The Circle of Courage

Today I attended a PD entitled "Reclaiming our Youth" with speaker Dr. Martin Brokenleg.  He was such an amazing speaker and although the session was over 6 hours long I was captivated by him the entire time.  He spoke about working with At Risk Students but according to him all of our children are at risk today.  I was shocked to hear the average child watches 7 hours of TV a day.  That is the average, meaning that many children watch far more than that.  The average mother spends 3 minutes a day having a real conversation with her child (not including giving directions, yelling at her child or making demands of them but actual back and forth conversation).  The average dad spends 40 seconds a day having real conversations with their children.  According to research most juvenile delinquent acts take place between 3:30 and 6pm.  The time between when children are done school and parents arrive home from work.

It is so important for parents today to be there for their children, encourage them, talk to them and let them know they are important, valued and belong.  Every child should have an adult that makes them feel special and believes in them.

Dr. Martin Brokenleg spoke about the Circle of Courage, a model that encompasses 4 core values: Belonging, Mastery, Independence and Generosity.  Children who live in an environment that promotes courage  (which contains these 4 values), can be reclaimed and find success in life.  

I am so excited to be attending a two-day PD next month for a program based off of the Circle of Courage model. I look forward to hearing more about this model and how I can use it to make a difference in the lives of the children I work with every day.

If you are a teacher or a parent you might be interested in checking out the website www.reclaiming.com and search the journal section for some research based strategies for working with today's youth.


It is not enough to teach the mind but we must also teach the heart!