Wishing Well to Heal from Tragedy and Loss

Real Talk for Real Teachers with Dr. Becky Bailey, and special guests Kathy Spidle, Julie Hoven, and Miranda Richardson

Episode Summary

After learning about Conscious Discipline at a workshop, teachers at Grove Hill Elementary knew that they wanted to implement it at their school. Principal Kathy Spidle saw their enthusiasm and quickly agreed. At the start of the following year, a four-year-old child in Julie Hoven and Miranda Richardson’s class was diagnosed with leukemia. Although Keith was only in their class for 1.5 days before receiving the diagnosis, Julie and Miranda knew that they wanted to include him in their School Family.

Keith’s picture went up on the Wish Well Board, and his classmates wished him well every morning. They sent videos of the Wish Well Ritual to Keith and his family. After Keith passed away in December, the class made a We Remember Keith book, and students added Keith’s family to the Wish Well Board. The school planted a tree in his memory, with a sign that says, “Keith taught us to love and care for others.”

In this episode, principal Kathy Spidle and teachers Julie Hoven and Miranda Richardson share how they used the Wish Well Ritual to keep the School Family connected and teach love, empathy and kindness during a tragic time. Wishing Well is also a powerful way to acknowledge and begin to heal from loss.

Essential Takeaways

• Wishing Well fosters connection even in someone’s absence. It teaches children life lessons like empathy, love and kindness.
• Julie and Miranda learned the value of slowing down, deeply connecting, and using teachable moments for life skills, not just academics.
• We must recognize and acknowledge great losses as well as small losses and disappointments. Otherwise they can turn to anger, then rage, and then revenge. Wishing Well provides an actionable way to recognize and acknowledge loss.

Important Links

• ConsciousDiscipline.com
• Wish Well Ritual
• Free Resources: Wish Well Ritual Plan
• Professional Development

Product Mentions

• Wish Well Board
• Award-Winning Conscious Discipline E-Course: Building Resilient Schools and Homes
• Creating the School Family

Show Outline

• :22 What is Conscious Discipline?
• 1:20 Introduction of guests Kathy, Julie, and Miranda
• 2:30 Grove Hill Elementary’s introduction to Conscious Discipline
• 4:22 The story of Keith and his family
• 8:53 How the school remembered Keith and supported his family after he passed away
• 15:00 Impact on the principal and teachers
• 20:12 Grove Hill Elementary’s goals for the future
• 21:42 What’s Becky up to?
• 22:20 What’s Becky celebrating?
• 23:09 Wish Well

Thank You for Listening

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On behalf of our Conscious Discipline family, we wish you well.