A Post Covid Classroom Management Toolkit that creates magic

The specific problem I am working to SOLVE:

School districts across the US are seeing a surge of student misbehavior in the return to in-person learning. School officials say they have never seen anything like that before. Academically strong schools with 99% graduation rate aren't an exception either.

What is the scale of the problem in the communities you are working in, and globally?

Schools have an increase in minor incidents such as students talking in the classroom and more serious issues such as fighting, violence. There are states where disruptive incidents have tripled compared to pre-pandemic levels.

Why is there a place for my solution to be introduced?

Traditional methods such as detention, the suspension don't provide immediate and acceptable results. Schools, educators express concerns, yet no real solutions are reported. They need help to fight the mental health crisis in schools. The traditional way to solve mental health problems or respond to misbehavior is the involvement of outside help and helpers. My solution uses applied neuroscience and offers a quick fix for many misbehavior issues. Imagine if there was a solution that (1) could be done by the teacher, (2) in the classroom (3) involving the kids (instead of suspending and excluding the "problematic ones").

How many people are affected?

In the US there were 3,2 million teachers in public schools, 0,5 million in private schools. In 2018-2019 the total expenditure in public elementary and secondary schools per student was 13,187 USD, in a total of 667 billion USD.

Service Providers, like KIVA usually charge EUR 10/child/ schoolyear for similar programs.

In the EU, there are 75, Million students, in the age range from early childhood education to upper secondary education, and 5,2 million teachers tríing to educate them. (Source ec.europa.eu)

In Canada, in 2019/2020 there were 399,972 educators employed in public elementary and secondary schools.

Who does the solution serve? 

My Solution serves students and teachers of the pandemic schooling era, across all demographics, and across all countries, regardless of their economic status. It aims to help to re-establish the psycho-social well-being of young people and educators who have been severely impacted and are overwhelmed. This is the first crisis, that impacted teachers and children in the developed world as well - the press and the social media are loud from the teachers' cry for help. The Solution aims to help them. The Tools are Introduced by the teacher and the Program elements are played together with the kids in the classroom.

What is it? 

Mental health services suffer from the lack of devices and human resources, therefore I developed a Toolkit and linked it to a Program that enables social-emotional learning to happen in the classroom environment, led by the reacher. A system, new behavior, new common values, and new routines are created.

Why do we need a "Toolkit" that allows socio-emotional learning to happen in the classroom and be led by the teacher? 

The pandemic regulations just derailed the social systems in the societies around the world: it is impossible to navigate the health-, education- systems,  and even employer-employee relations with the old routines or old tools we had in the "old normality". The problem is that both the mental health trauma and the solution that helps to recover successfully are intangible, invisible, and therefore hard to imagine, and handle. The "to-do list", the process that leads to successful learning re-engagement is invisible as well. That is why I created a toolkit, that makes the whole notion of emotional learning/well-being tangible, visible, and therefore manageable for all parties involved.

What processes and technology does it use?

The process is simple and quick:

1. Online workshop for teachers to explain to them the wider context of the pandemic impact on the social systems, including schools, and people working within (i.e. kids, educators) (Technology used - zoom)

2. Online workshop for teachers when the Toolkit is revealed, and the "user manual" is given to them. (Technology used - zoom)

3. Teachers implement the Tools in the classroom and provide feedback on the results (technology-based tool - google form to collect feedback).

The need for technology: 

1. Technology to create voiceover videos in many languages, and enable the Methodology transfer to become automatic.

2. Technology to create a portal that makes the whole know-how, process, and results available globally.

The result

This program results in teacher and learner re-engagement and helps students AND teachers create a supporting, calm classroom environment, with a strongly decreased level of anger eruption, bullying, and criticism towards each other. The "New norms" are created just within a few days in the classroom, and kids even bring them home and help caregivers navigate familial landscapes as well.

This picture introduces some samples of my Toolkit, that make the "Human Nature" visible, and by doing so, easy to handle. Easier, than educators, caregivers and children have ever experienced before.

The target population

1. Educators in the "developed world", and the kids they supervise

The economic impact of the pandemic was huge in low- and middle-income countries, but the impact on the mental health of children, their parents, and educators was just as terrific in the developed world. The target population served directly by my program are the teachers and children regardless of the income level of the country they live in. We experience indirect positive effects in the families as well, as the majority of the kids take home the Tools we teach them and start using them with their parents, caregivers, other family members. This way the method has a wide social impact.

in what ways are they currently underserved

The post-covid mental health issues hit so many kids, that one-on-one therapy doesn't help anymore to solve the current situation.

How will the solution address their needs?

1 - there are not enough professionals (e.g. therapists, social workers, etc.) to invite so many kids into individual sessions. In order to address or SOLVE this issue, equipping educators, tutors with easy-to-use tools that can re-balance the classroom environment in just a fraction of time seems to be a logical solution.

