How the Crowd Will Change Education

More than half of US public schools have at least one teacher who has requested classroom resources on DonorsChoose.org, a nonprofit organization which provides a simple way to address educational inequity. Since 2000, citizen philanthropists and corporate partners have funded nearly a quarter billion dollars in projects for America's neediest classrooms. Listen to how the US most creative teachers are partnering with entrepreneurs to bring innovation to their classrooms, and how DonorsChoose.org is changing the way education is funded. This Keynote by Charles Best was given during the last SXSWedu® Conference & Festival on March 9-12, 2015 in Austin, Texas.
The SXSWedu® Conference & Festival fosters innovation in learning by hosting a diverse and energetic community of stakeholders from a variety of backgrounds in education. The event affords registrants open access to engaging sessions, interactive workshops, hands on learning experiences, cinematic portrayals, early stage startups and a host of networking opportunities. By providing a platform for collaboration, SXSWedu works to promote creativity and social change. SXSWedu is a component of the South by Southwest family of conferences and festivals that includes SXSW Music, Film and Interactive; SXSW Eco and SXSW V2V. Internationally recognized as the convergence gathering for the creative arts, SXSWedu extends SXSW’s support for the art of engagement beyond musicians, filmmakers and new media innovators to include society’s true rock stars: educators!

Teaching Kids to code in the UK

Starting September 2014 the UK has introduced a major change to the national curriculum - a computing revolution.  ICT – Information and Communications Technology – is out, replaced by a new “computing” curriculum including coding lessons for children as young as five.
-- Read "Coding at school: a parent's guide to England's new computing curriculum" on the Guardian
-- Read "A computing revolution in schools" on BBC News
-- Go to Code.org

Music Education & Me

Founded in 1945, Musica Viva is Australia's oldest independent professional performing arts organisation. They also run one of the largest music education programs in Australia, Musica Viva In Schools and have a diverse program across the country, including in regional and remote areas. Musica Viva musicians Mark Cain and Paul Tanner traveled to the mid west of Western Australia to present music education workshops for some of the most remote schools and communities in the world.


Music Education & Me - Mid West Western Australia from Musica Viva on Vimeo.

Musician Karen Kyriakou teaches music to special needs students at Rosamond School in Melbourne as part of Musica Viva In Schools' Equal Music program.


Music Education & Me - Karen Kyriakou from Musica Viva on Vimeo.

Multidisciplinary Learning - Norway

”We are not just developing calculators, we are developing human beings.” - Bjørn Bolstad, headmaster at Ringstabekk school
We have posted about Finland announcing that in their new national curriculum, they will emphasize phenomena-based project studies instead of traditional subjects. Today we will talk about the Ringstabekk school in Norway that has already been doing this for 40 years with great success. In the 1970s teachers realized that their students were not truly engaged in what they learned at school and since then the pedagogy of the school has been developing based on the main idea of learning through multidisciplinary studies.The school uses different cross-curricular methods, and is constantly refining methods like storyline, project-based learning, inquiry-based learning, simulations, etc. The teachers pick up ideas from each other and share their experiences ensuring that although the school does not have a local specified curriculum, all students experience the same learning methods and multidisciplinary themes.
-- Read full article on QUARTZ

How Empathy Fuels the Creative Process

In this TED talk, Seung Chan Lim shares stories and theories that arose from his recent research into the intersection between empathy and the creative process of "making." When we hear the word "connection," we often envision a line being drawn between two separate circles. This talk  intends to challenge this model of connection, arguing for an alternate model, where connection happens not when we draw a line between two circles, but when we remove an artificial line separating an already connected circle.
Seung Chan Lim is an award-winning designer and researcher/engineer. He is the author of "Realizing Empathy: An Inquiry Into the Meaning of Making." and is the director for the related "Realizing Empathy", a project that asks what it means to make something, how it works as a process, and why it matters to our lives. It explores these questions across disciplines such as fine arts, performing arts, design, science, and engineering.
This talk might seem a bit off topic, but we think it is a great one. Very insightful.

