2022 TEACH BETTER CONFERENCE

What if elementary teachers were told to SLOW DOWN in their classrooms?   Slow down and allow time for your students to develop.  Let them play and have fun – that is how kids learn.  Teach them strategies for gaining a positive perspective.  Help them to believe that they can do hard things.  Help them to discover their own unique gifts and talents.  Slow down to help them develop an organic love for learning.
What would happen if Elementary Teachers slowed down and focused more on developmental areas?
I believe that by the time they reach upper elementary, they will be better prepared for the hustle and rigor of education today.
Considered what we know:
• We know that students’ anxiety rates (and suicide rates, by the way) are higher than ever before.
• We know that some school districts’ mentality of “race to the top” has forced teachers to replace certain learning activities with more complex academics.
• We know that in primary education, the standards are higher than ever before, while the development of kids remains the same.
• We know that developing the brain’s frontal lobe would enable students to be better organized, focused, and in control of their inhibitions.
• We know that teaching students about perception and mindset would make all the difference.
• We know that you can’t expect a student to write a paragraph if they don’t have the muscle control and strength in their hands to do the writing.
• We know that children are curious. They have a need to explore and discover.
• We know that science, technology, engineering, arts, and math are topics of interest and necessity.
• We know that kids need to have fun.
• We know that teachers needed to know they are doing what is best for their students.
Slowing down to focus on developmental growth will make a difference. Just as an archer slowly pulls the arrow back, taking time to focus on what is important, we can hit our targeted goals by doing the same—slowing down to focus on Executive Function Skills, Growth Mindset, Motor Skills, Handwriting, Sensory Integration, Foundations of Literacy, Play-Based Learning, and Our Own Teaching Pedagogy
I will share practical strategies for building a firm foundation for learning by focusing on the areas of developmental growth. In a time when education has become so fast paced, are you ready to be the one who slows down, builds the foundation, equips your students developmentally, and makes a difference?