“These pages make clear that the way to foster effective teaching is not with curriculum mandates and pacing guides but with professional learning opportunities that prepare expert educators to take advantage of and create teachable moments.” —From the Foreword by Linda Darling-Hammond, Stanford University This book brings together a group of extraordinary educators and scholars who offer important insights about what we can do to defend childhood from societal challenges. The authors explain new findings from neuroscience and psychology, as well as emerging knowledge about the impact on child development of cultural and linguistic diversity, poverty, families and communities, and the media. Each chapter presents experiences and suggestions, from the perspectives of different disciplines, about what can be done to ensure that all children gain access to the supports they need for optimal physical, social, intellectual, and emotional development. Defending Childhood features: New knowledge about how children learn from the neurobiological, behavioral, and social sciences. Effective teaching strategies that support learning and provide for the needs of the whole child. Examination of a broad range of issues that affect childhood, including violence, media and technology saturation, and a school culture of endless testing. Suggestions for policies and practices for an equitable educational system. Contributors include: Barbara Bowman, Nancy Carlsson-Paige, Delis Cuéllar, Tiziana Filippini, Matia Finn-Stevenson, Eugene García, Howard Gardner, Roberta Michnick Golinkoff, James J. Heckman, Kathryn Hirsh-Pasek, Mara Krechevsky, George Madaus, Ben Mardell, Sonia Nieto, Valerie Polakow, Aisha Ray, Robert L. Selman, Jack P. Shonkoff, M.D., Edward Zigler Beverly Falk is professor and director of the Graduate Programs in Early Childhood Education at The School of Education, The City College of New York, and author of Teaching the Way Children Learn.

In Saving Childhood, cultural critic Michael Medved and his wife, psychologist Diane Medved, provide positive and practical strategies for parents who struggle every day with a society that seems perversely determined to frighten and corrupt its young. They explore and explain today's assault on innocence, which now menaces our children from four directions--the media, schools, peers, and most destructively, parents themselves. This book provides both general and detailed suggestions on how to overcome each of these influences and give our children the most precious gift of all--a secure, hopeful, and protected childhood. The Medveds argue that the destruction of innocence among today's young arises From the good intentions of some of the most "enlightened" elements in this society, who believe we must warn children about--rather than protect them from--the harsh Facts of a cruel and often violent world. But Saving Childhood provides powerful evidence that a healthy society, and the psychological health of each individual, requires a period of nourishing and sheltering in order to instill confidence and security in each new generation. In this vital wake-up call, the Medveds provide a clear, practical, and uplifting blueprint for rescuing the enchantment of youth. They suggest that rather than stressing danger and despair to our children, we should emphasize gratitude, clear standards of behavior with predictable results, and a sense of home as sanctuary. Both shocking and hopeful, Saving Childhood empowers parents to restore the key elements of childhood innocence--security, a sense of wonder, and optimism--that should be honored as the precious birthright of every American child.

Traumatic or adverse experiences are pervasive among school-aged children and youth. Trauma undermines students' ability to learn and manage their feelings, behavior, and relationships. Meanwhile, school-based professionals often struggle with responding to the complex needs of traumatized students within the typical school day. The second edition of Supporting and Educating Traumatized Students is designed for professionals in mental health and education settings, and combines content and expertise from experts in the fields of education, school psychology, school administration, resilience, and trauma into one comprehensive guide. The book provides a thorough background on current research in trauma and its impact on school functioning; administrative and policy considerations; and a broad set of practical and implementable strategies for adapting instruction, modifying the classroom environments, and building competency for students and staff. New chapters address topics such as post-traumatic growth, interpersonal violence, and trauma screening and assessment among others. Educators can continue to use this updated edition as an ongoing resource, with the ability to quickly and easily access a variety of school-based strategies to help improve educational and social outcomes for traumatized students.

Wall Street Journal Best Nonfiction Pick; Publisher's Weekly Best Book of the Year Clinical psychologist Catherine Steiner-Adair takes an in-depth look at how the Internet and the digital revolution are profoundly changing childhood and family dynamics, and offers solutions parents can use to successfully shepherd their children through the technological wilderness. As the focus of the family has turned to the glow of the screen—children constantly texting their friends or going online to do homework; parents working online around the clock—everyday life is undergoing a massive transformation. Easy access to the Internet and social media has erased the boundaries that protect children from damaging exposure to excessive marketing and the unsavory aspects of adult culture. Parents often feel they are losing a meaningful connection with their children. Children are feeling lonely and alienated. The digital world is here to stay, but what are families losing with technology's gain? As renowned clinical psychologist Catherine Steiner-Adair explains, families are in crisis as they face this issue, and even more so than they realize. Not only do chronic tech distractions have deep and lasting effects but children also desperately need parents to provide what tech cannot: close, significant interactions with the adults in their lives. Drawing on real-life stories from her clinical work with children and parents and her consulting work with educators and experts across the country, Steiner-Adair offers insights and advice that can help parents achieve greater understanding, authority, and confidence as they engage with the tech revolution unfolding in their living rooms.

