Luke Nielsen Media

Moths will leave themselves exposed to predators as they hover around artificial light. They've even dive into open flames. They become entranced by the glow.

We're the same. We are often attracted to things that might do us harm.

Moths are drawn to light because they navigate by the moon. We have to set our own celestial body, our own purpose, to pull us from the fire.

We're continuing our work with social awareness, relationship skills and responsible decision-making, and this week we're looking at groups.

Belonging to a group can be a very positive thing. We need connections, but group memberships also comes with risks. Groupthink threatens creativity and individuality. We must consider our groups and how they impact our lives.

We often feel like personal growth is about adding things to our lives.

Sometimes, that's true. Other times, it's better to cut things out of our lives, to trim away those things that take up our energy and add no value.

As part of our ongoing discussion of social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making, we're examining popularity.

We often seek connections, but there is a difference between attention and connection. We want genuine connections; so we're going to look at what popularity is, why we care about it, and if we should.

There's something I hear a lot from young people today.

It's "thanks".

I'm fortunate to work with amazing young people, and I want to thank them, too.

I had the opportunity to sit down and chat with Dr. Steve Fouts, educator and CEO of Teach Different.

Teach Different is a phenomenal program for educators, students, and families of all kinds. The curriculum is designed to encourage and support meaningful conversations, and Teach Different provides many ready-to-use resources.

Check out our discussion and the links below for more.

https://teachdifferent.com/​

https://www.instagram.com/teachdiffer...​

https://twitter.com/iteachdifferent

Loneliness is one of the most painful parts of being a person.

That's why discussion is important. It lets us know we're not really alone.

We all make mistakes. We all get off track. The best we can do is save the day we have.

We're still talking about social awareness and relationship skills, but we're moving away from our digital engagements.

I'm asking my students to interview someone. For me, an interview is simply a conversation with intent. It's engaging with another person and seeking understanding. It's working toward empathy.

We're not looking to make an argument or even present our own perspectives this week. We're simply seeking to know another person more deeply.

We're continuing our work with social awareness, social engagement, and relationship skills by implementing some media management strategies.

We want to control our media consumption. We don't want it controlling us.

We want to ensure our media engagements are adding to our lives.