Powerful Learning Through the Arts

Arts Corps is a non-profit arts education organization dedicated to developing creative habits of mind in young people. Based in Seattle, Washington, Arts Corps bring hands-on arts classes to youth with little or no other access to arts learning opportunities, predominately children in low income communities of colour. Research shows that arts education has transformative results: higher attendance and graduate rates as well as an increase in creative capacities, leadership skills and connections to community. Arts Corps believe equitable arts learning opportunities for all young people will strengthen schools and communities, and unlock possibilities for our young people in school, college, career and life.  They embrace arts education in the context of social change and have made a commitment to reducing the opportunity gap in access to arts learning with high quality programming. In 2012, Arts Corps was awarded the highest national honor in community based arts education by the White House, The National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award.
-- Read about the Creative Schools Initiative

CREATIVE SCHOOLS

Ken Robinson's 2006 TED Talk on “How Schools Kill Creativity” is TED’s most-watched presentation ever, with more than 32 million views. He began meeting with governments and school systems to discuss reform decades ago. On “CBS This Morning” he discusses his new book, “Creative Schools: The Grassroots Revolution that’s Transforming Education”. Here he focuses on one of the most critical issues of our time: how to transform the US troubled educational system and proposes a highly personalized, organic approach that draws on today’s unprecedented technological and professional resources to engage all students, develop their love of learning, and enable them to face the real challenges of the twenty-first century.
Click here or image below to watch him on CBS

Dear Future Generations: SORRY

"We must globally warm our hearts and change the climate of our souls and realize that we are not apart from nature, we are a part of nature and to betray nature is to betray us and to save nature is to save us..."
An Apology Letter to Future Generations by Prince EA.
-- Read about it on The Huffington Post Canada
-- Read about it on EcoWatch

Embrace CHANGE in Education

"We don't need reform we need transformation, changing the mindset of governments, of the private sector, of parents, teachers and learners to embrace a learning process which is setting the foundations for life long learners..also setting the foundations for reaching for the sky"-- Mamphela A. Ramphele
WISE voices elaborate on the themes of creativity, innovation and learning in education. Consensus is: for us to be innovative and creative, we have to push our boundaries and discover what lies beyond. This applies to learners of all ages, in all communities, everywhere.

22.4.2015 - EARTH DAY

Earth Day is an annual event, celebrated on April 22, on which day events worldwide are held to demonstrate support for environmental protection. It was first celebrated in 1970, and is now coordinated globally by the Earth Day Network, and celebrated in more than 192 countries each year.
"The Untouched - A Time-lapse Film" is a project by Shreenivasan Manievannan filmed across different National and State parks in the USA. The primary vision of the video is to showcase the untouched beauty of few of the US National/State Parks across the country and to create awareness about conserving natural resources of our planet, including preserving our skies.
-- Read about Climate Education Week Toolkit
-- Visit EcoKids - Earth Day Canada

The Power of Music

"I think that music might be one of the only things left in the world that globally connects people. Every person on on the planet in some way or another is connected to music... It transcends language barriers, generations...it inspires people, it heals people, it carries people through all different kind of emotions in different times.."
Walk off the Earth is a Canadian rock, Ska, and Reggae band that was formed in 2006 in Burlington, Ontario, and has gained success around the world by making low-budget music videos of covers and originals.
-- Watch Somebody That I Used to Know - Walk off the Earth


Walk of the Earth - The Power of Music - Part 1 from Music Heals on Vimeo.



Walk of the Earth - The Power of Music - Part 2 from Music Heals on Vimeo.

MUSIC HEALS

"Music is the great equalizer, you can get down on the floor with little kids, you can sit down and write a song with a teenager, you can help people that don't have the words to express how they feel put something into something creative and express it"
The Music Heals Charitable Foundation was formed to help raise awareness of the healing powers of Music and to help fundraise for Music Therapy and related services across Canada. "Music therapy is the skillful use of music and musical elements by an accredited music therapist to promote, maintain, and restore mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual health. Music has nonverbal, creative, structural, and emotional qualities. These are used in the therapeutic relationship to facilitate contact, interaction, self-awareness, learning, self-expression, communication, and personal development." — Canadian Association for Music Therapy




Music Therapy (Music Heals 2014) from Music Heals on Vimeo.

