Caring Classrooms/Intelligent Schools: The Social Emotional Education of Young Children (Social Emotional Learning, 2)

Rating:
Summary: Very useful "theoretical" perspective...
Review: Jonathan Cohen, the editor of this book, believes that social-emotional learning (SEL) is the heart of good education. The reason? Human beings grow in their social environments. When children care about each other, and feel cared for, they learn--a lot more than in environments where they feel anxious, frightented, or "out." Unlike "self-esteem" advocates, however, Cohen believes that positive school environments can "challenge" students to grow, so he is not simply dispensing bromides to children.

Cohen believes there are about 300 SEL curricula available in the marketplace. This book gives teachers and administrators a perspective from which to choose. The contributors also point to implementation of SEL curricula. The belief is that it takes 3 years, with consistent support to teachers and administrators, before SEL really "takes hold" in a school, although the results are faster in smaller schools and in younger children. Cohen believes that thoughtful teachers can implement SEL in their classroom, even if the school administration is not implementing in other classrooms.

I particularly liked Stuart Twemlow's chapter on the bully-victim-bystander "drama" in school, and various approaches to intermittent power struggles in schools. Another very interesting approach is Myrna Shure's I Can Problem Solve (ICPS), which is a cognitive-behavioral approach to early high-risk behaviors.

There are other books that are more "exercise" and "unit" oriented that can help teachers more directly. Look on Amazon's book search for any writings by Ruth Charney (Northeast Foundation for Children), Roxann Kriete, Maurice Elias, and others that Amazon will pop up for you.

Great book! Intended mostly for educators, this book is useful for all the "special disciplines" in school (psychologists, social workers, guidance counselors, administrators) as well as teachers interested in SEL.

Rating:
Summary: Very useful "theoretical" perspective...
Review: Jonathan Cohen, the editor of this book, believes that social-emotional learning (SEL) is the heart of good education. The reason? Human beings grow in their social environments. When children care about each other, and feel cared for, they learn--a lot more than in environments where they feel anxious, frightented, or "out." Unlike "self-esteem" advocates, however, Cohen believes that positive school environments can "challenge" students to grow, so he is not simply dispensing bromides to children.

Cohen believes there are about 300 SEL curricula available in the marketplace. This book gives teachers and administrators a perspective from which to choose. The contributors also point to implementation of SEL curricula. The belief is that it takes 3 years, with consistent support to teachers and administrators, before SEL really "takes hold" in a school, although the results are faster in smaller schools and in younger children. Cohen believes that thoughtful teachers can implement SEL in their classroom, even if the school administration is not implementing in other classrooms.

I particularly liked Stuart Twemlow's chapter on the bully-victim-bystander "drama" in school, and various approaches to intermittent power struggles in schools. Another very interesting approach is Myrna Shure's I Can Problem Solve (ICPS), which is a cognitive-behavioral approach to early high-risk behaviors.

There are other books that are more "exercise" and "unit" oriented that can help teachers more directly. Look on Amazon's book search for any writings by Ruth Charney (Northeast Foundation for Children), Roxann Kriete, Maurice Elias, and others that Amazon will pop up for you.

Great book! Intended mostly for educators, this book is useful for all the "special disciplines" in school (psychologists, social workers, guidance counselors, administrators) as well as teachers interested in SEL.

Rating:
Summary: Safe Classrooms/Intelligent Schools
Review: Practical, concrete suggestions for teachers (and to a lesser extent, parents) who want to understand how to promote children's social and emotional skills and knowledge. There are so many programs and perspectives 'out there' - this book helps to make sense of it - As a practicing teacher, I loved it and found it actually helpful in my classroom work.