Todd Zinkula

Father of Three (Reegan, Dayne, Brody), MS teacher/Coach, Outdoor and Sport Fan

[Lennin Reyes @LenninReyes]

@educationweek If teachers want things to change, they're going to have to break the big unwritten rule and call parents out on their behaviors.

[Dr. Bryan Pearlman #MaslowBeforeBloom @DrP_Principal]

For over 30 years I have worked where behavior, learning, and mental health collide. Teacher. Principal. Therapist. Adjunct professor of Educational Psychology. Author. Keynote speaker.

And if there is one thing I believe deeply, it is this:

There is no single silver bullet for student behavior.

The students who struggle the most do not need one program. They need the best of what we know, woven together with consistency, compassion, structure, and brain science.

Here is what lives in my toolbox and why it works.

Maslow Before Bloom.
If a student does not feel safe, connected, regulated, and valued, academics will always come second. Behavior is often a signal of an unmet need. When we prioritize belonging, predictability, and emotional safety, behavior improves because the nervous system settles. A regulated brain can learn. A dysregulated brain survives.

Trauma informed practices.
Many behaviors make sense when you understand the story behind them. Trauma narrows the window of tolerance and increases fight, flight, or freeze responses. When we respond with calm and curiosity instead of shame and escalation, we help rewire stress responses. We move from asking what is wrong with you to asking what happened to you.

Emotional regulation and sensory strategies.
Some students are not defiant. They are overwhelmed. Teaching breathing, grounding, movement breaks, and sensory tools gives students real skills. Calm is not something we demand. It is something we teach and model. We calm the body before we coach the mind.

Collaborative Problem Solving.
Challenging behavior often reflects lagging skills, not lack of will. When we involve students in identifying problems and brainstorming solutions, we build executive functioning, ownership, and trust. Students are more likely to follow plans they help create.

Restorative Practices.
Accountability matters. But repair matters more. When harm is done, we focus on impact, empathy, and restoring relationships. Students learn that mistakes do not define them, but they do require responsibility. That builds character and community.

Love and Logic and natural and logical consequences.
Punishment may stop behavior in the moment. It rarely teaches replacement skills. Logical consequences connect behavior to outcome in a way that makes sense. They preserve dignity and avoid power struggles. Students learn responsibility without humiliation.

Boys Town Social Skills.
Some students truly do not know the skills we expect. We must explicitly teach what following directions looks like, what respectful disagreement sounds like, and how to problem solve appropriately. Direct instruction, modeling, practice, and feedback matter.

The 7 Habits.
Helping students see themselves as proactive, capable, and goal driven shifts identity. When students learn to think win win, begin with the end in mind, and seek first to understand, they build internal leadership that supports long term change.

How do we incorporate all of this without overwhelming staff?

Start simple.
Create predictable environments.
Teach regulation explicitly.
Use logical consequences instead of punitive ones.
Build relationships before correction.
Involve students in problem solving.
Repair when harm occurs.
Teach missing skills directly.
Hold high expectations with high support.

High expectations plus high support equals growth.

Combining these approaches is not being soft. It is being strategic. It aligns with brain science and human development. It builds skills instead of demanding compliance.

As a former principal, I learned that tightening rules alone does not transform culture. As a therapist, I see every day that behavior is communication. As an educator, I know students rise when they feel safe, seen, and capable.

The goal is not to control kids.
The goal is to build humans.

-Dr. Bryan Pearlman

[Hunter Price @CoachHPrice]

One thing I don’t miss about teaching: Parent teacher conferences. Parents have access to a live tracking grade book, our emails 24/7, and can essentially get a meeting by whenever they want.

Gotta be the most outdated, unnecessary process in education. Also adding that the kids you need to see don’t come. It just ends up being parents of A students wanting to hear how awesome their kids are.

[Fixing Education @FixingEducation]

Things teachers want to say to parents…

-Take the phone away at night. Your kid isn’t getting enough sleep.

-Don’t believe everything your kid says. They lie…A LOT!

-Teach your kid to have some grit.

•Model kind actions.

-Stop blaming everyone for your kid’s issues.

[The Principal’s Office @educator4ever36]

In case you’ve not seen this yet. It’s making the rounds and it’s so very true. Parents - worth a watch to see what is going on in many classrooms.