Colour It

Helen Austin's JUNO/John Lennon Award winning song performed with the children from Ecole Puntledge Park and the Makinoo Choir for Canada's Music Monday celebrations.
Nice. Music belongs with kids.

We are all sound-makers!

Mark Stewart believes that 'the word 'musician' is too often used to discourage people from participating in their birth right as sound-makers' and gives a captivating performance via numerous home-made instruments. Mark is a New York City-based multi-instrumentalist, composer, singer and instrument designer. He has been a member of many bands, and is a founding member of the Bang on a Can All-Stars band and The Jerry Wortman Nonette. He has also worked with famous musicians among which Paul Simon, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, and Paul McCartney.
Mark makes music from everything – especially items cast away as garbage, things he finds in dumpsters. He’s an engaging speaker and this TED talk is a clear example of the importance of arts education. In particular he believes that arts has to be mandatory for all students. Kids have had creativity beaten out of them, think they can’t sing, think they can’t talk in front of an audience, think they can’t write creatively, think they can’t paint or draw. Classes like Stewart’s teach kids to open themselves up to the possibilities that maybe they can.
-- Visit Arts at MIT
-- Watch him on Q2 Music's 'Spaces'

Enriching Lives through MUSIC

Town Hall Symphony Hall (Birmingham) believes that music has the power to transform and change lives, to entertain and uplift, to create shared experiences and to educate. They connect people to music through a dynamic and varied concert and education programme at their concert halls and in the wider community. They started a very special project in 2012 called GENERATION LADYWOOD, with the main purpose to inspire and transform kids lives by connecting them to music. Ladywood is one of the most disadvantaged areas within the UK. 8,000 young people and their families have had the opportunity to immerse themselves in a world of music because of this program. They have learnt to sing, play an instrument and come to events and concerts at THSH.
-- Watch The younger generation hit the right notes!

Drum Works!

Drum Works is a program that has been running in east London secondary schools since 2007, and currently reaches around 400 young people in six schools. Participants have weekly sessions with professional musicians where they create their own material and work towards high-profile performances. There are opportunities to progress into two senior ensembles, which meet fortnightly at the Barbican and perform regularly around London and further afield. The Drum Works Assistant programme offers some of the older more advanced players the opportunity to develop their music leadership skills through taking paid placements in schools and receiving mentoring from Drum Works Leaders. The primary aim of Drum Works is to achieve social change through tackling some of the key issues facing young people in east London today. It confronts disengagement within schools and youth culture by using fast-paced, high-energy teaching processes and culturally relevant material to engage and inspire all young people from any background. Once engaged, participants then begin to develop their musical, technical and leadership skills through sustained involvement. Regular large-scale performances bring together young people from a variety of cultural, religious and socio-economic backgrounds to meet on an equal footing and work together, building a community for the future (source here)

BBC Ten Pieces

Ten Pieces is an ongoing initiative for primary schools, led by BBC Learning and the BBC Performing Groups, focusing on classical music and creativity. Starting in the autumn term 2014, this project will run over a school year and culminate in a major celebratory finale in the summer of 2015. Ten Pieces aims to open up the world of classical music to children – and inspire them to develop their own creative responses to the pieces through music, dance or digital art. The repertoire includes a range of music from baroque to contemporary. Five BBC Orchestras and the BBC Singers are involved, as well as celebrities such as Barney Harwood from Blue Peter. There will be pan- BBC coverage of the initiative, from Children's to Radio 3.
One of the featured pieces is "Connect it" by Anna Meredith, performed by Drum Works, a youth percussion group from East London that uses drumming as a tool to inspire young people creatively, give them confidence in their ideas and empower them to direct their own futures.
-- Read about it in the Guardian
-- Watch students' creative responses: ART

