Developing Leadership Through Youth-Led Service
Witnessing human goodness creates a “moral elevation” in our bodies that inspires people to act altruistically. Researchers have a name for that high we get from witnessing human goodness: “moral elevation.” And it has been shown to have many positive benefits. Past studies have found that moral elevation inspires optimism, and makes people want to be a Read More …
Huffington Post shares a recent survey from NBC’s Parent Toolkit using the Princeton Survey Research Associates International found that the majority of U.S. parents interviewed ranked social and communication skills as the most important to build success for school and life even beyond academic grades. National experts would agree and offer greater detail on what Read More …
Psychology Today knows most parents and teachers want children to be happy. Unfortunately, we don’t make children happy by simply enabling them to be receivers of kindness. We increase their feelings of happiness and well-being, reduce bullying, and improve their friendships by teaching them to be givers of kindness. The truth is that children are born to be altruistic givers. But somewhere between Read More …
Seattle Times says that Bellevue schools teach emotional smarts to help boost academic success. Studies have shown that students who use an approach known as RULER are less anxious, better behaved, more attentive and more independent — with greater leadership skills. Read More
Kindness Breeds More Kindness, Study Shows
“The biggest news is that we’re able to change something physical about people’s health by increasing their daily diet of positive emotion, and that helps us get at a long-standing mystery of how our emotional and social experience affects our physical health,” says Fredrickson, professor of psychology at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. What’s exciting Read More …
Books can be a great first step to explore the talents of those with special needs and find connections. The author of this article shares a powerful memory about a missed opportunity to show empathy in her youth and suggests some books that can help kids recognize “the worth of our differences.” Read article Read More …
This TeenLife article speaks to the importance of teens engaging in community service. A few areas that it benefits: it develops an increased sense of social responsibility—a global view of society and a heart for “giving back” and helping others. It helps students stand out among other applicants and service work is a leading decision-making factor Read More …
Summer is here, and daily reading is one of teachers’ top tips to keep your child’s mind active while out of school. Looking for some fresh ideas? Here is a great elementary list (broken out by grade level) from School Library Journal of books that help develop kids’ social and emotional learning.
Unworthy posted this article about the importance of teaching social skills in school: “The bottom line ~ Every parent wants to see their kid get good grades in school. But now we know social success is just as important. We need to do more than just teach kids information. We need to invest in teaching them how to relate Read More …