Reach Before You Teach: Ignite Passion and Purpose in Your Classroom

by Paula P. Prentis, Christine K. Parrott, Amy K. Smith

Overview

Facilitating students’ unique paths towards identity development is the key to teaching young teens.

Students face pressures that undermine the development of a solid sense of self, jeopardizing success in school and in life: Family issues, economic concerns, media influences, social pressures, physical changes, and more influence how students feel about themselves.
When these go unnoticed, even the best teaching methods fall short. Reach Before You Teach shows educators how to form the nurturing, individualized connections that make students feel worthy, fulfilled, and ready to flourish as learners. 

The book details:

• Practical, empowering information about how a sense of self comes to be, and what threatens it.
• Interventions that soften the myriad defenses students develop to protect themselves.
• How to address the often-overlooked connections between physical, social, and emotional health and classroom performance.

Packed with real-life examples and results-delivering exercises, Reach Before You Teach supplies educators with the all-important skills to connect with students so academic and life success feels more attainable.

"In our present education system that seems to be caught up with numbers and standardization, this book is a welcomed read. Education will never improve if we don’t make the social-emotional skills of children our first priority."
—Peter DeWitt, Principal
Poestenkill Elementary School, NY

"This book is a must-read for all who want to encourage self-awareness and self-reflection during classroom instruction and help students feel more connected, curious, and confident! Students no doubt will achieve emotionally and academically with help from the strategies in this book."
—Dr. Ann Marie Dargon, Assistant Superintendent of Schools
Westport Community Schools, MA

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781483339665
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
Publication date:	09/17/2013
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	216
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Paula Prentis was a conflict resolution counselor and a rape crisis counselor in New York City before earning her master′s degree in social work (MSW) at New York University. Later, she continued training at Westchester Institute for Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy and worked in private practice. Prentis is certified in past life regression therapy and continues her professional interests through workshops, lectures, and conferences in neuroscience and the mind/body connection.

In addition, with Chris Parrott, Prentis is the coauthor of the Your Self Series of books and website. Your Self Series is a curriculum that facilitates teen identity development and is taught as part of an advisory class, a health class, or an after-school program.

Prentis and Parrott lecture nationwide on issues pertaining to teens and mental health in schools. They continually update and populate the Your Self Series website with relevant teen information and lesson plans for educators. They have three other products that all aim to influence children to be the best they can be while combating obesity and improving overall health and well-being: YourChatMat.com; YourStacs; and HealthyStacs.
Chris Parrott earned her bachelor′s degree with a psychology major at Dartmouth and went on to study counseling psychology at the City University in London, England, where she earned both her master′s and postmaster′s degrees, and the distinguished title of the British Psychological Society (BPS) Chartered Counseling Psychologist. She also has a diploma in hypnosis from London University. Parrott has published various articles in Counseling Review Quarterly and chapters in psychology training books, and she has coauthored a book titled Doing Therapy Briefly. Parrott was also a media consultant on behalf of the BPS and has been quoted in The Times, The Look, and The Daily Express.
Amy Smith was a high school English teacher for over 15 years in the states of Texas, California, and New Jersey, which gave her a diverse experience within the educational sector and a broad spectrum of teacher contacts. Working as an English teacher and, later, as a media specialist for another 15 years, Smith′s primary focus was always on the individual spirit of each student who passed through her doors--or walked onto her court: She acted as a tennis coach for several years alongside her teaching. Indeed, her passion for her students led her to numerous conventions and professional development seminars over the years where she expanded both her knowledge and contacts. Now retired, Smith enjoys time with her partner, two daughters, and grandson while continuing to look for opportunities to positively affect teen education.

Table of Contents

Preface
A Child’s Sense of Self Is of Paramount Concern
The Focus and Purpose of This Book
This Book Applies to Educators of Teens
The Bottom Line
About the Authors
1. The Self
What You Will Learn in This Chapter
What Do We Mean by the Self?
The Self in School
Social Emotional Learning: Its Importance and How the Self Enables SEL Potential
How Does a Sense of Self Contribute to Personal Success and to Society?
Steps to Success – For Teaching and for You
Chapter Summary
2. The Development of the Self: Understand and Connect With the Self Behind the Desk
What You Will Learn in This Chapter
Early Attachment and Self Development
True Self Versus False Self: The Battle Begins
Making Connections
Chapter Summary
3. The Unaware Emotional Self: Soften Defenses to Foster Academic and Personal Growth
What You Will Learn in This Chapter
The Purpose of Defenses
The Development of Defenses and How They Inhibit Optimal Learning
Common Defense Mechanisms and How They May Manifest in the Classroom
How to Manage Defenses Through Interventions That Build the Self
Chapter Summary
4. The Aware Emotional Self: Provide Tools for Emotional Management
What You Will Learn in This Chapter
Emotional Awareness - Knowing Your Temperature
Emotional Management – Shutting the Window
The Emotional Self in the Classroom
The Benefits
Chapter Summary
5. The Cognitive Self: Use Cognitive Understanding to Awaken Potentials
What You Will Learn in This Chapter
Brain Structure and Related Functions
Stress on the Brain
Neuroplasticity: The Role of Experiences
Improving Motivation
Chapter Summary
6. The Social Self: Consolidate the Self in the Social World
What You Will Learn in This Chapter
Set a Positive Social Tone in Your Classroom
Top Social Skills
Teamwork
Chapter Summary
7. The Physical Self: Support the Physical Self for Optimal Overall Health
What You Will Learn in This Chapter
The Importance of Physical Health
Exercise and Health
Nutrition and Health
Sleep and Health
The Mind/Body Connection
The Physical Self in the Classroom
Chapter Summary
8. The Self in the School Climate: How to Put the Environment to Work for You
What You Will Learn in This Chapter
What Is School Climate?
Personal Principles of Behavior
School Wide Policies
Parents and the Off-Campus Community
Chapter Summary
9. The Self: Decision-Making, Motivation, and Giving Back
What You Will Learn in This Chapter
Where Are We?
Where Can We Go From Here?
Decision-Making – The Sine Qua Non of Self Skills
Motivation
Final Interventions
Chapter Summary
References
Index

Editorial Reviews

"In our present education system that seems to be caught up with numbers and standardization, Prentis’ book is a welcomed read. Education will never improve if we don’t make the social-emotional skills of children our first priority. "

Peter De Witt

"With the growing focus on mental health issues in our communities today this book is a much needed publication and very timely. Thanks to the mental health professionals who worked to make this easily applicable to the school environment and to give school professionals guidance in how to structure our schools so that students develop a strong sense of self. "

Dr. Janice Wyatt-Ross

"This book is a must for all educators wanting to help students understand their emotional 'Self' and its impact on their academic and future success. "

Diane P. Smith

"This book is a must-read for all who want to encourage self-awareness and self-reflection during classroom instruction and help students feel more connected, curious and confident! Students no doubt will achieve emotionally and academically with help from some strategies in this book. "

Dr. Ann Marie Dargon

"This book is filled with useful material that will help educators better relate to their students and empower them to reach their full potential. "

Steve Reifman