Emotional Intelligence – Peace Learning Center

20 05, 2014

The Mindful Path – Start with Empathy

Brandi Metzger2021-05-20T17:42:54-04:00May 20th, 2014|Tags: Emotional Intelligence, empathy, Mindfulness, Social and Emotional Learning|

Hello from guest blogger, Lisa Robinson! In this Mindful Path post, let’s explore empathy. Through empathy, we walk in another person's shoes to gain understanding of their feelings and perceptions. But that’s just the beginning. The video, “What is Empathy? Q & A with Dr. Susan Stillman” provides more details to further explain empathy. Click on this link to view it: https://youtu.be/NYnnZ5X4ydA Ashoka is an organization dedicated to supporting social entrepreneurs around the world. They found that for someone to be an effective problem-solver, team player, and leader, a central ingredient is empathy. To enable the development of empathy skills that can be sustained, they have created an Empathy Initiative. It serves as a collaborative platform for social entrepreneurs and others who share the vision of a world where every child masters empathy. Here’s a video about Ashoka’s “Start Empathy Initiative:” https://youtu.be/bfEJBFr5Vxc This post is just scratching the surface on the importance of empathy. It’s an integral part of the competencies that make up both Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) in education, and also Emotional Intelligence (EQ) in non-educational settings. More Resources Ashoka’s empathy site is here: https://empathy.ashoka.org/ The site https://startempathy.org/ is powered by Ashoka and includes much more information, including “A Toolkit for Promoting Empathy in Schools” which you can obtain from the main web page linked above or download it from this link: https://ow.ly/wXQOI What Action Can You Take? I hope that this information will encourage you to

The Mindful Path – Resilience Through Social and Emotional Learning

Brandi Metzger2021-05-20T17:42:55-04:00April 29th, 2014|Tags: Emotional Intelligence, Resilience, SEL, Social & Emotional Learning|

Hello again from guest blogger, Lisa Robinson. Last week brought sad news of the death of Marin Sanchez, a 16-year old student in Milford, CT. She died after being stabbed at school by a fellow student, who supposedly attacked her because she would not go to prom with him. Although solutions are not simple, preventing such a tragedy from happening again deserves the attention and mindful action of us all. The value of Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) came to mind right away for me. In the video below from January 2014, Trish Shaffer, Coordinator for Multi-Tiered Systems of Support for the Washoe County School District, gave a TEDx talk on the importance of SEL at a TEDx forum in Reno, Nevada. https://youtu.be/LbfpyJfI1ho Ms. Shaffer made many important points, including that in addition to reading, writing, and arithmetic, students need to be taught to manage their emotions and to connect with others. Amongst other things, this can help children develop the ability to be resilient and effectively get back up again when things don’t go their way. Many young people today are feeling disconnected and angry, and may not understand how to process these challenging feelings or take appropriate action. If from a young age, children are taught social and emotional skills in school, and have the appropriate opportunities to practice these skills, this can mean so much more than just implementing anti-bullying mandates. And yet, this is just the

Introducing Mindfulness to Children

Brandi Metzger2021-05-20T17:42:56-04:00April 15th, 2014|Tags: Emotional Intelligence, Mindfulness, Social and Emotional Learning|

Hello, I’m Lisa Robinson, guest blogger. As we continue to explore mindfulness, the focus in this post is on introducing mindfulness to children. An excellent resource is the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) www.casel.org , an organization dedicated to advancing the development of academic, social, and emotional competence for all students. Social and emotional learning, or SEL, is critical in developing these essential competencies: Self-Awareness, Self-Management, Social Awareness, Relationship Skills, and Responsible Decision-Making. Here’s a video from edutopia.org that provides a great overview about SEL: SEL Video Psychologist and CASEL co-founder Daniel Goleman’s initial model of emotional intelligence is composed of the first four competencies in the list above. This model introduced the importance of emotional intelligence in business and other settings. Access Goleman’s web site at https://www.danielgoleman.info/ . Mindfulness is an important key to learning and enhancing skills in SEL or emotional intelligence. In school, unless a child is able to pay attention, they will not learn effectively. In an interview about his book ‘Focus,’ Goleman said: “At a school in Spanish Harlem I write about in Focus, I saw a second-grade class doing what they call a session of breathing bodies. The children lie on the floor with a favorite stuffed animal on their belly and watch it rise and fall, counting 1-2-3 with each breath. That strengthens the circuits for concentration and brings the mind back when it wanders.” Helping children learn about mindfulness will