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I was excited by my lesson plan about the presidential elections. I planned to help students research issues and form opinions by guiding them through a variety of perspectives. Then my student teacher asked a question that surprised me. “Do you ever have parents complain about elections being discussed in school?” he wanted to know. “Why would they?” I asked.

What does your body language communicate to students?

When it seems that tragedies are happening in rapid succession, we evoke a quote from educator and television host Fred Rogers of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. As a boy, his mother told him that when scary thing happen to “look for the helpers.”

Five-year-old Ellie started off the year on good footing. She not only joined her classmates in play but was able to negotiate with friends when conflicts arose. When she was at an activity in the classroom, whether at an art activity or in the block corner, she would almost get lost in her own motivation and passion. Each day, her rapport with her peers and teachers increased. Then things began to change.

Sarah had a strange way about her. She would focus so completely on whatever she was reading that she seemed oblivious to the world around her. However, when the volume in the room reached a certain level, she would burst out with a screaming plea at her classmates to be quiet. “I can’t take anymore of this noise,” she’d yell. At other times, she made loud exclamations to no one in particular. “My mom makes great cinnamon rolls,” she announced one day while unpacking her materials.

The beginning of the school year is always filled with excitement, but this year our school initiated a project that is still taking on a life of its own.