The Emotionally Connected Classroom: Wellness and the Learning Experience

I had to purchase this textbook for one of the graduate level classes I took this past spring. The book was very interesting, and has many great tools for teachers. I’m keeping this one for reference!

Weighing in at a terse 189 pages, The Emotionally Connected Classroom: Wellness and the Learning Experience by Bill Adair is written for teachers and administrators who want to address the crisis of low motivation and high anxiety in the classroom. High school teacher Bill Adair, the author, created a teaching model that has been adopted by man, and Adair conducts workshops for this model. This book is an adaptation of those workshops.My wife, a sixth grade teacher, was interested in this book to improve her teaching. This book’s aim is to identity causes of students’ “disconnected experiences” and how to bridge those students emotionally back to the class. What I find most interesting is the “Hunger-Gatherers” angle in which Adair frames success in the classroom from an evolutionary standpoint.Written like a student textbook, each chapter summarizes the major points in a “Think About It” section. Adair also includes case studies of teachers grappling with problems and using Adair’s solutions to give concrete examples on how to apply his methods in the classroom.While for me, a college writing instructor, the book is too self-help for my tastes (Use “the Six Ps of Connection”: People, Purpose, Play, Passions, Present Thinking, Personal Challenge and Learning), my wife found the book a valuable way to look at her strengths as a teacher and how to problem improve areas identified in the book.

I loved this book right away because it attended to MY emotions as a teacher reading it. There is a page early on suggesting how to approach the book. The book practices what it preaches. The book doesn't ask me to throw away my reality or pretend my reality doesn't exist or make me feel bad for being part of my reality in my school. The book shows me concrete ways to do what I'm expected to do but in a more kid-centered way. The first big chapter after the introduction shows how you can add to your learning target or SWBAT every day with a "connection intention." And it offers tons of sample connection intentions you can use (e.g., seek out classmates in need, be a great coach, play reduces fear, difference is a good thing, control the controlables, value uncomfortable). If I add only ONE practice (this one) to my classroom, my classroom community and my students will benefit GREATLY. Basically, the book shows how to make space for the HUMAN BEINGS in your classroom by intentionally making connection part of your curriculum. This book draws heavily on attachment theory and also science on addiction. I recommend reading Marc Brackett's Permission to Feel, and then reading this book. Before this book will really make sense and become something you can use, you have to understand the importance of emotions to learning and be willing to dig into feelings as an educator. We live in a sea of emotion all day every day, but so many of us try to distance ourselves from feelings to focus on learning. This is a recipe for failure. Sadly, teacher burnout is a major factor in this because we aren't in touch with our own feelings. We bury those to make it through the day ourselves. Permission to Feel will help you tune into your own feelings, so you can then attend to the feelings of your students. This book extends how to do that when you're ready. This is a book meant to read a little, try a little, read a little, etc. There is much to be learned and practiced -- you have to see it to believe it.

Listen, not everything in this book is easy to implement due to the current educational culture, but so much is. It is often the most basic things that can help kids with trauma in their background, or neurodiverse backgrounds succeed. We have a sweet little one with both issues, and we ended up pulling her to do online school after a few failed years of trying to get her into school only to find that they weren't able to help her feel safe enough to learn. She is learning beautifully from home which tells us she is capable of learning, but she needs the right environment. Maybe you're thinking well, the schools don't have the resources, but they do. It is about the right words, the right approach, and few very simple, and cheap tools. This book helps people understand the tools needed, and it is an easy read. You don't need a background in trauma to understand the book. Well done! We are letting our daughter's therapist read it now as he consults with the local schools, and noticed so many areas where her school was not listening to needs. Hopefully this can help all people understand better that these kids are not broken - just different. Frankly all kids would benefit from these approaches!

This book is a great guide for educators seeking to foster a healthy, low-stress environment for learning. With an understanding of psychology and neuroscience the author explains how building healthy emotional states and social connections is vital for supporting optimal brain functioning and enabling academic progress and cognitive development. The author presents a lot of information and activities that can help teachers create an environment to support healthy social skills and emotional skills in students. If you wish to create a more cooperative and mindful setting in any classroom or group learning setting then this book is valuable. I like how key sections of the text are highlighted in a blue background (light blue promotes calmness and communication). This book helps teachers focus more on connection rather than control - something that requires educators to be more mindful and conscious of their own reactions and emotional vulnerabilities. I hope that more educators consider this type of approach.