Articles

Guest Blogger: Making WhyTry Work For You One of the great things about the WhyTry program is its versatility.  The program was designed to be adapted and changed in order to meet the unique and diverse needs of students around the world.  Tom McCollum, of Oxnard, California, shared with us a little of how he was able to…

Teachers, Counselors, Social Workers – and the Defense Mechanisms We Use Working with youth isn’t always easy. As children begin to test their boundaries, challenging our authority and expanding their understanding of themselves, they can absolutely push us to our limits. This can lead to stress, anger, depression, and disengagement in educators. By letting our emotions get to…

What Malala Yousafzai Can Teach Us About Street Resilience In October of 2014, Malala Yousafzai became, at the age of 17, the youngest winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. “Malala” has quickly become one of the most recognized names and faces in the world. She is the center of a worldwide movement for child education and…

Ask A Trainer: WhyTry Corrections and Implementation in Justice System Settings I was first introduced to the WhyTry program in 2002.  At that time I had been a Juvenile Probation Officer for 14 years.  When I saw the visual metaphors used and key concepts emphasized in WhyTry, I knew immediately that this was something I wanted to…

3 Creative Tips for Getting Students Excited Before School Starts Back Up Again While you may be dreading the return of school this fall, chances are your students haven’t even thought about it. This makes for a great opportunity for you! Are you ready to get them – and yourself – excited about the upcoming…

2017 Resilience in Action Award – Kimberly Boyd “What are we going to do with you – throw you in the trash can? Are you ever going to amount to anything?” While many others facing these questions would shut down, young Kimberly Boyd made a choice. I know for a fact I’m going to become something. …

Nancy Montoya Spices Up Elementary Lessons by Turning WhyTry Into An Online Game When the principal at our Title I school asked me to look into a program that dealt with student resilience, I was lucky to find ‘Why Try,” a curriculum for 4th and 5th-grade students.  I have been co-teaching this program for the past…

5 WhyTry Ventures You Don’t Want to Miss in 2017 2017 is OUR year, and we want you to be a part of it! While we have already established ourselves as the World Leader in Academic Resilience, we truly believe resilience is for everyone – which means we have a lot of work to do. …

December 2016 Resilience in Action Award – Dr. Laura Owen Dr. Laura Owen, a research professor at American University, focuses on evaluating the impact of interventions and initiatives designed to address the persistent equity and access issues that so many students across the country face. Dr. Owen is the co-leader of the SDSU White House Convening,…

Christian Moore Attends the 5th National White House Convening at American University A few weeks ago, I had the honor of presenting at the 5th National White House Convening at American University in Washington, D.C.  In two whirlwind days, my colleagues and I heard from experts like Secretary of Education John King, Michelle Obama’s Chief of Staff Tina…

An Online Resource, NOT An Online Social-Emotional Learning Program First, we want to say that EVERY social-emotional learning effort made by schools and communities is important. Research has shown that students who have vital resilience skills perform better in school and are more capable of achieving their goals. However, we also believe the best chance…

Resilience in Action Award | Jennifer Davis For a child, watching a parent go to prison can create a sense of isolation and trauma that doesn’t go away without help. So, with these children in mind, help is just what the New Hope Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma is offering. New Hope got started when members…