"The Kids Who Aren't Okay"

·51 min·5 clips

Dr. Green argues that the kids punished the most are often the ones still struggling, creating a 'school-to-prison pipeline.'

Host Evan Dawson interviews clinical psychologist Dr. Ross Green about his book 'The Kids Who Aren't Okay,' which argues that schools' punitive, top-down discipline models are failing struggling students. Green advocates for his Collaborative and Proactive Solutions approach, where educators collaboratively problem-solve with students to address the root causes of 'concerning behavior,' rather than simply punishing it. The conversation challenges common explanations like pandemic disruption and social media, and features educator Katie McKenzie from the Norman Howard School, which practices this model.

As heard by us

A humane school conversation that treats struggling kids as a support problem, not a score problem.

Connections opens on the blunt reality of test scores, then widens to the mental health strain, depression, and weaker attendance that the guests describe. The strongest stretch comes when the discussion turns practical, especially in the account of Norman Howard School.

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Why you'd press play

For when you want a calm, practical listen about kids who are slipping through school cracks.

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