student cortisol increase, (meaning that when teachers are stressed, the students will in turn be stressed) and that teachers who demonstrate social and emotional learning competencies (like self-awareness, social awareness, self-regulation, decision-making, relationship building) are more likely to stay in the classroom longer because they are able to work more effectively with challenging students—one of the main reasons for educator burn out. This is something I remember well—since this was one of the reasons I left the classroom over 20 years ago. I wish I knew the research and had some of the tools that I know now, and the importance of working on myself, before considering an impact on others. I hope these ideas, can help offer solutions to deepen the student/teacher relationship as well as connect teachers back to their profession, providing them with that feeling of autonomy, and peace that we all are looking for in our workplace.
In the corporate world, these skills aren’t new, but they are “newly important” and of high urgency to develop in our future generations. A recent survey showed that 58 percent of employers say college graduates aren’t adequately prepared for today’s workforce, and those employers noted a particular gap in social and emotional skills. Our goal with this podcast is to close this gap by exploring six social and emotional learning competencies as a springboard for discussion and tie in how an understanding of our brain can facilitate these strategies. We want the ideas you take away with you to be actionable whether you are an educator working in a school, an employee of manager in a corporation, or someone just looking to take their skills to the next level. We have done all of the research for you and look forward to hearing about the results that you create.
Self-Awareness
Today we will begin with Self-Awareness to kick off our first SEL competency since to “know thyself” is the most substantial achievement we can have in our lifetime.
“The major value in life is not what you get. It’s what you become.” (Jim Rohn, American author, speaker and entrepreneur).
So let’s take a deeper look. What is self-awareness, why do we need it, and how can we get more of it?
Self-awareness is “the ability to see ourselves clearly, understand who we are, how others see us and how we fit into the world.”[ii] When we have self-awareness, we have a power within ourselves because there is a comfort in knowing who exactly who we are and where we fit into the larger world around us. Research shows that “people who are more self-aware have stronger relationships, are more creative, competent are better communicators and perform better at work.”[iii]
Here’s 6 Steps to Becoming More Self Aware
Know Thyself and Then Build Yourself Up With Self-Esteem and Courage: Have you taken the time to think about who you are? Do you know where you fit into your school, workplace, community, state, country and world? Do you know what your purpose is? Your Why? You are more than just an educator or employee in a corporation, but have you thought about, who exactly you are? If you work in the corporate world, I’m sure you can see that you are more than the day to day job that you are doing. Take some time to think about who you are. Let’s say that you were looking for a new job but lacked some of the skills listed in the job description. You know that you can learn these new skills, but now you must believe it and convince the person who will be interviewing you. The key to increasing your self-esteem is to build up your image of yourself, creating new neural pathways in your brain with your desired self-image and by weakening the old negative self-image that you don’t want anymore (perhaps the image of you in your current job or position). You can do this a few different ways but some of the most effective and proven strategies are:
 
Daily guided meditation focusing on building new neural pathways in the brain…thinking about the desired outcome.
Affirmations that you write yourself to create new neural pathways.
Stop caring about what other people think and just be yourself. Ignore the nay-sayers.
Stop comparing yourself to others!
 
