My name is Tina Miller and am a graduate of the master's program in social work at the University of Missouri-Columbia (MIZ! ZOU!). Most of my career has been spent in a K-12 setting, although I do have five years of experience in higher education.
My current job is part of a grant-funded program where I do prevention education at the K-4th grade level. I teach on a rotation with the school counselors at three different buildings in my school district. The program I teach through is called PeaceBuilders. You can find out more about implementing PeaceBuilders here: www.peacebuilders.com. The focus of PeaceBuilders is primarily on building peace (obviously) through five concepts: Praise people, give up put-downs, seek wise people, notice and speak up about hurts I cause, right wrongs and help others. Within the framework of these topics, I teach the soft skills kids need to make friends, respect themselves and others, manage anger and conflict, respond appropriately to bullying, demonstrate kindness, display honesty, and practice self-control. In addition, we also do prevention lessons related to cigarettes (including e-cigarettes), alcohol, inhalants, and illegal drugs.
Aside from work, I'm also a former foster parent and have two beautiful daughters who came to us through the foster care system. I am passionate about what I do because I have seen first hand the devastating effects of substance abuse and the high cost to society of people who grow up without the skills I teach.
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