THE KIDS WHO AREN'T OKAY

Kids today…need our help.

Anxiety. Depression. Neurodivergence. Medication. Gender. Social media and peer pressure. American schoolchildren have it rough. What can teachers do to foster climates of acceptance? Greene, a clinical psychologist and author, argues that we need to “meet students where they’re at,” rather than set goals for all. Teachers should recognize each student’s difference early on. They should de-escalate conflict. We should replace “difficulty” with the “unsolved problem”—rather than seeing students as impeded or inadequate, find out what’s really holding them back. Work collaboratively rather than individually. Listen more than talk. The author distills his approach into the Collaborative & Proactive Solutions (CPS) model, and what he calls “leadership density”: “leadership is not about positional authority but about shared ownership, collaboration, and collective efficacy.” This advice will be familiar from decades of self-help guides and workplace counseling. Group management of anyone boils down to a few basic tenets of social responsibility. There is much common sense here, and the case studies of individual students and teachers reinforce the view that if we only were more patient and supportive, school would be a better place. The goals are social: building critical thinkers, active citizens, skilled communicators, empowered individuals. The author acknowledges: “a lot of the outcomes…aren’t related to academics.” What we do not get is an inquiry into the root causes of why kids are not OK. Systemic poverty, food insecurity, the breakdown of the nuclear family, an overzealous pharmaceutical industry? This is a book less about big solutions than everyday management, and if it gets some teachers off their high horses and back on all fours, it will have succeeded.

A powerful exhortation to get teachers more involved in student success.