Welcome to the Duck Pond Blog!
Your go-to source for all things education, trauma-informed, leadership, and beyond!
Our experts share some of their favorite tools, strategies, resources, and suggestions.
Embracing the Light: A Magical Encounter Reminds Me of Kindness in the World
Recently, I've noticed that I've been unintentionally viewing the world through the lens of cynicism. Normally, I see a lot of light and positivity in everything around me, but lately, it feels like I've been surrounded by darkness. The constant exposure to negative news, crime podcasts, and dark-themed books seemed to have taken a toll on my perception of the world and the people in it.
AI chatbots. Maybe not the end of the world.
For those of you just catching up, artificial intelligence software rolled out late last fall and is designed to mimic the thinking and writing of actual people. The concern is that students will use AI chatbots to create products in response to classroom assignments and submit those products as their own work. Could this happen? Absolutely. Has this sort of thing been going on for years? Also absolutely.
5 Habit-Forming Rituals to Start & Grow Your Trauma-Informed PBL This School Year
Most times when we start down the path of Project Based Learning, we take it slowly, tackling 1-3 projects in our first year. That’s a great idea because it gives us a chance to run a project, reflect, retool, and go again, without overwhelming ourselves or our students. But often, I’m asked by go-getter teachers what should/could be done in those in-between times. They recognize that kids gain skills, knowledge, and general “want-to” attitudes the more we offer great PBL opportunities.
Commitment vs Compliance
Are you committed or are you compliant? What does that mean in terms of leadership and as an employee?
Love and Hurry are Incompatible
You know that word "REST" we've been hearing about? Yeah, it used to bug me because it felt like giving up. The past year has been full of surprises, and REST keeps showing up in random places - podcasts, stories from friends, and even research stuff. Got me curious, you know?
Presence.
If you have been following the work of the Resilience Team, you’re aware about how we, as educators, want to respond rather than react when something is going on around us. When we react, it’s often because we don’t feel safe and we’re in our Fight/Flight/Freeze/Fawn mode, ie, our brainstem. And when we respond, we’re working from a rational prefrontal cortex mode.