Students tend to respond academically when they believe their teachers and administrators are taking a positive personal interest in their education. Many principals and educators often employ motivational stunts as rewards and as learning tools for their K-8 students as one sure way of motivating academic achievement. Frank Sennett's…

Today's schools are responding to the pressing need for positive student-teacher relationships that promote successful learning and prevent dropouts and violence. To meet this challenge, many secondary schools are reorganizing around smaller schools or "houses" and structuring longer blocks of learning time. Authors Elliot Y. Merenbloom and…

Not all children cope equally well with the stresses and traumas life throws their way, and every educator recognizes that "deer in the headlights" look some children get when current events and past traumas combine to trigger a fight-or-flight stress response. No matter how safe the classroom may be in reality, trauma deactivates cognitive…

Even in elementary school, students suffer from bullying and harassment at the hands of other students. Often, educators resort to using stricter forms of behavior modification to stop bullying. But usually this fails to solve the problem while threatening the student-teacher relationship. Chosen by the National Bullying Prevention Campaign for…