Teaching Humanity Remotely with Dr. Mindy Shaw

This episode in this series presents a highly personal point of view while at the same time is completely a "must-listen" for teachers and educators.  Here, Dr. Shaw discusses her recent return to classroom teaching, and in doing so she dissects her motivations, her own insecurities and her strategies for success.  She talks about her self-examination and her implementation of intention.  She points out that we need to recalibrate ...

Once again, Dr. Shaw takes us on a journey through the power of positive thinking.  Early in the this episode she states that "We are what we think about," and she follows that up with the philosophy that she is trying to treat people as they ought to be and not as they are.  That attitude allows us to see everyone we encounter in the most positive light, and by doing that, we also create self-respect.  It's a philosophy that can e...

In this brief episode, Dr. Shaw explores her philosophy that we should all live the life that we love, and that we should teach our children to do the same.  It starts by identifying what you love.  Dr. Shaw is a contributor right now at a Montessori School and she shares some of the wonderful experiences she is having there.  She also mentions her children's book called "Time Out is Time In" which postulates that when a child is g...

In this ultra helpful episode, Dr. Shaw shares the eight (8) key principles that guide her life, and she shares these in order to provide help and guidance to anyone who hears these.  So many of us are looking for answers and trying to figure out what we are doing incorrectly in our lives.  As Dr. Shaw says, in some ways her list of principles are obvious and common sense, but by listing them out and offering a bit of explanation f...

In this brief but timely episode, Dr. Shaw takes advantage of the turning of the page of the calendar year in order to put forth a key tenet of her philosophy.... and that is that we should treat others as they ought to be, not as they are.   That practice of treating others as they ought to be puts the focus on helping and improving, and there is no better quality to a relationship than to be capable of lifting each other up.  Als...

In this fascinating and reflective episode, Dr. Shaw dives into the aspect of human nature by which we DON'T learn from our own mistakes.  We are often presented with an answer or an opportunity or a gift of sorts, and we reject it because we either don't recognize it or because we are so caught up in our own baggage.  Here, she relays an example via a story from the life of a friend of hers, and with that situation as a launching ...

In this very brief but important episode, Dr. Shaw offers advice on how to disarm a situation in which your child, or even an adult, is suddenly facing anxiety.   It's quite common, and her guidance is spot on.  Essentially she says to validate the person's feelings who is experiencing anxiety, and then support them.  There is also a quick discussion on strategies to implement in this situation, but truly, the "validate and support...

In this brief but very helpful episode, Dr. Shaw gives us some solid guidance on dealing with the ups and downs of our emotions and feelings.  She begins by acknowledging that we all have ever-changing feelings based on the news that we receive or the experiences that we have.  That conversation then leads into her discussion about responding to children who are not in a good state of mind based on either simple disappointment or w...

In this episode, Dr. Shaw shares an illustrative example of how she and a friend separately and for different reasons changed their personal stories about certain situations and that change of story change the outcome of the situation.  She begins by relating some perspective on her podcast series and what each week's audio is about, and then the discussion evolves into some real world examples of how adult behavior can be altered ...

In this episode, Dr. Shaw continues to examine the ways in which we trap ourselves into a layer of negativity because the feeling we may be having is labeled as negative.  She examines words like "disappointment" or "melancholy" and explains that while we all have feelings that come from negatively stimuli, we need to transform ourselves out of that negativity through self-examination and the motivation to do better.   She also poi...

In this week's episode, Dr. Shaw picks up where she left off in the last episode by continuing to discuss how to release the negativity in many of our interactions.  Specifically, she looks at how we use certain words and hold their definitions as inherently negative... words like punishment or mistake or disappointment.   She also discusses how when we praise someone, particularly our children, and our praise is insincere, what ar...

In this brief but direct episode, Dr. Shaw reiterates one of her favorite themes and that is to not be the cause of your own suffering.  Often when we are disappointed, we accept the outcome.  Instead, she recommends that when you encounter a response to something that runs counter to the result you want, look at the situation as an invitation to let go of your attachments and explore another avenue.  That exploration can be exciti...

In this episode Dr. Shaw takes a look at our lives that are filled with excuses, and those excuses are born out of our preferences.  She admits that she is always assigning meaning to things, and she wonders aloud what life would be like without our preferences.  She uses a friend and her daughter as an illustrative example... the friend's daughter says she has a condition that makes her behave in a certain way, and that may very w...

In this episode, Dr. Shaw begins by describing a scenario in which a teen or an adolescent is being provocative and looking to bait you into a fight.  When you are baited in this manner, the way you stop yourself from over-reacting or reacting too quickly, she recommends that you pause and ask yourself, "Does this serve me?"   The answer is probably not because you don't want to answer confrontation with more confrontation.  At the...

In this personal episode, Dr. Shaw shares the tale of a recent family vacation that taught here a lesson or two.  One of the key things learned from this experience was that a family dynamic is infinitely better when everyone is on board so to speak.  If someone doesn't want to be there or doesn't pull their weight whatever that happens to be, it upsets the entire dynamic and forces others to do an unfair share.  During Dr. Shaw's ...

In this brief episode, Dr. Shaw explores what it really means to ask for what we want in life.  She begins with some clear and simple examples of what it's like to ask for what we need, and more importantly, she points out that we need to be prepared for the consequence of not getting what we ask for.  She shares that personally, she didn't ask her family for anything growing up because she was too concerned that it would be hurtfu...

In this brief but fascinating episode, Dr. Shaw examines what happens when we experience fear in a social situation.   She begins by sharing that when she personally feels the most amount of fear, that's when she needs to have the most control... and when she's not afraid she needs the least control.  She feels that it's a natural tendency for all of us, and she shares some real life examples of how and why that occurs.  She also d...