NEW!
2/8/2008

KIDS: STOP! CLAM DOWN! THINK! NOT QUITE "STOP, COLLABORATE AND LISTEN"
"Let’s all sit crisscross applesauce," says guidance counselor Jennifer Hegerty as she instructs her children in the Second Step Violence Prevention curriculum, writes Dawn Friedman in Greater Good Magazine. While Second Step is one of many programs that teach students social and emotional skills, few have been as widely implemented as Second Step, now in its 21st year. The program has designed curriculum for preschool through eighth grade classrooms, all focused on helping kids work with others, control impulsive behavior and solve interpersonal problems. Unlike other programs, Second Step goes beyond mere conflict resolution by helping children understand their own emotions and the emotions of others. Hegerty teaches the early part of the program, which focuses on children’s reactions to various emotional scenarios. She spends a lot of time teaching kids three steps -- Stop! Calm down! Think! -- that help them compose themselves before reacting to an emotional situation. Through the exercises, children grow to understand effective communication techniques as well as listening skills. Along similar lines, in a recent interview with Senior Dad, Stan Goldberg (second link), Christine Carter, the director of the Greater Good Science Center, expounds on several techniques that, when implemented, can make children happier. Carter shares her expertise on happiness habits, learning how to correct mistakes without damaging the child, how to raise emotionally literate children and the benefits of altruism.