The Schoolwhisperer

When your kid has been struggling in school and then something, hopefully, Clicks, it can feel like a miracle! Truth is- a lot goes into making the miracle happen. It's an imprecise mixture of teacher, student, attitude, context, and pedagogy. In this episode, Dr. Pressley shares a math miracle and dives into why and how her kid finally said, "I think I'm starting to like math!" Send comments, questions and ideas to: heather@therootcollaborative. Check out The School Whisperer blog here.

There are many concerns about students using Open AI and ChapGPT to cheat in school. But is that really the problem? What if it has more to do with teachers than students? In this episode, Dr. Pressley discusses the root causes of cheating in school and shares ways to engage students in thinking and creating instead of memorizing and repeating.

Kids can be impulsive and emotional which is part of growing up. Not to mention, the part of the brain that helps with long-term thinking has not yet developed. Kids also place significant importance on friendships and their developing social lives- outside the home and away from parents. Add a serving of technology to this recipe- an ever-present, instantaneous connection to friends, peers, and a larger audience and you get the potential for rash decisions with adverse consequences. So, how do we help our kids navigate this digital landscape? In this episode, Dr. Pressley shares a story of her 11-year-old and how she uses collaborative, parental guidance for peer-to-peer communication that teaches responsibility and fosters stronger bonds. For more, visit our blog here.

While we may have limits and parameters for screens and media in our homes for our kids, they are exposed to media outside the home- in school and with friends- that is not within our control. In this episode, Dr. Pressley shares her stories of raising her 11-year-old in media overload and provides tips for parents to help their kids make sense of the media they see and hear when parents are not around.

What are the three things that made your schooling memorable? Do you sometimes think, it was so much better back in my day? In this episode, Dr. Pressley takes a trip down memory lane to explore her experiences in elementary and high school—in the 1970s and 1980s—as well as her early teaching in the 1990s—up to today—all to figure out the 3 fundamental tenets that make schools work no matter the time or the place.

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No one wants to see their child struggle in school, so why is it so hard for a parent to help sometimes? In this episode, Dr. Pressley shares her experience on this topic and explains how as a School Coach, she helps families find root causes of school issues, creates doable solutions, and relieves some of the stress that school struggles can cause for a family.

A school is are complex organization with a lot of moving parts and things can change day to day. Why is it that when changes happen that directly affect students, we leave them out of the conversation? In this episode, Dr. Pressley talks about how teacher changes can impact students and how to prepare and support them through to the other side so they can thrive.

When you think about all our differences as humans, there is one "thing" we all share in common: "school." Almost every adult has experienced education (lack of) or schooling in some form or another which means we all have beliefs, memories, and expectations for what school is and what school should be. So what does that mean for our kids today? In this episode, Dr. Pressley explores how our schooling past impacts how we show up today for our kids, students, and ourselves.

Why is it that we hurry students to be ready for the "next thing" when we haven't given them time to experience where they are now? It happens at both home and school, that in our desire to prepare our kids for a successful future, we end up stressing them out about the future while at the same time losing sight of the little steps we need to teach to get them there. In this episode, Dr. Pressley talks about the hurry phenomena in schools and homes and what we can do about it.

As parents and families, we want to support our students the best we can from home- hopefully in alignment with what's going on in school, but that requires good communication. Progress reports- which come midway before final grades- are meant to guide students and families on what's working, what's not and how to move forward successfully. However if progress reports are simply lists of grades, assignments, and averages- how does that help? In this epiosode, Dr. Pressley talks about the current state of progress reports and how we can do better.