Count Basie Theatre

Tony Bennett has called it, “My favorite place.” Art Garfunkel said, “This hall is to a singer what Steinway is to a pianist.” Lyle Lovett said, “This is one of the nicest sounding rooms in the whole United States of America.” Count Basie Theatre is an award winning venue, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, recognized by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts as a Major Presenting Organization for the State of New Jersey, by Pollstar Magazine as one of the Top 100 Worldwide Theatre Venues, and by Contribute Magazine as one of their Top 200 Investor-Worthy Charities. One of jazz music's all-time greats, bandleader/pianist Count Basie was a primary shaper of the big-band sound that characterized mid-20th century popular music.
The Count Basie Theatre is strongly committed to promoting the arts and their educational mission is to provide a foundation of cultural enrichment to students of all ages and economic levels. These efforts include arts instruction and coursework, plus unique programs like professional development for teachers and bus-in programs for students in underprivileged school districts.

Youth4Music

The Coalition for Music Education has launched its Youth4Music – a national movement of young people who understand the importance of access to quality music education programs for all students. Through sharing ideas, resources, and successes and by working together with schools and communities, youth can have a greater impact with a louder voice – a voice that cannot be ignored.
-- Go to Success in Music. Success in Life. It's no coincidence

Listen to the Astronaut....

"Learning to play the guitar taught me to improvise and to be creative and to be able to play with a group, and practicing taught me self discipline and these are all fundamental skills that I have used throughout my career. That is why I can confidently say that music made me a better astronaut."
Chris Hadfield invites all Canadians to get involved in last year Music Monday to lend their voice to raise awareness about the connections between music education and its influence on Canadian success. Listen to how he believes that music has shaped his life.
Chris is a retired Canadian astronaut who was the first Canadian to walk in space. An engineer and former Royal Canadian Air Force fighter pilot, he has flown two space shuttle missions and served as commander of the International Space Station.
-- Watch Chris Hadfield and students from coast-to-coast fill the sky with music
-- Watch Chris Hadfield and Barenaked Ladies: I.S.S. (Is Somebody Singing)

WE are ONE

"We learn to share and care and not think twice about it / Well 2 and 2 makes 4. We never doubt-ed / But it’s what we learn through ev’ry note and / What the nation needs to know / The tune inside your head is where to go... Honestly I’m promising that music is the cure / You may come to learn / WE ARE ONE can you hear them singing?"
On the first Monday in May each year, schools across Canada celebrate the impact of music and music education with Music Monday. Launched in 2005 by The Coalition for Music Education, Music Monday is the world’s largest single event dedicated to raising awareness for music education. Each year, hundreds of thousands of students, educators, and music makers participate in a simultaneous nationwide concert performance of an original song written by a Canadian artist. In 2015, Music Monday is on May 4th. To mark the occasion, CBC Music has invited several prominent Canadian musicians across a variety of genres to pen a letter to a music teacher, an educator who has greatly influenced their career.
16-year-old singer/songwriter Connor Ross is the winner of the Music Monday Anthem Search with his song “We Are One”. We Are One illuminates the purpose of this annual artistic celebration; providing an anthem that is sure to inspire Canadians of all ages to unite in recognition and celebration of the vital role music plays in our culture, our communities and in our schools.
-- Read all LETTERS here

How a School should be

The curriculum at Lindblom Math and Science Academy integrates the arts into the CPS curriculum. Make It Better TV had the opportunity to visit the school and talk with Principal Alan Mather and entrepreneur Susie Kiphart about how this unique approach is having an incredible impact on the lives on the children at this school. Lindblom is one of nine selective enrollment high schools in the Chicago Public Schools system and draws the best students from all areas of the city. Their student body is approximately 97% minority and approximately 80% low-income.

