【推荐1】Kindergarten represents a crucial environment in which children develop school-related skills and patterns of engagement. They form the basis for the development of later competence which is important for academic success. As for later academic skills, kindergarten achievements have been found to have great predictive value.

Given the long-lasting effects that kindergarten experiences have on later schooling, it is important to understand the factors associated with children's learning and motivation during this time. The quality of teacher-student interaction has been found to be important in terms of many different academic and socio-emotional outcomes. However, much of the previous work in the field has focused on children in later grades in elementary school and has been conducted in the United States. Fewer studies have been conducted in other educational environments and in kindergarten specifically.

Some researchers investigated bidirectional links between the quality of teacher-child relationships and children’s interest and pre-academic skills in literacy and math in Finland. Participants were 461 Finnish kindergarteners (6-year-olds) and 48 teachers.

The results indicated that teacher-perceived(教师感知的)conflicts predicted children’s lower pre-academic skills in both literacy and math. It is possible that when children experience conflicts with teachers, the negative emotions attached to these conflicts are harmful to children’s engagement in learning and curtail their interest in academic tasks. It’s also possible that children experiencing conflicts are missing out on time for learning literacy and math, either because they become separated from instructional activities or because teachers have to spend more instructional time on behavioral management.

The findings highlight the importance of kindergarten teachers being aware of how their relationships with children can influence children’s later schooling. Therefore, it would be important to develop pre-service and in-service programs and interventions to help teachers. Teacher education programs may also benefit teachers not only in academic content and peda-gogical (教育学的)practices but also in strategies used to build supportive relationships with children.

【推荐2】Looking around your classroom, you know which students struggle to manage their emotions.

The thing is, if we want to change children’s behavior, the first thing we have to change is our own. When a student misbehaves, having a plan of action can make all the difference. The FLIP IT strategy from the Devereux Center for Resilient Children is a four-step sequence that you can use to help your students learn about their feelings, gain self-control and reduce challenging behavior. Here’s how it works:

F: Feelings

    1    The first part of FLIP IT is to name and acknowledge the student’s feelings. For example, when your student Jon takes one look at the assignment you handed out and pushes the papers off his desk, crosses his arms over his chest and slumps in his chair, you can approach him and whisper, “I can see that you’re frustrated right now...”

TIP: Rather than asking children “why” they did something, ask “what” questions. Often, kids don’t know the why behind their behavior.

L: Limits

Limits set the expectations for students, communicate that you care, and provide boundaries for problem solving. After you’ve acknowledged a student’s feelings, remind him of the limit.     2    In the previous example, you would name a limit around how to handle frustration with classwork: “We take a break if we’re frustrated” or “We raise our hand and ask for help if the work feels like too much.”

TIP: When naming a limit, phrase it in terms of what students can or should do, rather than what they shouldn’t do.

I: Inquiries

Once you have gained a child’s attention, named the feeling and reminded him of the limit, it’s time to problem-solve. That’s where inquiries, questions and statements that help students think of solutions come in.     3    

TIP: Tone is important during FLIP IT. Keep it positive, engaging and solvable.

P: Prompt

Prompts are an opportunity to provide the student with possibilities that they may not have come up with yet. These creative cues, clues and suggestions engage children in the process.     4    

TIP: Offer prompts with enthusiasm so the solution feels like an opportunity, not a chore.

【推荐3】If you’re having a hard time with your teacher, going to class can be a terrible experience. Remember that teachers are all different, and you may just need a little extra time to understand your new teacher’s teaching style. In most cases, respecting the teacher and making an effort in class is enough to improve your relationship.     1    

Talk to your teacher

In many cases, a short discussion can clear up the misunderstanding. You may have misunderstood your teacher’s behavior, or you could be unaware of something you’re doing that makes your teacher annoyed.     2    

Learn to adapt to their teaching method

    3     If you’re used to a very relaxed class, learning to make progress in a strict environment is difficult. In most cases, giving yourself enough time to adjust to this new style of teaching is adequate.

Ask about your teacher’s hobbies

You may find out you have something in common. Remember you and your teacher both have lives outside the classroom, but you’re there to learn.     4     If you happen to know about one of their hobbies, at an appropriate time you can say, “I hear you enjoy gardening. Are you growing anything now?”

    5    

Your teacher has years of education and time spent on learning about the subject they teach and how to teach it. Understanding why your teacher decided to devote their time to being an educator will make them seem more human in the classroom.

【推荐2】For as long as I can remember, I’ve been coming up with ambitious little business ideas. The Eco Denim Movement is the fourth business I’ve founded. Last year, I built this business on three strong passions of mine: business, op-shopping and saving our world. Recently, I did a project on the cotton industry and found out some true facts in the production phases of cotton. I couldn't believe that a single pair of jeans took around 10,000 litres of water to produce.

My project promotes slow fashion and encourages people to purchase my used and repurposed denim (斜纹粗棉布). The denim industry is one of the biggest water consumers in our world — there are 2.7 billion people in our world currently facing water scarcity (缺乏). Every year, the denim industry uses over 12 trillion litres of water. This is enough to supply each of those 2.7 billion people with 4 years' worth of water. Reselling denim, which has already made it through the water-draining production stages, means that with every purchase of secondhand jeans over brand new ones we are saving 10,000 litres of valuable water.

I've sourced denim from my family, friends and op-shops all over Adelaide — the capital city of the state of South Australia. But the most difficult part about starting my business as a girl was that there were a lot of expenses involved in starting up: buying all the pieces of denim, getting all the equipment required for my business, and purchasing my website domain (域名). However, that didn’t stop me. No one is ever too young to start a business. So many people feel like they are not skilled enough or don’t have the brains to start a business, but that’s not true! All you need to start a successful business is ambition and a whole lot of passion.

【推荐1】Bobby Wilson is retired. Well, he’s supposed to be. But the Georgia farmer, “The Garden Man” named by his community, used his retirement savings to buy and operate a nonprofit farm — the Metro Atlanta Urban Farm — and he hasn’t slowed down since.

Years ago, Bobby Wilson saw a need for fighting hunger in his community. He worked hard all his life, but when it came time to retire, he knew his job wasn’t over yet. So he poured his time, money and energy into stepping up to fill that need and combat food insecurity. He dedicated his life to helping his community and to creating a healthier, more sustainable world for his grandchildren.

Wilson is on a mission. He’s on several missions, actually. While working for the University of Georgia for twenty years in gardening education, he saw a real need for affordable, nutritious food in his under-served community in the Atlanta metropolitan area. As food prices rise, the need has only increased. Families across the nation are feeling the pinch. It’s getting harder and harder for people to afford nutritious food. According to U.S. Hunger, one in ten households faces food insecurity. In Georgia, where Bobby Wilson lives, the problem is even more terrible, with one in eight people facing hunger. So Bobby Wilson is on a mission to help families in his disadvantaged neighborhood grow their own food on small tracts of land using sustainable practices. At a time when thousands of households are struggling to make ends meet, Wilson insists that people can save thousands of dollars if they grow their own vegetables. And he has set up a teaching farm on five acres of land in College Park, in the heart of the city, to show people how to do just that. Numerous volunteers are educated on the agriculture industry, including how to best acquire land and resources.

Asked about the principle of the farm, Wilson said, “It’s more than just a farm. It’s about justice, diversity, and inclusion. We are working for the community.”