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Children and teenagers have been spending more time online during the COVID-19 pandemic to attend classes, connect with their peers, and entertain themselves. As a result, a lot of kids and teens are more active on social media and apps. This allows them to connect to a wide network of people, which unfortunately, may also expose them to cyberbullies. According to a report on cyberbullying published by Verywell Family, cases of cyberbullying have increased by 70% since the pandemi …

“Hurt people hurt people” is an adage that you’ve likely heard before. The notion behind this statement is something along the lines of, “Those who have experienced emotional pain and suffering may lash out and inflict emotional pain on others.” I’m not here to argue the veracity of this oft-quoted saying. Instead, my hope is to see it one day replaced by an altogether different assertion: helped people help people.Every April, we celebrate National Counseling Awareness Month, a month to r …

Visit any school in the country and it would be unusual to not see this posted somewhere in the building. These words are a reminder of the effects teachers have – effects they may never have the opportunity to actually see. And, while teachers understand the importance of the academic skills their students need to master, the importance of social and emotional competencies is becoming increasingly evident. To fulfill this need, many educators are becoming acutely aware of the need for t …

What if you could know both sides of the story? What if you could know the “why” and not just the “what”?I spent quite a bit of my youth feeling insecure and jealous of my sister. The adults in our lives compared us, and I seemed to fall short. To my young brain, she was the favored child in the family. I took my anger out on her, which did not earn me the daughter-of-the-year award. Then the most important person in my life died: our father. I was seven and did not understand what death actuall …

After waiting for a while in a crowded deli line on my lunch break, it was finally my turn. “I’ll have a ham and cheese sandwich, please,” I said, proud of my politeness. “Good morning, sir,” the obviously perturbed worker said. I deserved that. I quickly said, “Good morning, ma’am,” excused myself and repeated my order with a smile. Given how crowded the place was, my New Yorker-brain cut to the chase and dispensed with the greeting. This deli, however, was located in Paris, France, not i …