Thoughts on George Floyd
We have been thinking a lot about all of our black friends over the past few days since the George Floyd verdict was announced. All of us a CMI and 5RM have set our hearts on creating programs that increase compassion and decrease racism, bias and so many other...
3 Ways to Cope with Grief & Loss During the Pandemic
Acknowledging the Pandemic Effect The pandemic effect began for me as I observed what it was doing to schools, school staff, students and families. Working in this field of crisis response, I had lots of opportunity to hear the bitter stories of children orphaned by...
How to Raise Civil Citizens
We have both an opportunity and a responsibility as educators and parents to do all we can to help raise educated, civil beings who are ready to participate in our democracy. There’s a direct correlation between a functioning democracy and an educated populace....
Talking with Students About Racism and Protests
We hear you.We acknowledge you.We stand with you. For the past two weeks, we at CMI have been working through the anger, horror and sadness brought across this country by George Floyd’s death. We have come face to face with our own privilege and have struggled...
COVID-19 and The Journey Ahead
It is going to be a long slog for all of us; young and old, families and classrooms, groups of all sorts and each of us individually. Anxiety often causes us to draw in, and with the contagion factors of the pandemic, to self-isolate. But there is a...
Community Responses in the Wake of Catastrophic Events
The Second Wave of Trauma: The Need for Broader Community Understanding and Action It is with indescribable sadness that we have learned of the suicides of two Marjory Stoneman Douglas survivors and the father of one of the children killed at Sandy Hook Elementary....
The Media and School Shootings
And so another heart-breaking tragedy with the start of the school year. Umpqua Community College has a mass-casualty shooting. As bleak as it always is, there is a significant ray of hope. The sheriff of Douglas County refused to speak the name of the shooter,...
Compliance of Students Taking the Pledge of Allegiance
Many social networking sites for counselors and teachers have posts about how to deal with students who refuse to take the Pledge of Allegiance. I stand respectfully when the national anthem is sung, but every cell in my body cringes at our focus on war, power, and...
Losing Robin Williams
As noted in our newsletter, this was written when it happened, but I didn't blog it at that time. Now, though, the commentary on FaceBook continues and is turning dark. We decided maybe it was still timely to offer something that could perhaps move us back...
Reflections on September 11th
As we approach 9/11, I find myself a little listless and somewhat lonely. Until the towers fell, I experienced 9/11 just the way most people on the West Coast did - seeing the coverage, horrified to think of the trauma, stretching to wrap my mind around it - but all...