[Dike- New Hartford Girls Tennis @dnhgirlstennis]

These girls showed up ready to compete and played lights out!

[RadioOnTheGo @RadioOnTheGo]

For the second straight season, @dnhgirlstennis wins the team title at the NICL Girls Tennis Tournament!

[Dike- New Hartford Girls Tennis @dnhgirlstennis]

Results after singles:
Addy: 4-1, only loss to Holton from Columbus (3-6)
Lauren: 5-0
Haley: 4-1, only loss to Columbus
Payton: 5-0
Autumn: 5-0
Tareya: 5-0

Girls are playing great and we are ready for doubles!

[Dike- New Hartford Girls Tennis @dnhgirlstennis]

We’re all smiles as we head into a huge week of tennis! 😁 Today we travel to AP. Thursday we take on #2 ranked Decorah at home AND it is Senior Night! It’s going to be a big week filled with competition, celebration, and a lot of great tennis—come out and support these girls!

[Dike- New Hartford Girls Tennis @dnhgirlstennis]

Pulled off a huge upset over #7 ranked Columbus! They battled through adversity, never backed down, and proved their hard work is paying off. Everyone stepped up, grew from the challenge, and showed what it truly means to be a Wolverine. Proud doesn’t even begin to cover it!

[Justin Stockdale @DNHSUPT]

🙌💯💥

[Dike- New Hartford Girls Tennis @dnhgirlstennis]

Such a fun day on the courts at today’s triangular, and we ended it with two more wins! I love spending my days with these girls, enjoying the laughter, the hustle, and the amazing growth they’ve made in such a short time. Thank you to everyone who came out to support the girls!

[Dike- New Hartford Girls Tennis @dnhgirlstennis]

Two meets, two wins! After a long day on the courts, the girls showed tremendous growth, stayed coachable, and pushed themselves to get better. Their hard work, energy, and positive attitude made all the difference today. Proud of how they competed and supported each other!

[Grundy Center Spartans Baseball @SpartanSluggers]

Well done, Spartans! Deserved post-season recognition for @juddjirovsky, @LeboPete, @Brody_zinkula, @ryker_thoren. Tough district to receive recognition in and our guys more than deserved it. Go Spartans! #gbp

[Jason Jirovsky @Jason_Jirovsky]

Well done, @juddjirovsky. You and your team had a year worthy of All-District recognition. Go Spartans!

[George Stern @georgestern]

"Gen Z is lazy"
"Boomers are out of touch"
"Millennials are needy"
"Gen X doesn't care"

Wrong, wrong, wrong, and wrong. The truth:

Each generation wants to do good work and be respected.

They just define those things differently.

[Grundy Center Spartans Baseball @SpartanSluggers]

Finally, thank you, seniors. Brody, Ryker, and Dayton, you've given so much to this baseball team and program. There have been injuries, struggles, and lots of winning and fun. Thank you for your leadership this year. You will be greatly missed.

[Iowa High School Baseball @iahsbb]

TODAY’S 2A DISTRICT FINALS: RANKED TEAMS
#1 Underwood (22-2) vs Treynor (14-11)
#2 Pleasantville (28-1) vs Grand View Christian (16-11)
#3 Van Meter (23-8) vs Roland-Story (22-9)
#4 Unity Christian (24-9) vs Pocahontas Area (21-3)
#5 Mediapolis (25-2) vs Durant (20-8)
#6 Chariton (23-6) vs Central Lee (19-4)
#7 West Lyon (17-6) vs Central Lyon (10-16)
#8 Iowa City Regina eliminated
#9 Grundy Center (22-3) vs North Fayette Valley (7-25)
#10 Sumner-Fredericksburg eliminated
#iahsbb

[Chad Harberts @ChadHarberts]

Grundy Center’s motto is “Gritty Beats Pretty.” It took all the Spartans’ grit to hold off a pesky North Fayette Valley team tonight. #iahsbase

[Grundy Center Spartans Baseball @SpartanSluggers]

The Spartan Sluggers are district champions! There are no style points in the post-season. Survive and advance. This team never wavers and competes with grit! Fantastic senior leadership again tonight. We live to fight another day! Go Spartans! #gbp