They Call Her The Connection Coach

Her name is Tara Brown....

 and she is one of the best speakers I have had the pleasure of sitting in a room with.

My district has had her as a speaker for school counselors and the Georgia School Counselor Association has had her as a keynote at the fall conference a couple of years ago. As the self described, "Connection Coach," Tara Brown speaks to my soul as she uses her experience, humor, and realness to talk about connecting with students. Her experience is backed by research about how imperative it is to connect with our students. Tara Brown's experience and the research perfectly align to why I do what I do. I'm a school counselor because I know what can happen when students don't connect to an adult at school and don't connect to their education.

Anytime, I see her name on an agenda or program, I am immediately excited. I know I'm going to be inspired and energized to continue doing the work and I know I'm going to come away with new knowledge to implement in my work and to share with others. So, I want to make sure you all know about her too!

If you have  a chance to hear her speak, don't miss out on that opportunity. 

Here's a little peek at her in action.....

"We don't have time NOT to build relationships with our kids." 

You won't more don't you?! 

Well, Tara Brown has an amazing website, http://theconnectioncoach.org/, with resources, videos, and more you should check out!  

I use some her educator resources to help remind myself of how to best connect with students and I share them with my awesome school family as well. 

One of my favorites is  10 Crucial Things My Under-Resourced Students Taught Me. These 10 things are so important to read and re-read to remind yourself of what is going on in the minds of a lot of our students. When we can truly understand our students in this way, then we have no choice but to take the time to connect and build relationships that support and engage our students. 

This shortclip of  Tara Brown talking about Running From Lions echoes the words from Born Bright by C. Nicole Mason from my last post. 

If we are going to build  relationships and connect with our students we have to be the ones to show them that there is "a safety and a sanctuary you can rely on in my school/classroom."

Tara Brown also has a book, Different Cultures, Common Ground: 85 Proven Strategies to Connect in Your Classroom. It is a small yet mighty book with simple strategies for anyone to use to connect with students. Another great resource for yourself or to share with others in your building. 

If you believe in the importance of connecting with students and you haven't  already checked out Tara Brown's website, please do. You can find information from Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs to Tips for Teaching Boys to Stress Buster Strategies to Using Humor in the Classroom to Information about Transient Students and More! http://theconnectioncoach.org/

And if you're on Facebook, you can follow Tara Brown, The Connection Coach, and get weekly video inspiration each Monday morning!