How to use Motivatiotiona Interviewing to support absenteeism and school refusal

What if the problem isn’t that students won’t come to school—but that we’re having the wrong conversations? Motivational interviewing offers a practical, evidence-based way to support school refusal by shifting from persuasion to partnership.

Motivational Interviewing offers educators a way to move beyond managing behaviour toward partnering with students in change. This post introduces how MI can strengthen the Establish–Encourage–Respond framework through better conversations.

This post presents more than strategies to address challenges ging behaviours in class. Instead, it helps teachers connect to their values.

School Refusal. Why it happens. What to do.

Values vs. Goals We are surrounded by goals! Lose weight. Get the promotion. Get into school. Improve behaviour. Be more productive. From a young age, we are taught that setting goals is the path to success. Goals can be useful. They give direction, create structure, and help us measure progress. But here is the question we rarely ask. What if you achieve the goal and still feel empty? Or worse, what if you do not achieve it and it takes your motivation, confidence, or self w

Anxiety is common and increasing in schools. Research shows that teaching students how to respond to anxiety — rather than eliminate it — helps them stay engaged and do what matters.

Mindfulness is often taught as quiet time, but students need skills they can actually use. RAD makes mindfulness practical by breaking it into two simple strategies: Taking Notice: Looking In and Taking Notice: Looking Around. These skills help students notice thoughts and emotions, ground themselves using their senses and breath, and respond with intention instead of reactivity—even when things feel hard.

How can mindfulness be taught in schools. An important perspective on an important topic.

This article explores the potential hazards of sensory tools and reframes their use in the context of a values based SEL program guided by acceptance.

As teachers, we do not get to choose which students we teach. We teach all of them. That reality raises an important question: How do we support well-being in a way that actually fits the complexity of real classrooms?

No one likes the RAD SEL lessons! My videos are awful: Nervousness, fear, uncertainty. Creating RAD for Life has brought with it many uncomfortable thoughts and feelings. This blog is as much for you as it is for me, as I practice what I preach and dive into the topic of acceptance. The RAD SEL lessons promote acceptance as a way of responding to the uncomfortable thoughts and feelings that inevitably show up in life. While many SEL programs focus on coping, in RAD we believe

Values Based SEL programs can be used to enhance and even prevent the need for behaivour improvement plans.

The theoretical foundations of the RAD SEL program.

Learn what CASEL is and if your SEL program aligns with it. Why is this important and how does RAD align?

Many SEL classrooms use daily emotional check-ins where students are asked to publicly name how they feel. What are some benefits and concerns around this proactice?

Are you worried that teaching SEL may turn into group therapy. That isn't the goal. Learn how to avoid this.