“Nothing important gets done alone,” according to Daniel Goleman. Following the hazing story in Sayreville, New Jersey I am thinking it is a great teachable moment for kids, parents, teachers, coaches and school leaders. No doubt, we have all dealt with some version of this story: hazing, bullying, or sexual harassment. Hopefully we have not experienced anything as serious.
Schools have established programs, policies and procedures to deal with such issues. I fear we often make the mistake of looking at interventions as separate from our imbedded required curriculum. We might have an assembly, bring in a speaker, or offer packaged programs under the special education, athletics, or special services umbrella. We seldom step back and evaluate how successful these programs are or revisit them based on rapidly changing environments and situations. We tend to respond to specific incidents and not work as hard to prevent them. Drug and alcohol prevention programs and school safety training for example, work much better than rehab or looking at our security after an incident. We have the data to prove the point.
So too, a systemic approach that includes building social emotional skills such as responsibility, self-awareness, social awareness, problem-solving, relationship and team building, learning ways students themselves can deal with stress, anger, depression are as important as improving skills in reading and math. More correctly, attention to behavior and academic performance goes hand in hand. We can teach both.
In working with the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence I have seen how this work can transform an entire district’s culture. At JSG, we are using this research to custom design programs to solve problems. One size does not fit all. Here are some of the methods that work:
- Learning and using the principles and language of Emotional Intelligence
- Through small group discussion, stories, case vignettes, writing and sharing, learning habits of reflection, mindfulness, stress management, dialogue, conflict management, empathy and more
- Checking in and coaching
- Monitoring program effectiveness
Please do not hesitate to contact Jane Sandbank Group to learn more.
Jane Sandbank, Ed.D.
914-222-0388
www.janesandbankgroup.com