About me, about us
KC Hill
«Where did we ever get the crazy idea that in order to make children do better, first we have to make them feel worse? Think of the last time you felt humiliated or treated unfairly. Did you feel like cooperating or doing better?»
– Jane Nelsen
Background
- Grew up in Berlin and Munich (Germany), Washington, DC and Hasliberg Goldern (Switzerland) (dual citizen of USA and Switzerland)
- 1979 Bachelor of Science from Vassar College, New York
- 1986 Teacher training in biology and Earth sciences from the University of Maryland
- 1993 Return to Switzerland with my family (Kathleen Hennessy and our 2 sons, 5 and 7 at the time)
- 1993-2011 Teacher and Director of the Ecole d’Humanité, an international boarding school
- 2011-today Living in Meiringen, Switzerland, teaching at the local primary school.
- 2013 Certification from the Positive Discipline Association to teach parenting courses.
- 2016 Certification from the Positive Discipline Association to teach teachers.
- 2019 Certification from the Positive Discipline Association to teach “Keeping the Joy in your Relationship” courses.
- Additional courses I’ve taken:
- Marshall Rosenberg’s Nonviolent Communication
- Ruth Cohn’s Theme Centered Interaction (TCI)
- Understanding Kids with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder)
- Understanding Kids on the Autism Spectrum
- The “No Blame Approach” for dealing with bullying
Before a child makes problems, it has some.
– Alfred Adler
Formative influences
The Ecole d’Humanité
This is the boarding school where Kathleen and I lived for 16 years – in a house with ten to twelve teenagers, for whom we were responsible . Those years gave us a wealth of experience with kids which help us in our work today. As a teacher I was lucky to work with children from around the world, across a wide range of abilities. They taught me what works – and more often, what does NOT work! As a school director I was able to learn to find solutions with others, and what it takes to create a successful and collaborative team.
Positive Discipline® (see Positive Discipline on the top menu)
This approach helped us tremendously in gracefully meeting the challenges that the young people entrusted to our care at the boarding school presented. Thanks to Positive Discipline, we found so much joy in this “big family” work, and were so successful at it, that other teachers asked us with great interest how we were able to integrate even the most challenging teenagers into our residential group.
Meditation
I began with meditating back when I was in university. Over the years I have experienced the many ways in which meditation enriches my life, so by now it is a part of my daily life.
In schools. Countless studies show that meditation (or mindfulness exercises) are effective in developing children’s ability to self-regulate, which is one of the most important skills needed for academic and career success.
Children will listen to you after they feel listened to.
– Jane Nelsen
Kathleen Hennessy (Link to Website)
Kathleen Hennessy, MSW, CIC has over 30 years of experience as a clinical social worker, family therapist, teacher, integral coach and school counselor. She is also a certified Positive Discipline parent educator and trained in Somatic Experiencing.
P.S. Kathleen und I have been together for over 40 years! Our two adult sons live in Denver, Colorado. Kathleen is a wonderful, intelligent, funny and compassionate woman. I recommend her with confidence as a coach, trauma therapist, and parent consultant.
