10 Things Schools Still Do That Don’t Work (And What Works Better Instead) From a therapist and former school principal If we want better outcomes for students, we have to be willing to question what we’ve always done. Many common school practices continue not because they are effective, but because they are familiar. A few shifts that matter: • Emotional needs before academics (Maslow before Bloom) • Don’t take away recess… kids need movement (even prisoners get time on the yard) • Sitting all day doesn’t work… build in movement • Focus on growth, not just grades • Suspension doesn’t fix behavior… teach skills instead • You don’t fatten the pig by weighing it… less testing, more teaching • Worksheets don’t build a love of learning • Less memorizing, more thinking • Teach in different ways… not just how you learn best • Stop overloading homework… kids are exhausted (at minimum, grade completion only) Small shifts. Big impact. When students feel safe, regulated, and connected… learning follows. #education #teachers #schoolleadership #studentengagement #mentalhealth #traumainformed #edchat

A great educator can be life changing, especially for the student who is struggling quietly, carrying trauma they do not have words for, or walking into school each day already believing they are not smart enough, good enough, or worthy of love. Sometimes the greatest gift a teacher gives is not just instruction. It is safety. It is patience. It is believing in a child before that child knows how to believe in themselves. For the student who has known chaos, rejection, failure, or pain, one caring educator can become the steady voice that says, “You matter. You are capable. You are not broken. Do not give up.” And those words, repeated through kindness, consistency, and love, can begin to heal what the world has hurt. Long after the lessons are forgotten, students remember the educator who saw past the behavior, past the fear, past the walls, and helped them see a future they never thought was possible.