Strong Self-Esteem (what you think of yourself) + Strong Self-Image (how you think others see you) = Confidence that Builds Competence you will need for the new position ----Creating Extra Energy to Overcome Obstacles that you will face and help you to reach the higher level of achievement. You have to believe and trust in yourself and your abilities in order for others to believe in you. Once you have mastered this skill, you will be well on your way to accomplishing anything.
Building Your Self-Esteem by Improving Your Courage
Brené Brown defines the original meaning of courage as “To share all of yourself. Share your whole story with your whole heart” [iv] even if we must share our vulnerabilities, fears and weaknesses. Remember that everyone has doubts, fears and insecurities. Those who can move forward despite them, are the ones will win. Being courageous also means to be vulnerable enough to share your weaknesses with others. This will allow you to ask for help when you need it.
Without courage you will never move up or forward in life. Remember: There will be no innovation without failure.
To put this into action—whether we are an educator, working in a school, an employee, working in a corporation, or an athlete on a sports team, we must know how our identity fits into the goals of our school, organization or team to reach our greatest levels of achievement. Once we know our identity, and how we fit in, we can begin to hone our skills to take us to the next level. There must be a reason you are showing up to school/work/practice/life day in and day out that goes beyond the grades/money you will earn for you to tap into your highest levels of achievement.
“Schools have a role in shaping students’ development of their own identity, agency, and a sense of purpose in their learning, as well as a role in preparing students with high level knowledge and skills they need to be thriving adults.” (Integrating Social, Emotional and Academic Development: An Action Guide for School Leadership Teams) page 4
For educators: Do you think about the identity of each of your students? Who are they? Do you know something about each one of them? Do you know/use their name? Can you keep up a conversation with them? Do you know what your students are passionate about? Can you tie this into your lesson? Beware of our tendency to teach others how we like to learn best. Be aware of individual student needs.
For workplace managers: Do you know your team members? Just like an educator who knows what motivates their students, do you know what motivates your employees? Why are they working in their current position? Can you tie this into your day to day interaction with them?
Once you know yourself it’s now more about “aligning” to your true self. When you go off track, you will know it (you will feel out of synch and disconnected) and it will be up to you to know yourself well enough to get yourself back on track where things just flow.
 
Don’t limit yourself: Remember to be careful of labelling yourself based on past performance. “Self-analysis can trap us if we don’t learn to let go of the past.”[v] We cannot base our decisions of what we think we are capable of doing based on what we have done in the past. When things go wrong in our lives, it can taint our self-image and prevent us from reaching for things we really want to be, do or have. Be careful of this trap as you think about who you are. Think about the times when something failed as a lesson that you learned from—not that there is anything wrong with you or your capabilities—but that you were not meant to be doing what failed—at that specific time.  In a world where it didn’t matter if you failed, what would you want to be doing? Not the things you know you can do already, (that are easy) or the things that don’t bring you excitement. What do you think about that brings you energy, excitement, joy, passion, perhaps some fear at the thought of it? This is where you must focus your attention to stretch, grow, and allow your true self to emerge.
 
Keep Stretching Yourself: Have you ever been given an assignment where you thought there was no way that you could complete this? It just seemed to be above your head, above your current capabilities. I have—for sure, but I still accepted the assignment with the goal to grow and challenge myself and it feels incredible when you complete something you thought you could never do at the start! What we find is that we often don’t know what we don’t know and that we are capable of doing much more than we think we can accomplish. Be sure that every quarter (four times a year) you think about whether you are really stretching yourself (with your career/work/finances, your health, relationships, and your contribution to the world). Is there something you have always wanted to do but just have no idea where to begin? Write down the ideas that come to mind and find someone who has done what you want to do. Finding a mentor to coach or guide you along the way is a surefire strategy to ensure that you take action.
 
Know Your Values: Do you know what values are important to you? Life and decision-making becomes much easier when you are clear on your top     values. I keep 5 values in front of me at all times and when I’m working, and something comes up, it’s not difficult to glance over at  what I have already acknowledged is important to me when making decisions.  There are many ways to uncover your values or things that are important to you in your life.  You can hire a coach to help you discover your values[vi] like I have done or discover them with some introspection. Try this activity to uncover your values. Take a piece of paper and on one side label it “Want This in My Life” and the other side is “Don’t Want This in My Life.”Think about your personal life and work life and start to fill in your list of all the things you want or don’t want.  You should be able to identify common themes or words will emerge as your values or things that you want in your life. You can also become clear of the things you DON’T want in your life by thinking of times when things were not going right in your personal or work life. Common themes will emerge on both sides of the list and you can identify things that are important to you. For me, my top values include health, growth and challenge. So, when making work decisions, I usually think “will this project offer me growth and challenge.” If not, I know to pass up the project as I will probably be bored and not do my best work. Same goes when learning how you operate in your personal life. If something goes against your values, you will know it, won’t be as productive and you will feel conflicted. It’s a lot easier to know your values up front to eliminate making choices that aren’t right for you.
 
