Reach before you teach : ignite passion and purpose in your classroom / Paula Prentis and Chris Parrot, with Amy Smith.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 177-182) and index.

1. The Self -- 2. The Development of the Self: Understand and Connect With the Self Behind the Desk -- 3. The Unaware Emotional Self: Soften Defenses to Foster Academic and Personal Growth -- 4. The Aware Emotional Self: Provide Tools for Emotional Management -- 5. The Cognitive Self: Use Cognitive Understanding to Awaken Potentials -- 6. The Social Self: Consolidate the Self in the Social World -- 7. The Physical Self: Support the Physical Self for Optimal Overall Health -- 8. The Self in the School Climate: How to Put the Environment to Work for You -- 9. The Self: Decision-Making, Motivation, and Giving Back -- --

1. The Self -- What Do We Mean by the Self? -- The Self in School -- Social Emotional Learning: Its Importance and How the Self Enables SEL Potential -- How Does a Sense of Self Contribute to Personal Success and to Society? -- Steps to Success - For Teaching and for You -- 2. The Development of the Self: Understand and Connect With the Self Behind the Desk -- Early Attachment and Self Development -- True Self Versus False Self: The Battle Begins -- Making Connections -- 3. The Unaware Emotional Self: Soften Defenses to Foster Academic and Personal Growth -- The Purpose of Defenses -- The Development of Defenses and How They Inhibit Optimal Learning -- Common Defense Mechanisms and How They May Manifest in the Classroom -- How to Manage Defenses Through Interventions That Build the Self -- 4. The Aware Emotional Self: Provide Tools for Emotional Management -- Emotional Awareness - Knowing Your Temperature -- Emotional Management - Shutting the Window -- The Emotional Self in the Classroom -- The Benefits -- 5. The Cognitive Self: Use Cognitive Understanding to Awaken Potentials -- Brain Structure and Related Functions -- Stress on the Brain -- Neuroplasticity: The Role of Experiences -- Improving Motivation -- 6. The Social Self: Consolidate the Self in the Social World -- Set a Positive Social Tone in Your Classroom -- Top Social Skills -- Teamwork -- 7. The Physical Self: Support the Physical Self for Optimal Overall Health -- The Importance of Physical Health -- Exercise and Health -- Nutrition and Health -- Sleep and Health -- The Mind/Body Connection -- The Physical Self in the Classroom -- 8. The Self in the School Climate: How to Put the Environment to Work for You -- What Is School Climate? -- Personal Principles of Behavior -- School Wide Policies -- Parents and the Off-Campus Community -- 9. The Self: Decision-Making, Motivation, and Giving Back -- Where Are We? -- Where Can We Go From Here? -- Decision-Making - The Sine Qua Non of Self Skills -- Motivation -- Final Interventions.

"Facilitating students' unique paths towards identity development is the key to teaching young teens. Students face pressures that undermine the development of a solid sense of self, jeopardizing success in school and in life: Family issues, economic concerns, media influences, social pressures, physical changes, and more influence how students feel about themselves. When these go unnoticed, even the best teaching methods fall short. Reach Before You Teach shows educators how to form the nurturing, individualized connections that make students feel worthy, fulfilled, and ready to flourish as learners. The book details: Practical, empowering information about how a sense of self comes to be, and what threatens it; Interventions that soften the myriad defenses students develop to protect themselves; How to address the often-overlooked connections between physical, social, and emotional health and classroom performance. Packed with real-life examples and results-delivering exercises, Reach Before You Teach supplies educators with the all-important skills to connect with students so academic and life success feels more attainable"--Publisher's website.