Learning through Music and Art

Doug Goodkin is a music educator and proponent of Orff Schulwerk, a dynamic approach to music education. His vision of an education that meets the imaginative, spiritual and humanitarian promise of each child was formed during three decades of teaching music. Doug is currently in his 40th year at The San Francisco School, where he teaches music and movement to children between three years old and eighth grade. He regularly gives workshops for Orff Chapters throughout the U.S. and Canada, as well as presenting at State and National Conferences. He is the author of eight books and has an ongoing blog titled "Confessions of a Traveling Music Teacher." He is particularly known for connecting the principles of Orff Schulwerk to a wider world of practices and ideas—jazz, world music, poetry, school community-building, brain research, human health and culture, social justice and more.
-- Read more about ORFF here

Rockin' education. Redefining music in school

Robb Janov is an accomplished electric violinist and national award-winning music educator who transformed a dying middle school music program into Rock and Rhythm Band™, an exciting, innovative alternative to traditional school music classes. The Rock and Rhythm Band™ program, now in its seventeenth year, has received grants from the Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation, The Muzak Heart & Soul Foundation, The Mockingbird Foundation, and PNM's Classroom Innovation Grant Program. In 2014, it was chosen as PBS American Graduate Champion. This is GREAT!!!!
-- Watch Rock and Rhythm Band™ - A Real Life School of Rock in the News

A call to reinvent Liberal Arts Education

“This brew -- oversimplification of civic engagement, idealization of the expert, fragmentation of knowledge, emphasis on technical mastery, neutrality as a condition of academic integrity -- is toxic when it comes to pursuing the vital connections between education and the public good, between intellectual integrity and human freedom...”
Liz Coleman radically remade Bennington College in the mid-1990s, in pursuit of a new vision: higher education as a performing art. Inverting the trend to push students toward increasingly narrow areas of study, she proposes a truly cross-disciplinary education — one that dynamically combines all areas of study to address the great problems of our day. Her vision is based on lots of one-on-one interactions between professor and student, deep engagement with primary sources, highly individual majors, and the destruction of the traditional academic department. Bennington's emphasis on cross-disciplinary, hands-on learning has attracted capacity classes to the small college, and has built a vibrant environment for a new kind of learning. (source TED)
“... And when making connections is of the essence, the power of technology emerges with special intensity. But so does the importance of content. The more powerful our reach, the more important the question "About what?" When improvisation, resourcefulness, imagination are key, artists, at long last, take their place at the table, when strategies of action are in the process of being designed. In this dramatically expanded ideal of a liberal arts education where the continuum of thought and action is its life's blood, knowledge honed outside the academy becomes essential...”

How to educate leaders? Liberal arts

"..We must believe that these kids are smart. That if we involve them in their education, if we have them discuss the real issues that they confront -- that our whole society confronts -- and if we give them skills that enable them to engage the real world, that magic will happen."
Patrick Awuah is the founder and president of Ashesi University, a private not-for-profit institution that has quickly gained a reputation for innovation and quality education in Ghana. Ashesi University, which began instruction in March 2002, has principal strengths in business, economics and computer science.
In this inspiring TED talk, Patrick makes the case that a liberal arts education is critical to forming true leaders. After working at Microsoft for almost a decade, he returned to his home country and made a commitment to educating young people in critical thinking and ethical service, values he believes are crucial for the nation-building that lies ahead. (source TED). Very inspiring, a true leader.
-- Watch CNN documentary

A Play Manifesto

"And if we handicap ourselves with play, we handicap ourselves as if we would with any other birthright that we have. We hold ourselves back. Little exercise just for a second: close your eyes and try to imagine a world without play. Imagine a world without theater, without the arts, without song, without dancing, without soccer, without football, without laughter. What does this world look like? It's pretty bleak. It's pretty glum"
Entrepreneur Steve Keil explains how important play is for humans and highlights the negative effects of seriousness and lack of play, both in human development in general, and in Bulgarian society. He calls for a return to play to revitalize the economy, education and society. An entertaining and interesting  TED talk specifically addressing the "serious meme" that has infected Bulgaria, but with a universal message for people everywhere who are reinventing their workplaces, schools, lives.
Steve is an entrepreneur whose passion is to create companies in which people are inspired to make their mark with their ideas and imagination. He has taught at the American College, written for various publications, and currently teaches at the University of Sofia.