2 - there is no time for a kid to sit in therapy for months or years.

3. something has to be done on the classroom level in order for "learning" to happen again, instead of constant punishments, detentions.

The COVID times deleted everything we knew about how norms in society worked. The traditional ways of socio-emotional learning are just not working. Until kids don't recover from their mental health issues, they will be less able to focus on reaching their fullest potential or at least take the first steps towards it.

2. War Refugees (especially kids)

These days we use some of the tools in Hungary with Ukrainian refugee kids and their mothers to help them decrease their trauma level to a manageable level, and help them re-connect to their inner strength as soon as possible. (it means that the Toolkit can not only be used

War, fear of death, your family members being killed, your homes being destroyed, and escaping to an unknown land into "nowhere" knowing 'nobody" are among the biggest traumas children can suffer from. These tools help kids find positive emotions even in the darkest moments of their childhood. The picture was taken just today, by my colleague, during a workshop with the kids in Budapest (30th March 2022.)

I have been working on the topic of socio-emotional learning and equipping teachers with useful, easy-to-implement Tools in order for them to be able to mentor kids in the classroom in this process for many years now. See details at: www.scooldays.org A part of this work has been invited to MIT LINC Conference in 2019. https://easychair.org/publicat...

How are you and your team representative of these communities?

We created a survey in 2021 among teachers, asking about the greatest challenge they faced. 

We received answers in just a week from 1600 educators, from every 3rd municipality in the country. The Program is built up upon their answers and reflects the most commonly mentioned topics. In order to keep the answers in line with their needs, there were monthly free online workshop sessions where we discussed their relevant needs. Today we have a strong mastermind group, a wider group that introduced the method and gave feedback about its effects, and there are always new applicants joining the monthly free starters taining as well.

I am interested in finding partners to reach as many educators as possible.

What specific financial, technical, legal, cultural, or market barriers
that you face do you hope Solve can help you overcome, and how?

I hope to overcome market barriers and reach schools, educators, researchers, who are really dedicated to listening to educators, and providing them and the kids under their supervision with long-lasting solutions to overcome the POST-COVID-related stress, mental health issues. I hope to become a part of a really SOLVER team, typically open-minded professionals, who believe in prevention, have a growth mindset, and are willing to make visible and tangible actions.

The Program, the Tools and the neuroscience-based Methodology behind are well elaborated, more times piloted, I will need technology to make it easily accessible for as many educators in need for help in the classroom NOW.

The POST COVID collapse of the social systems all around the world (including the developed "western" countries) is invisible. The majority of the population be it adults or children - suffer from mental health trauma caused by strong measures that were introduced including the curfew. The mental health trauma is invisible as well, representing itself in "strange", uncommon, largely unacceptable behavior forms, and lack of attention, lack of motivation.

(Save the Children report says: 

While children do not seem to be severely affected by the pandemic in terms of health, they are becoming the biggest victims of its social and economic impacts.)

The size of the damage cannot be seen, cannot be expressed in easy economic terms, which would allow decision-makers or business executives quickly understand that there is an urgent need for immediate actions. They might think: educators are not doing their work well, they are just crying, etc. Yet, the enormous trauma/problem is there, whether we are willing to face it or not. Schools suffer extremely, as individual trauma is multiplied by the number of children in the class. We have 1 educator facing mental health trauma of 20-35 children and is supposed to overcome/solve that without tools and proper education in the field of neuroscience or applied psychology. How do we expect educators to overcome this challenge alone?  

My solution is innovative, because the tools I offer to educators make the type and the size of the problem visible, and in the meantime tangible. The Program behind the Tools enables educators to build up new routines, show different behavior options to kids, and by doing so, build up a safe and calm environment, that is able to balance a great part of the mental health damage caused by COVID measures. Only after this is done, we can start thinking of re-engaging children for education.

How it could be catalytic: do you expect it to change the market

Yes, introducing this approach into schools is, and will change everything educators experienced before regarding handling behavior issues in the classroom. Instead of using the traditional "punishment methods" like detentions, suspensions, there is totally different cooperation emerging among kids, and this new value, this new quality of classroom time involves educators as well. The drama, anger outbursts, bullying is decreasing dramatically from the first days on.

The assumption about my tools being catalytic is not only my idea, but feedback coming from educators using it all around Hungary

The feedback from the teachers reveals even more details of how efficient the introduction of the Tools was, how much kids liked it, and how did the Program transform the relationship not only among children but between educator and child as well. Please, check out the link

https://kreativneveles.hu/Effc...https://kreativneveles.hu/Effc...

