Internationally recognized author & educator for professionals, parents, and kids
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Interview with Signe Whitson on NativeAdVantage
08 years
by signewhitson
in Uncategorized
Earlier this month, I had the honor of being interviewed by The Native Society, an online global health & wellness platform. Here’s a piece of our conversation:
Signe Whitson: author, international educator on Bullying Prevention, & Director of Counseling, The Swain School in Pennsylvania
Monday, December 11, 2017 at 12:34PM
Bio:
Signe Whitson is an author, international educator on Bullying Prevention, and Director of Counseling at The Swain School in Pennsylvania. In her articles, books, and workshops, Signe provides down-to-earth, practical advice for navigating the daily challenges of living and working with children, tweens and teens. As a mother of two daughters, Signe relates to parents on a personal level. She is also the Chief Operating Officer of the Life Space Crisis Intervention Institute, an international training and certification program for turning crisis situations into learning opportunities for children and youth with chronic patterns of self-defeating behaviors.
What Do I Do Best?
Since I was young, I could always count on having the perfect response or comeback…ten minutes after it was needed in a situation. As a writer, on the other hand, I’m better able to collect my thoughts and present them in-the-moment. I can’t say I love writing, but I do love having written and think I am most effective when I use the written word to share knowledge, insights, and strategies for helping young people cope with conflict, manage anger, and solve social problems.
What makes me the best version of myself?
Coffee and red wine?
Or maybe compassion, empathy, and a determination to look beyond surface behavior and aim to understand the thoughts and feelings that underlie a young person’s actions.
Probably a combination of all of the above.
For more of the interview, please visit:
http://thenativesociety.com/nativeadmission/2017/12/11/signe-whitson-author-international-educator-on-bullying-prev.html
8 Keys to End Bullying Now Available in Spanish!
08 years
by signewhitson
in Uncategorized
8 Keys to End Bullying: Strategies for Parents & Schools is now available in Spanish! I have a small number of review copies available if you live or work in a community or school that would benefit from this resource. Leave me a comment below, if interested in receiving a translated copy!
Back to School Prep for Coping with Bullying
08 years
by signewhitson
in Uncategorized
Looking for ideas to help prepare your child, tween, or teen to successfully navigate challenging peer dynamics, conflict, and bullying? Check out what readers–including this School Psychologist and Mom of 3–are saying about the 8 Keys to End Bullying Activity Book:
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Resource
By: Amazon Customeron August 18, 2017
Format: Paperback
I LOVE this book! As a school psychologist and mother of 3, ages 11-16, this is an incredible resource. The book is divided into 8 “Keys” in order to learn what bullying behavior looks like, how to deal with it, and how to be an advocate to end it. There are realistic examples with opportunities for kids to process how they would handle each situation, in addition to answer keys and clear cut phrases/actions that kids could use if put into similar situations. I particularly loved that the author included a chapter on how our brains work in stress situations, using simple enough language for young ones to understand the difference between the limbic system (which controls our emotional response) and pre-frontal cortex (our thinking brain). I highly recommend this book to educators and parents of kids and tweens in order to help their children learn healthy ways to navigate their social worlds.
Order your copy here: https://www.amazon.com/Keys-Bullying-Activity-Book-Tweens/dp/0393711803/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1503153527&sr=8-2&keywords=8+keys+to+end+bullying
Goal for 2017-18 School Year: Connect with the Things that Make Your Students Come to Life
08 years
by signewhitson
in Uncategorized
“Connecting with each student is very important to me,” the science teacher explained. “Tapping into what makes them excited … what makes them come to life … is my goal,” he explained.”
This terrific article from Hands Free Mama offers a simple, genius strategy that all educators and counselors can use to genuinely connect with students. Remember, real learning occurs only in the context of trusting & supportive relationships.
https://www.handsfreemama.com/2016/09/09/the-index-card-every-kid-needs-to-get-today/
6 Simple Strategies to Stop Bullying
08 years
by signewhitson
in Uncategorized
Bullying among school-aged children is a pervasive problem in the United States. If there was a magic wand, one-size-fits-all solution to the problem, it would have been suggested and implemented long ago. You wouldn’t be thinking about it and I wouldn’t be writing about it. Bringing an end to bullying involves comprehensive school culture shifts as well as convincing young people (and the adults in their lives!) to use social power fairly and justly, at all times. Changing human dynamics, as we all know, is neither easy nor swift.
That’s the bad news.
The good news is that time-consuming, complicated solutions are trumped each and every day by the small, powerful acts that trustworthy adults can use to signal to individual kids that their dignity is paramount and that their safety will be prioritized.
At the risk of oversimplifying a very complex issue among young people, but at the hope of creating a go-to roadmap for educators, counselors, youth workers, and parents, this article I just posted on PsychologyToday offers 6 simple strategies for upgrading our approach to bullying in schools. Please check it out and share with professionals and parents who are looking for guidance in this area.
Click here to read and share the full article.
The Backfire Effect: Our Brains & New Information
08 years
by signewhitson
in Uncategorized
All week long, I have been reading and re-reading a poem on a card on my desk. You may have heard it:
A wise old owl sat in an oak.
The more he saw, the less he spoke.
The less her spoke, the more he heard.
Why aren’t we like that wise old bird?
Then, I found this on Facebook. It. Is. Brilliant.
My very favorite lines: “And then I listen. And then I change.”
Please check out the full cartoon at http://theoatmeal.com/comics/believe
How to Listen so that Kids Will Talk About Bullying
08 years
by signewhitson
in Uncategorized
Ok, friends, so, go easy on me! This is my first YouTube video. I can comfortably stand in front of a group of 1,000 people and talk about how to help young people understand and manage bullying…but recording myself on video is a WHOLE. DIFFERENT. STORY. Like, terrifying!
Here’s the thing; last Spring, I made myself a goal of posting some videos of my 8 Keys to End Bullying training excerpts. I wrote that goal down and now, true to my Type-A-personality form, I have to follow through. Here’s my first attempt! Let me know what you think (but only the good things of course because cyberbullying a Bullying Prevention speaker would be totally not cool.)
And if you want to hear more of what I have to say or have me say it LIVE and in person (so much preferred!), check out my Workshops & Speaking page or email me at signe@signewhitson.com
Here it is: How to Listen so that Kids Will Talk About Bullying, featuring 5 steps for helping your young person feel safe enough and supported to come to you when he/she is facing peer conflict and/or bullying.
Thanks for watching!
New Zealand Youth Create Anti-Bullying Campaigns Using 8 Keys to End Bullying!
08 years
by signewhitson
in Uncategorized
There is nothing that thrills an author more than knowing that their ideas and words are helpful to others. When you find out that those “others” include amazing 10-12 year olds from halfway around the globe, it’s even more of an honor!
What fun to hear from Karla Sanders, Co-Founder and Director of New Zealand’s Anti-Bullying charity organization, Sticks ‘n Stones that a group of her student ambassadors were inspired by the “Are you a Duck or a Sponge” activity from my 8 Keys to End Bullying Activity Book and expanded on the lesson in order to create these AMAZING posters.
Thank you, ambassadors, for all of the great thought, creativity, and artistry that went into this project! Please keep sharing your work and keep up your efforts to promote respect, acceptance and diversity.
Everyday Kindness Campaigns at School
08 years
by signewhitson
in Uncategorized
As an author and educator on Bullying Prevention, one of the strategies I talk about most to professionals, parents, and kids is the powerful impact of cultivating cultures of kindness in classrooms and schools. At my school, here’s one of the everyday ways we get students involved in lifting each other up.