character education: promoting a positive primary school ......character education: promoting a...
TRANSCRIPT
CharacterEducation:PromotingaPositivePrimary
SchoolEnvironment
JointPTAMeetingDecember4,2017
“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
Maya Angelou
Whydoweneedtoteachchildrenaboutappropriatebehaviors?
Childrenneedtobereadyandavailabletolearn.“Kidsdowelliftheycan.”RossGreene
Children,atthisage,tendtobeegocentricandweneedtohelpthemlearntothinkofothers.
Teachingchildrenskillswillhelpthemlearntomakefriendsandbefriends.
Childrenatthisagehavehadlimitedlifeexperiencesandneedguidancetonavigatesocial
interactions.
Howdowepromoteapositiveschoolenvironmentthatisinclusiveofallchildren?
PromotingaPositivePrimarySchoolEnvironment
Givestudentsthelanguagethatwillhelpthemexpressthemselves:
HowamIfeelingrightnow?It’sokaytofeelangry,sad,lonely,frustrated.Usecolorassociationstohelpthemidentifythe
intensityoftheirfeelings.
PromotingaPositivePrimarySchoolEnvironment
Providestudentswithstrategiestoaddresswhatishappeningintheirworldatanygivenmoment.Ifeel_______________when___________.Ican___________.
PromotingaPositivePrimarySchoolEnvironment
NavigatingSocialSituationsExplainpersonalspace:Teachchildrenwhyit'simportantforeveryonetohavesomepersonalspacetofeelcomfortable.Practicesocialovertures:Teachchildrentheproperwaytostartaconversation,getsomeone'sattention,orjoinagroupofkidswhoarealreadyplayingtogether.Goovertakingturns:Teachandpracticewhatitmeanstowait,taketurns,andshare.
PromotingaPositivePrimarySchoolEnvironment
Teachingchildrentothinkabouttheirfeelings*SocialThinkingfocusesonhelpingchildrenfigureouthowtothinkinsocialsituations.Childrenaretaughthowtoobserve/thinkabouttheirownandothers’thoughts/feelings.*Theyalsolearntheconnectionbetweenthoughts,feelingsandbehaviors.*Thefocusonthinkingcanhelpkidsunderstandhowtointeractmoreeffectivelywithothers(i.e.,expectedvs.unexpected).
PromotingaPositivePrimarySchoolEnvironmentCopingStrategies
Howdowehelpchildren(andourselves)calmdown?Breathingtechniques.Givethemtimeandspace.Takeabreak,countto10,givewaittime.Validatetheirfeelings.Giveanopportunitytoexpressthemselvesiftheywantit.
PromotingaPositivePrimarySchoolEnvironment
CopingStrategies
*Individualizedapproach–learnwhatiscalmingforyourspecificchild*EncourageArtisticExpression
coloring,drawing,journaling,performing,etc.*Calming/sensorytools
Theraputty,playdough,Squishballglitterjar,finditbubbles,pinwheel
PromotingaPositivePrimarySchoolEnvironment
EmpathyEmpathyistheabilitytounderstandandsharethefeelingsofanother.Empathyencompassesperspectivetakingandcompassion.Childrenwhoareabletoconsiderthefeelingsandperspectivesofothers,showmorepro-socialbehaviorsthanchildrenwhohavedifficultywiththisskill.Empathicchildrencreateanatmosphereofharmonywithintheclassroomenvironment.
PromotingaPositivePrimarySchoolEnvironmentHowcanwecultivateempathy?
Childrenarebornwiththecapacityforempathy,butitneedstobenurturedthroughouttheirlives.Learningempathyisincertainrespectslikelearningalanguageorasport.Itrequirespracticeandguidance.Regularlyconsideringotherpeople’sperspectivesandcircumstanceshelpsmakeempathyanaturalreflexand,throughtrialanderror,helpschildrengetbetterattuningintoothers’feelingsandperspectives(MakingCaringCommonProject,HarvardUniversitySchoolofEducation).Makingcaringcommon.org*Positiverolemodeling-Demonstrateconcernforothersorparticipateincommunityactivitieswhichmodelcareforothers.*Zoomin-Usetheanalogyofamagnifyingglass.Beingkindmeanstakingacloselookathowothersarefeelingandwhattheyarethinking.Encouragechildrentodothiswithmorefamiliarandlessfamiliarpeople.*Uselanguagesuchas,‘Howwoulditfeeltowalkin______shoes?’*Practicerelaxationstrategies.Whenchildrenfeellessstresstheyaremoreabletodemonstrateempathy.*Helpingchildrenidentifyandmanagenegativefeelingslendstotheexpressionofempathy.
PromotingaPositivePrimarySchoolEnvironment
Thesearereinforcedintheschoolsonadailybasis.*BucketFillerTheme*SecondStepProgram*Literatureacrossthecurriculum*SpecialProgramsintheSchools
*UnityDay*ArtsinEducationprograms
*Yoga*JumpUpandHaveaGoodDay*LouDelBianco:MakeaGoodChoice
PromotingaPositivePrimarySchoolEnvironment
Whatcanyoudoathome?Usecommonlanguage*Bucketfilling.*Bigdealvslittledeal.*Makeagoodchoice.Providespecificpositivepraise“Ilikehowyou_____________.”
PromotingaPositivePrimarySchoolEnvironment
Whatcanyoudoathome?
*Verbalizeyourownfeelingsinfrontofyourchild,andhelpthemtoidentifytheirfeelings.*Modelcopingstrategies(i.e.talkoutloud).*Whenconflictarises,helpthemworkthroughsocialproblemsolving.*Buildempathybyaskingthemhowtheymightrelatetoastorybookormoviecharacter.
PromotingaPositivePrimarySchoolEnvironment
Whatcanyoudoathome?*Playboardgamestoencourageturn-taking,frustrationtolerance,goodsportsmanship,etc.*Playgamesthatinvolvefollowingdirectionsand/orstoppingimpulses(Simonsays,redlight,greenlight)*Allowfordowntimetobuildpatience,creativity,problemsolving,toleranceforboredom,etc.
PromotingaPositivePrimarySchoolEnvironment
Thankyou.
Anyquestions?