The Teacher Toolbox for a Calm and Connected Classroom: Teacher-Friendly Mental Health Strategies to Help You and Your Students Thrive

The Teacher Toolbox for a Calm and Connected Classroom is a whole-child, whole-hearted approach to teaching, wellness, and student--teacher relationships. Chock-full of practical advice and brain-based tools from an experienced teacher and counselor, this book solves the question of how psychology and education can enrich and empower both teachers and students' wellness. Peppered with relatable anecdotes from the authors' experiences, the book deals with how to help unpack the' "invisible backpack" that both teachers and students bring into the classroom. Chapters are broken down to show how to practically address common issues such challenging behavior, social-emotional learning, trauma-informed education, attachment theory, mindfulness, mental health and much more. Each chapter outlines these common challenges but also provides an abundance of practical tools that can be used to help. Written accessibly, and with tools which are easy to implement, The Teacher Toolbox for a Calm and Connected Classroom is an indispensable guide for any teacher.

Table of Contents:
Part One: The Case for Relationships. Part Two: How to Deal with Adverse Childhood Experiences, Trauma and Chronic Stress in the Classroom. Part Three: Weathering the Storm: How to Prevent and Process Meltdowns, Burnout and Other Natural Disasters.

About the Author :
Joanna Schwartz, M.Ed, MA is an elementary school teacher and has trained and practiced as a family therapist, running trainings for schools and school districts. She currently trains 600-700 teachers and counsellors a year. Joanna's concept and pitch for her business Toolbox for Teachers won Mika Brezinski's (MSNBC' Morning Joe) popular Know Your Value Business Plan Competition.

Review :
As someone who supports educator leaders at the National Education Association, I know that a calm and connected teacher is a calm and connected leader. All educators should have the opportunity to read this book and the support to implement its practices. In a world consumed by a global pandemic, Joanna Schwartz's insistence on the importance of mental health in schools has never been more timely and important. We take for granted that educators know how to develop, maintain and enhance relationships with students of any age. This book is crammed with an extraordinary array of simple, easy and practical ways to connect with young people, to understand what their behaviour might mean, to understand our own assumptions and biases, and to help them (and ourselves) to cope when it is all too much. The Teacher Toolbox for a Calm and Connected Classroom is an eye opening, practical, and engaging book that is written to be revisited over and over. It provides tools to help our students thrive, with a focus on the importance of teachers caring for both their students and their own overall well-being. This is a must read for EVERY teacher, at every grade level. I was blown away by the resources, the organization, and the ideas for connection found in this book. I was even more struck by the stories of children who needed us to take a second look at how we respond to their challenges. This book offers the right tools, strategies, and more importantly, the emphasis on relationship that a classroom needs to be trauma-informed and restorative in nature. It is great resource I imagine most teachers will return to over and over. This is the book I wish I had when I first embarked on my journey in education. Joanna writes from the perspective of a fellow teacher who knows, who understands, and who has developed actionable opportunities for readers to foster their own vulnerability, empathy, and self-compassion in this work. Thank you, Joanna, for highlighting not only the importance of self-care but also the necessity of community-care...especially in the post-COVID education environment. I love this book. It is inspirational, practical, wise and vitally important. It covers much that I recognize from my own work in relational and restorative practice yet in a way that is fresh, informative and utterly compelling. How could anyone resist reading a chapter on attachment theory entitled - Like Porcupines on a Cold Night?