GoStrengths! Offers Free Social and Emotional Learning Program Seminars to NYC Schools
Online, June 19, 2013 (Newswire.com) - The NYC Department of Education (NYCDOE) is putting a great deal of focus on standardized testing that goes hand in hand with the new Common Core Standards of Education. The concern being that this focus is misconstrued. Applying sole focus on academic achievement, while students and teachers are faced with rising school-induced pressures, will not be enough to ensure the success of our 'next generation'.
Bullying is at an all time high -cyber and other, school shootings are on the rise across the country and now a Bronx principal who has threatened to blow up teachers, will finish out the school year. [New York Daily News, June 19th 2013.]
How are we helping our children cope with the everyday stresses of being a student in the 21st century? Today students and teachers face a plethora of school-induced pressures, that even just a decade ago, seemed improbable. We need to be arming our children with the skills to be resilient. Both students and teachers alike need to be educated, not only in Common Core Standards, but also in emotional learning -because the schoolyard has become an increasingly emotional place.
Renee Jain, a leading expert in Social and Emotional Learning (SEL), calls NYC home. She has witnessed the evolution of the school system, watching it slide towards statistics of increased anxiety and depression, illness and other behavioral difficulties -in children as young as eight years old! To separate these frightening statistics from ailing academic scores would be foolish. Applying sole focus on academic achievement, while students and teachers are faced with the increased school-yard pressures, will not be enough to ensure academic success and increase, desperately needed, safety precautions in our schools.
The collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) says," [SEL]... is an educational movement seeking to build strong school and classroom communities, committed to learning, engagement, and the well-being of all children regardless of their background."
Congressman, Tim Ryan is best quoted on the matter, "There's a whole body of literature in neuroscience today explaining why this works. We don't have time to wait. It's changing kids' lives. It's transforming teachers. It's transforming schools. And we see it in our own community now." SEL programs aim to raise awareness within the individual so that one has the ability to self-regulate, facing life's challenges from a mindful perspective.
Renee Jain, founder of GoStrenghts! has sent a proposal to NYCDOE, urging the board to integrate desperately needed SEL programs in all NYC schools. The GoStrengths! program is the first fully-animated SEL program in the world. While a few other programs exist, the GoStrengths! mission is to equip our 21st century digital learners and educators with programs that meet students where they are and make relevant technologies available.
Renee is offering free seminars to NYC schools discussing the Future of Education. "[SEL]...is a prevention plan. Instead of sticking a band aid on the mammoth of issues our children face; cyber bulling, growing rates of anxiety, depression and increasingly violent behavior - we're going straight to the heart of the issue". All interested parties are encouraged to get in touch.
www.gostrengths.com