DINNER & DISCUSSIONS: FACULTY RECAP UPPER SCHOOL

GROWING UP CONNECTED, BUT NOT REALLY

By Megan Colvin, Jeanette Glover, and Jenn Harkins

Eagle Hill believes in strong professional development for faculty. In addition to our meetings every Friday afternoon, we have opportunities to attend conferences to learn more about best practices in the special education field.

This year Upper School teachers attended several conferences which included experts Sarah Ward, Jessica Minahan, Gina Nelson, and a weekend long conference in Boston at the Learning and the Brain Conference. Our Upper School Dinners and Discussions were based on the information we learned from these conferences, as well as ways that we have implemented this research into practice here at Eagle Hill.

Sarah Ward and Jessica Minahan spoke about executive function, stress management, and anxiety. In our discussion with parents, we encouraged them to think about their child’s “executive functioning age” in addition to their chronological age.

The frontal lobe, which houses the executive function skills, is the last area to develop in the brain--often not until the mid-20s in typically developing children and adults. For children with learning, attention, and anxiety issues, there can be a 30% lag in the development of the frontal lobe, which means that our 13-yearold Upper School students could be presenting as 10-year-olds when it comes to important skills such as focus, planning, flexibility, impulse control, and managing emotions. At Eagle Hill, we focus on executive functioning skills across all areas of our day, even at recess, lunch, and activities to help students build these skills, which are so necessary for success in school and life!

Dr. Jean Twenge suggested that the name for our youngest generation be changed from Gen Z to iGen. Through her research tracking social and emotional trends of young people over generations, she has come to describe today’s teens as safer, meaning they are less apt to take risks than previous generations, and consequently much less independent. She attributes this to both a change in parenting style over the past few generations, as well as the dramatic change in how young people socialize since the introduction of the smartphone. These two factors have created an environment for teens that offers fewer opportunities to practice independent problem solving, time management, decision making, and social skills. At Eagle Hill, direct instruction in all of these areas has always been foundational to our program. This sets us apart from mainstream educational settings and prepares us to foster these important skills in the youngsters who come through our program.

Dr. Deborah Gilboa discussed that we can also be ready for iGen by working on problem solving, perspective taking, and self advocacy skills in order to combat risky behaviors online. Fortunately, these skills are incorporated into our Study Skills program and directly instructed throughout the year.

Dr. Gilboa also emphasized that while this generation may be less independent and have more stress, we can use stress as a tool to build resiliency. In order to help build resilience, we should focus on showing empathy for behaviors while still holding children accountable by using the sentence format, “I see you are feeling __, AND I still need you to __.” In addition, providing extra processing time and advanced notice allows children the time to work through the feelings related to change, building more resiliency in the moment.

Finally, providing children with choices, within reason, helps them feel more in control of situations that might be out of their control. They will be more willing to work through changes in life knowing that they have some autonomy. Dr. Gilboa challenges us to have the mindframe that all change is stressful, but that doesn’t make it bad. By using stress as a tool, we can build a more resilient generation. We are ready for iGen.

“When we walked into that dinner, I didn’t expect to meet people who could relate to everything I had been through.”

“During COVID, Annie and I had opportunities to do a lot of school work with Dylan at home,” Ed said. “I always knew there were challenges, but when I was the guy sitting there trying to do the homework with Dylan, I recognized how significant those processing difficulties were and the frustration they created.”

At the Dinner & Discussion, the Keefers gained insights on helping Dylan navigate the post-COVID world.

During the pandemic, Annie recalled, “All I was concerned about was getting that mask off Dylan because he has a hard time with speech and getting his thoughts out.” She never thought that COVID was likely hindering the development of nonverbal skills, too. Now Annie realizes that kindergarteners might be working harder to interpret non-verbal cues that were literally “masked” before.

Added Ed, “Take something as simple as a kid frowning or pouting. A peer student may not know how to interpret those without being taught. Young kids need to learn how to read someone’s body expressions or things like someone raising or lowering their voice. These skills can be keys to life.”

The parents were grateful to be learning these things together —and to be finding community along the way.

“When we walked into that dinner, I didn’t expect to meet people who could relate to everything I had been through,” Annie Keefer said. “We have the resources to help each other.”

Kaplan especially values the Eagle Hill events, get-togethers, and lectures when other parents can share their experiences because, she says, “It’s oftentimes very isolating and challenging to have a child who has a learning difference.”

“The support for the parents is the thing that surprised me more than anything,” Ed said. “And that there’s just a different level of attention given and an understanding of Dylan’s challenges.”

“I really appreciated the teachers sharing their knowledge with us because it’s always a partnership between the parent and the school,” Kaplan concluded. “It was very empowering for me. Having that knowledge helps me to understand David and support him better.”