.:: Personal/Social Development (families, peers and teachers) ::.

Covering the section of Personal/Social Development for Chapter 3: Sean Crose


Article Title: Social and Emotional Learning: What is it? How can we use it to help our children?
Author: Robin Stern, Ph.D.
Article Summary: Students need to learn more than academics in the classroom. In fact, Emotional Intelligence, or EQ, as it's called, has been found to be the single greatest factor in determining the success of an individual in our society (far greater than the more lauded IQ of an individual). Classrooms, then, must focus on social and emotional development as well as the more traditional aspects of learning. Five major points must be focused on to assure the individual student's emotional and psychological well-being: self and other awareness, mood management, self-motivation, empathy and management of relationships. These five major points can be emphasized and focused on in all aspects of the individual student's life. Teachers, parents and students, then, can all play the role of educator in this very important (and, as yet, under-rated) aspect of personal development.


Key Points:
1. Emotional Intelligence has been found to be of primary importance when pertaining to the individual student's development and personal success.
2. Development in the field of social skills and emotional growth has a deeply positive impact on the individual student's ability to learn.
3. Parents should: begin their child's emotional education early, start an SEL (social and emotional learning) discussion group, be a role model, applaud their children's efforts, look for teachable moments, employ personal stories and current events as well as movies and web-sites as teaching tools, keep a journal, look for toys and products which help in their child's emotional development.
4. Educators should: integrate SEL skills, research SEL programs, look for ways to employ technology to achieve their goals for social and emotional education, find teachable moments, value social and emotional intelligence in their students, create classroom reflections, engage with other teachers to learn about classroom strategies, get involved with SEL programs outside of school, keep a journal.
5. Students should: keep a journal, encourage themselves through “self talk,” find ways to calm themselves and shift moods, encourage friends to give their personal points of view, be aware of the “buttons” which trigger their individual bad behavior, find opportunities to work with their peers, listen to their instincts, take time to reflect and actually listen to their “inner voice,” be aware of their social and emotional needs.
6. Students must be in an environment that allows social and emotional growth to occur. This point applies not only to teachers and parents, but to students themselves.

Complete Reference:
Stern, Robin, Ph.D. (3/28/2003). Social and Emotional Learning: What is it? How can we use it to help our children.http://www.aboutourkids.org/articles/social_emotional_learning_what_it_how_can_we_
use_it_help_our_children