This type of genuine change in the direction of inclusion and cooperation was observed during the 2018 program in the American School of Las Palmas as well. It means the program has the same effects in a diverse, international school environment as well.

https://easychair.org/publicat...

The specific external impact I wish to create through my solution in the next 5 years: 

Build up a solid international community of educators using the POst COVID Classroom Management Toolkit of my Methodology (S-Cool Days) in more than 30 countries of the world.

My dream is to become a source of innovative best practices build up a "resource group" which will add up tools for educators upon their most recent issues, challenges.

specific, measurable indicators you are using to measure your progress:

1. Eligibility - currently the entire methodology is only eligible in the Hungarian language, and partially in English. One indicator is to make the methodology fully available in English and in Spanish

2. Established relationship with schools: the number of schools that introduce my program

3. Number of educators who train themselves

4. Number of books sold

The Program and Tools we use, enable children to build up their internal comfort zone, regardless of what is happening in the outside world. By doing so, we create immediate results, that can be seen in dramatic changes in behavior. It was even a surprise for us (and many of you won't believe it) that at the moment the child learns how to "switch the reptilian brain off" they don't want to go back there, they don't want to misbehave again. Once they learn how to stop anger outbursts with the temper volcano, they keep using that all the time, even bring them home, and teach parents how to use that. We have a lot of stories. One of the most common effects our Program generates just within days is that the kids, arriving home ask their parents to change the kindergarten/school they recently go to, for our kindergarten/school.

Let me share a story, we received from educators: 

How did the class community change since you started using the mood thermometer?

By starting each morning with the mood thermometer the problems are cleared up at the beginning and we can solve some of them right away.

Since we’ve started using it they know they can tell me if they are exhausted or have any other problems. They are calmer because they know I take into account their state of mind. At times, just drawing the temper volcano alone results in humorous ways to release their anger.

The children became more open toward each other, they are more willing to play and talk to one another, and I can see them expressing themselves easier. We have fewer behavioral problems!

Children became more malleable. They look out for each other, they are more helpful, they are softer.

Students now open up more freely.

They became more empathetic and helpful to each other.

Children have started to look out for each other and try to help each other.

We asked the teachers if they have stories to share

1. When my mood was bad, the students asked me to set the mood thermometer as well. When I told them what was bothering me, they asked what they could do for me, modeling my previous behavior. It is also amazing to see that the children are listening and supporting each other if their classmates need it.

2.

The first class was the most memorable for me when I told them that from now we will draw "Mood Thermometers" and "Temper Volcanos". I said that one of the reasons for this was that we know that the pandemic and quarantine had been extremely difficult for many of us. This opportunity was a great relief for them because other teachers put the emphasis on making up for as much of the material as possible. A girl told me that some of her friends reported that they are not seen as living and feeling creatures but it is all about performance. Since that, the students became really sincere toward me and a trusting atmosphere developed.

3.

Last time, in the class of 13 years-old kids, the only girl in the class was in a very bad mood, she was nearly crying. She couldn’t tell what was wrong. The boys decided to draw the "Mood Thermometer" horizontally on the board and indicate their moods using their marks from kindergarten. The girl’s sign was a duck. One of the boys drew a duck crying in the ocean of tears. Then we had a casual chat. Hour after hour, the duck wandered into a lake, then into a pond, then into a puddle, till the girl was distracted, and smiling. The boys were very attentive to her all day. We didn't learn much, yet what we did learn was in a funny way, which was rather difficult because of the otherwise dry technical material.

How long did it take to reach any change?

37,5%- It worked immediately

12,5% In 1 week 50% In 2-3 weeks

the application of science and evidence-based knowledge to the practical aims of human life:

In 2020, first time in the history of humanity the entire global population was put outside of its comfort zone, including all citizens of the "developed world". One out of comfort zone, there is a part of the human brain, called the reptilian brain, which is activated automatically.  It only allows 3 survival functions to be operated: fight, flight, or freeze. As the unstable situation has been on since then, many children simply can't find their way back to the everyday stable operation, to their comfort zone. Since entire humanity was hit, the number of individuals, who were left outside their comfort zone in 2020, and continue to live there, have increased dramatically. The problem with this fact is, that out of their comfort zone, humans operate in the fight, flight, or freeze mode. This is exactly what educators experience in the classroom, where, in many cases, 10-15 out of 30 kids might arrive at school in this condition. Those in fight mode produce the "wawes of student misbehaviors". Those, in "flight mode", take pills or hurt themselves (many teenagers produce these symptoms). Those in freeze mode lost their interest in learning, and motivation to plan a future for themselves.

Why is it a greater problem than you may first think? 

