In Luzerne County alone, there are 11 school districts encompassing more than 100 educational institutes, where many students deal with bullying, conflict, emotional stress, death and grieving, and even language barriers.
This summer, Penn State Wilkes-Barre Continuing Education is hosting a series of three Act 48 approved workshops to help area educators better understand and deal with many of these concerns while providing supportive, positive classroom environments.
"These workshops will provide information, techniques and offer innovative ideas for teachers," said Jane Ashton, Director of Continuing Education at the campus. "These programs not only address difficult topics but also teach skills and strategies for dealing with issues such as bullying. We welcome the opportunity to partner with our school districts to meet their professional development needs."
According to SafeYouth.org more than 5.7 million youth are involved in bullying each year, either as a bully, a victim, or both. The first workshop, "Dealing with the Bullying Epidemic," will discuss aspects of bullying, focusing on issues related to the recent increase in cyber bullying. This workshop will also examine the perspectives of bullies and victims as well as review methods to implementing a bully prevention program and reducing antisocial behaviors.
"Keys for Effective Communication in the Classroom" will explore when and how to say things, why we choose certain linguistic options over others, cultural diversity, and slang, in an effort to better understand the connection between language, power, and gender.
The third workshop, "Classroom Interventions for Students with Emotional/Behavioral Issues," will teach strategies related to depression, attention deficit disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, suicide, bullying, and death/grieving.
For more information, please contact Penn State Wilkes-Barre Continuing Education at 570-675-9219 or [email protected] or view the Summer Workshops for Educators flyer.
Penn State Wilkes-Barre Continuing Education is part of Penn State Outreach, the largest unified outreach organization in American higher education, serving more than 5 million people each year, delivering more than 2,000 programs to people in all 67 Pennsylvania counties, all 50 states and 80 countries worldwide.