Create a Morning Routine: Creating a morning routine will simplify your life and warm up your brain. When you wake up, the oldest part of your brain begins to drive you towards your goals that have rewards attached to them.  You can make it easier on your brain and eliminate decision fatigue (where you waste energy unnecessarily) or set yourself up for success with some careful planning the night before. Research shows that if you can take the time for a morning routine that involves becoming aware of your mental state, your brain will function much better for the rest of the day. You will be able to do more, with less stress.
 
Wake up, stretch, and focus on how you feel. What do you notice?
Focus on the positive parts of your day.
Visualize overcoming any obstacles that you can foresee.
Prepare for your day the night before to eliminate decision fatigue.
 
Be More Outward Focused: Finally, think about how you can help others.
For Educators: Who are your learners? Turn your attention to your students. Do you have strategies to help them discover their strengths? Help them to find out what they are passionate about. How can you bring their strengths/passions into your lessons to help motivate them? Do they have some idea of how their interests tie into the career that they are working towards?  I remember a student I was working with last year who was into cars. His face lit up when I gave an example using a car shop and asked him to answer the question…using something he cared about.
For the Workplace: Who are your employees? How can you help support or encourage them? Do you take the time to connect and check in with them at least on a weekly basis? Do you know what motivates them? What can you do to encourage them further?
Outcomes and Results:
When we can identify our true self, we can begin to focus on what difference we will make for others, not dwelling on past mistakes but using them as a catalyst to learn and grow from and create more meaning in our lives.
TO RECAP THIS EPISODE on the 6 Steps on Becoming More Self-Aware, we covered:
Take some time to get to know yourself and discover your identity. Learn how you fit into your school, community, workplace, organization or team. Improve your courage with a strong self-image (what you think of yourself). Having a strong self-image is crucial to ensure that nothing will knock you off course with your goals, however, everyone will experience self-doubt. You must have strategies in place to help you to move past these blocks, and mentors to guide you along the way.
Don’t limit yourself. Be careful not to base your future decisions of what you think you are capable of doing based on what you have done in the past. What do you think about that brings you energy, excitement, joy, passion, perhaps some fear at the thought of it? This is where you must focus your attention to stretch, grow, and allow your true self to develop.
Keep stretching yourself to reach beyond where you think you can go. Find a mentor to coach or guide you along the way.
Know your values and decision-making is much easier.
Create a morning routine to simplify your life.
Be outward focused and give back to others.
That wraps up our 2nd episode on Strategies to Become more self aware. We hope you find the tips helpful! Next episode we will dive deeper into Social-Awareness and Looking Beyond Yourself to Help Others.
Resources:
Self-Awareness: Definition, Benefits and How to Improve by Sylvi Saxena June 17, 2021 https://www.choosingtherapy.com/self-awareness/ 
The Montgomery County (Ohio) Education Service Center and Ohio Department of Education video on Self-Awareness https://vimeo.com/339138555/1316a95190
VIDEO YouTube “5 Strategies to Improve Your Self-Awareness” (3:08)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-lmNqWUvWI&list=PLb5Z3cA_mnKj5C1ZYZt2bFXnDXFTENhPR&index=6&t=13s
[i] SEL: The Why and Hows of Implementation in a School District (Edweb) https://home.edweb.net/webinar/sel20190404/  (April 4, 2019)
[ii] “Increase Your Self-Awareness with One Simple Fix” YouTube uploaded Nov. 2017 Tasha Eurich https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGdsOXZpyWE
[iii] “Increase Your Self-Awareness with One Simple Fix” YouTube uploaded Nov. 2017 Tasha Eurich https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGdsOXZpyWE
[iv] Dr. Brené Brown: The Two Most Dangerous Words in Your Vocabulary | Super Soul Sunday | OWN (4:06) Published on March 17, 2013. https://www. youtube.com/watch?v=4XTcB1evO8c
[v]  “Increase Your Self-Awareness with One Simple Fix” YouTube uploaded Nov. 2017 Tasha Eurich https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGdsOXZpyWE
[vi] Email Values Coach Fran Henry Fran@ultimate.life for more information on values coaching.