This document presents testimony regarding the impact of violence on children. The opening statement of Senator Dodd discusses the exposure of American children to violence and notes the Senator's introduction of the "Child and Family Services and Law Enforcement Partnership Act," an act proposed to provide children exposed to violence with immediate assessment and intervention by child mental health professionals and to augment community policing efforts by providing training for law enforcement in child, family, and cultural issues. Testimonies are provided by: (1) Brandon Green, a 7-year-old boy who had recently witnessed a murder; (2) Liany Elba Arroyo, a 16-year-old girl who is working with a group of friends to curb violence in her community; (3) Carmen Siberon, director of Case Management for Bridgeport (Connecticut) Futures Initiatives, a community partnership that administers programs for high-risk youth; (4) Wayne Meyers, a shooting victim who is wheelchair-bound and a member of the P.O.W.E.R. (People Opening the World's Eyes to Reality) Group; (5) Byrl Phillips-Taylor, a mother whose adolescent son was shot and killed by a classmate; (6) Megan McGillicuddy and Tiffany Cruz, fifth graders from a school where the principal was gunned down; (7) Deborah Prothrow-Stith, assistant dean of the Office of Government and Community Programs, and director of Violence Abuse Programs, Injury Control Center, School of Public Health, Harvard University; (8) Joseph E. Marshall, Jr.; codirector of Omega Boys Club; (9) Ron Fox, member of Omega Boys Club; (10) John S. Pritchard, III, first deputy police commissioner of the New York Police Department and national vice-president/president-elect of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives; (11) David E. A. Carson, chief executive officer of People's Bank in Bridgeport, Connecticut; and (12) Marian Wright Edelman, president of the Children's Defense Fund. Additional materials are appended. (NB)

Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health: Core Concepts and Clinical Practice is a groundbreaking book that provides an overview of the field from both theoretical and clinical viewpoints. The editors and chapter authors -- some of the field's foremost researchers and teachers -- describe from their diverse perspectives key concepts fundamental to infant-parent and early childhood mental health work. The complexity of this emerging field demands an interdisciplinary approach, and the book provides a clear, comprehensive, and coherent text with an abundance of clinical applications to increase understanding and help the reader to integrate the concepts into clinical practice. Offering both cutting-edge coverage and a format that facilitates learning, the book boasts the following features and content: A focus on helping working professionals expand their specialization skills and knowledge and on offering core competency training for those entering the field, which reflects the Infant-Parent Mental Health Postgraduate Certificate Program (IPMHPCP) and Fellowship in Napa, CA that was the genesis of the book. Chapters written by a diverse group of authors with vastly different training, expertise, and clinical experience, underscoring the book's interdisciplinary approach. In addition, terms such as clinician, therapist, provider, professional, and teacher are intentionally used interchangeably to describe and unify the field. Explication and analysis of a variety of therapeutic models, including Perry's Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics; Brazelton's neurodevelopmental and relational Touchpoints; attachment theory; the Neurorelational Framework; Mindsight; and Downing's Video Intervention Therapy. An entire chapter devoted to diagnostic schemas for children ages 0--5, which highlights the Diagnostic Classification of Mental Health Disorders of Infancy and Early Childhood: Revised (DC:0-3R). With the release of DSM-5, this chapter provides a prototypical crosswalk between DC:0-3R and ICD codes. A discussion of the difference between evidence-based treatments and evidence-based practices in the field, along with valuable information on randomized controlled trials, a research standard that, while often not feasible or ethically permissible in infant mental health work, remains a standard applied to the field. Key points and references at the end of each chapter, and generous use of figures, tables, and other resources to enhance learning. The volume editors and authors are passionate about the pressing need for further research and the acquisition and application of new knowledge to support the health and well-being of individuals, families, and communities. Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health: Core Concepts and Clinical Practice should find a receptive audience for this critically important message.