teens, stress, life, violence, school, anxiety... Parents and fellow educators--Let's face it, parenting and educating teens is hard. Our modern world can be a loud, fast, brash, angry place, and teens, parents and educators are stuck in the middle of it every day. Teens can struggle with navigating modern life (in person and online--the only life they know!). Parents and educators can feel alone, frustrated and powerless to help (you're not!). At the same time, school shootings and other real world problems seem "too big" to solve. In reality, we have the power to create real change that can help reverse current alarming trends and redefine our "new normal." We have so many things to talk about, and it begins with an open, honest conversation. Change starts now. Let's talk about: *navigating the 24-7, aggressive, easily-outraged world *teens who seem unmotivated to do anything, especially school *teens' social media obsession *bullying & mean behavior *school shootings & shooters *grades, GPA & college admissions *habits teens have that you need to know about *why you feel like you are working harder on your teen's education than your teen is *why teens do what they do, despite the help you give them *habits teens lack but should have *parents' internal pressure & anxiety to fix it all for their teen *teens' anxiety, perfection & imperfection *and more By working together, we can begin to change the current trend (in schools and in the real world) that violence, aggression, anger, and murder are the answers to solving problems. School shootings and other school violence will not stop because "someone else" does something about it. Parents and people who touch the lives of kids are at the very root of what it will take to stop future school shootings. This book aims to take a "real talk" look at a range of issues facing our kids today from an educator's perspective and give parents and fellow educators strategies they can use to work with their kids to improve their own worlds. If we all work together on this, anything is possible. This book addresses school shootings and our often aggressive, overly angry world. It also addresses the lives teens live every day, covering topics ranging from stress and anxiety to social media to bullying to GPA and choosing classes in school. This book also looks at teens and school, including discussions about grades, class sizes, relationships, goal-setting, habits, and motivation (and/or the lack of it). Lisa Wright is a Texas public high school counselor whose career in education began almost three decades ago and includes twenty years as a middle school and high school teacher. Wright has observed the changes in students and the educational system brought about by the advent of technology and cell phones, by school district mandates designed to help kids, and by evolving parenting styles, all of which were well-intentioned but have at times resulted in unintended negative consequences. Wright has witnessed the evolution of schools and the educational system as school shootings have happened again and again. Wright's experience over three decades of a changing educational landscape and her research bring a unique perspective to her discussion of modern student and school issues. She addresses those issues head-on while including ways both parents and educators can help their kids/students. Wright promotes open discussion so that educators and parents can unite to work together to make our schools and our world safer places and our kids more resilient future adults.