For many years educational experts have extolled the benefits of a positive student-teacher relationship. Personal connections between teachers and students can be the key motivator in student interest and achievement in school. Yet teachers have little knowledge about how to establish the relationships that can instill in their students a desire…

Research shows that stress in the crucial early years of a child's life can pose dramatic, lasting challenges to development, learning, and behavior. This is the practical book early childhood professionals need to recognize stress in young children--and intervene with proven relief strategies before pressures turn into big problems. Developed by…

This article offers advice to the classroom teacher for dealing with a child subject to explosive temper tantrums. It discusses why such outbursts may occur; gives a sequence for controlling the tantrum and calming the child; and considers long-term methods for helping the child curb anger and aggression. (SJL)

Check & Connect was created in a five year period from 1990 to 1995. The original manual, entitled "Keeping Kids in School: Using Check & Connect for Dropout Prevention" and written by David Evelo, Mary Sinclair, Christine Hurley, Sandra Christenson, and Martha Thurlow, was published in 1996 (ED398701). This newly revised Check…

Good self-esteem and self-concept have a bearing on a child's performance in school. The article describes ways to recognize poor self-image in a child and suggests strategies for building self-concept. Activities listed include positive marking of papers, bibliotherapy, improvisational drama, and values clarification. (DS)

Knowing how to interest and motivate pupils is a skill, which separates the "great" teachers from the mediocre. This book will inform and inspire staff and give them confidence in dealing with pupils who are not naturally "teacher pleasers." The book explains: (1) how personality affects learning styles; (2) suggests assessment tools and…

Examines questions related to the identification of gifted children, and the special activities and accommodations that should be provided for them. Suggests that young gifted children have advanced understanding and/or performance in a variety of areas, which requires the development of a challenging curriculum and appropriate educational…

This ERIC digest focuses on students who are commonly described as shy (inhibited, lacking in confidence, socially anxious) or withdrawn (unresponsive, uncommunicative, or daydreaming). Symptoms of shyness or withdrawal may appear as part of the student's overall personality or as a situation-specific response to a particular stress factor.…