1. Society is the basis of the entire existence of humanity. Usually, we only think about investment in business terms, and about donations regarding society. The problem is now, that all the kids were affected by the trauma, they are way out of their comfort zone, some of them even already put on medicaments for "acting crazy". Schools were the institutions that produced talent for the best business and other corporations, NGO-s, etc. Now, since 2020 we can't count on the school system as the producer of talents, because until this huge amount of children who are suffering from losing their comfort zone and in the lack of proper help keep operating in fight/flight/freeze mode, almost NO LEARNING will happen. Learning to happen needs the pre-frontal lobe to be activated.

The problem is there, as a consequence of which, learning as such is happening a lot less than we knew before.

However, just as the "mental health trauma", "learning not happening" is invisible as well. So is the damage. Decision-makers usually don"'t listen to educators, especially not if they are working in PK-12. The problem, they are talking about is currently seen and understood as a problem in the school system. But is it really? In just a few years, universities will experience the same misfunctioning as well. Unfortunately, it will take 3-5 years till this wave reaches corporations, and they will experience the same misbehaviors, lack of attention, and motivation that can be observed now at schools. Then, when this problem escalates to the labor market, will the cry for help be understood. It will only become visible, when organizations, especially leading businesses will experience such a decrease in talents arriving at the labor market, which was never experienced before.

The question is, shall we really lose 3--5 more years, hundreds of thousands if not millions of kids during this time, or are we ready to listen to educators, help them with system-based solutions, and fix the problem ASAP?

My Program is based on applied neuroscience: we "teach" children (and adults as well) how they can de-activate the reptilian brain. We offer a systemic solution: equip teachers with tools and processes to build up a safe environment in the classroom, where children may find their lost comfort zone.

Neuroscience is already built into the Program. In order to make the program available for mora educators, we need to use other technologies, such as a  platform with videos, or even apps.

Inclusion + equitable environment:

The Toolkit and the Program that we provide the educators is a system-based approach, that creates inclusion in just a few weeks  - if they follow the instructions and repeat the newly established routines regularly as asked. Inclusion happens so fast, from one day to the other, that educators refer to the transformation they experience in the classroom usually by using the following sentence "and then the Magic Happened".

All the tools we use are designed to eliminate financial and socio-economic barriers that would in many cases prevent schools with limited financial resources from joining such program offerings. All the tools we provide can be realized/created with a variety of materials, including the most evident and available ones at schools: paper and pencil. Even in the case of the least privileged ones (e.g. the refugees from the Ukrainian war we use simply the imagination of the children, they "create the tools" by imagining them and it works as well.

The sysmbols (temper volcano, defensive shield, love amulet) we use to transform the classroom into an inclusive community, and an environment where socio-emotional learning may happen, are deeply rooted in human nature, therefore end up in immediate results - regardless of social, cultural, and identity-based human attributes.

How do you provide value to the populations you serve, and why do they want or need them?

The COVID restrictions have generated many structural changes in the everyday lives of parents, children, and educators. The number of COVID-related changes and the short time frame of the introduction of the drastic measures, the instability and insecurity caused by them forced a lot of individuals to lose their comfort zone during the last 2 years. Being outside of one's comfort zone for weeks/months/ years creates an imbalance, tension, and might even end in behavioral changes, which educators report these days all around the world. Psychological problems "officially" entered the classroom.  The behavior anomalies among kids happen so often, that the traditional one-on-one conversations with psychologists just can't serve all of them in need of help. The good news is that in many cases the problems can be solved by introducing some new routines, new Role Models in the classroom. This is what we provide for educators.

Product and services:

We serve educators and provide a toolkit they really need to manage the POST Covid Classroom anomalies and enable children to re-engage in learning. The recent offering consists of an online course and follow-up for the participants. The pilot programs were offered for free and in the Hungarian language.

The English online workshop was piloted during the 2022 Open Education week.

We are currently working on the English translation of more parts of the methodology and plan to create a portal, where educators may purchase the materials, or apply for courses.

The current financial background: 

We provide summer childcare for employers such as Citibank, and the research, product development, and free workshop (in the pilot program) is financed from those incomes.

COVID interfered with this business model and forced us to go online. The plan for the coming year is to go online, build a platform, and provide services for schools, educators in English.

The modell is: 

Service subsidization

Sells products or services to an external market to help fund other
social programs. This model is integrated with the non-profit
organization; the business activities and social programs overlap.Can leverage tangible assets (buildings, land, employees) or intangible (expertise, methodologies, or relationships)

In this respect, the S-Cool Days program was not a business. It was operated as the CRS activity of my company. It means, the program was available free of charge, and the costs were financed by corporations, who assigned us different types of consulting activities, or family-friendly programs.

For the next 1-2 years the plan is to convert the former CSR activity into a social business and offer the activities for schools in need and individual educators who are looking for an instant solution regarding COVID-related misbehavior issues. Revenue generation is planned from online workshops, and from the sales of the books online.