What Play Can Teach Us

"When you have academic rigour that is supported by programs that really value and teach the skills around empathy, teamwork and leadership, (kids') learning there is much richer...not only do you solve the education crisis, you are raising a generation with a vision and collective will to make all the other changes that we need"
Jill Vialet believes that playing is essential to human development, and addresses significant education reform issues by encouraging greater creativity and problem-solving skills. She believes that this approach creates learning environments where kids feel safer, more engaged and more connected. Jill launched Playworks in 1996 in Berkeley (CA) and by 2012 they have brought play and physical activities to 350 low-income, urban elementary schools in 23 cities, including Albuquerque. Their vision is that one day every child in America will get to play - every day. Playworks creates a place for every kid on the playground, a place where every kid belongs, has fun and is part of the game, giving children the opportunity to explore their imaginations, to connect with other kids and to stretch and grow physically, emotionally and socially.




Play Works from Playworks on Vimeo.

Student-Run School?

The Kin School in Russia completely redefines the word “education”. Inspired by the Ringing Cedars Series, that also inspired a massive movement in earth consciousness, this is a model school for the future, established in Russia under the guidance of Mikhail Petrovich Shchetinin. Its students come from more than 40 different nationalities. With this new innovative education approach, students are able to cover the full school curriculum in just a few years, and often earn one or more academic degrees by the time they are 15-17. Ethnic traditions are preserved and fused via folklore, song and dances of various nationalities, giving children of different backgrounds, cultures and religion the opportunity of gaining a deeper understanding of each other. Here the children have designed, built, and decorated their entire school campus, they cook their own meals, do the administrative work and write their own textbooks. The school promotes high moral standards, mutual assistance and support, allowing children and adults to practically build a bright future together.
We concede that this might seem a bit extreme, but we think the outcome is quite amazing.

Music in Our Schools

March was a special month in US schools... this month has been officially designated by the National Association for Music Education (NAfME) for the observance of Music In Our Schools Month® (MIOSM®), the time of year when music education becomes the focus of schools across the United States. MIOSM began as a single statewide celebration in 1973, and has grown over the decades to encompass a day, then a week, and then in 1985 to become a month long celebration of school music. The purpose of MIOSM is to raise awareness of the importance of music education for all children – and to remind citizens that schools is where all children should have access to music. MIOSM is an opportunity for music teachers to bring their music programs to the attention of the school and the community, and to display the benefits that school music brings to students of all ages (source here)

Let There Be Peace On Earth

Happy Easter to All!!!

Dancing out of Poverty and towards Integration - Ecuador

Learning a new trade or hobby can be an effective way of making new friends and becoming accepted. In Ecuador ballet is not only a creative way to boost self esteem, but can also lead to finding a job and be integrated in the society. David is one of 25 slum children admitted to the school because of their outstanding potential (source: Learning World)

More from Denmark: Democracy in Education

Democratic schools place particular emphasis on children's right to self-determination. Like the famous Summerhill School in Britain, they promote anti-authoritarian educational methods which some consider controversial. Still, democratic schools say their brand of free schooling doesn't mean children aren't getting a good education. Here pupils of all ages learn together and what they study is centered on each child's own interests. The school children decide for themselves what, when and how they wish to learn... (source: youtube)
-- Watch Imagine a School....Summerhill

Denmark: No Marks, Only Evaluations

Denmark is known for its modern and innovative school system. In this episode Learning World looks at how the Scandinavian nation evaluates the students' achievements at school by taking a holistic approach. Children are not given any marks in school until the age of 13. The emphasis is on maximizing the child's academic strengths irrespective of how their classmates are performing.

Education for a New Era..new ideas from the Netherlands

In 2012, PISA ranked the education system in the Netherlands as the 10th best in the world. Nonetheless, some education entrepreneurs like Maurice De Hond are pushing for the introduction of pioneering teaching methods to better equip students with 21st-century skills. Together with a group of volunteers, he set up Foundation O4NT, or “Education For a New Era”, which is behind the “Steve Jobs” schools in the Netherlands. Personalized learning is at the heart of these schools. Children do not follow fixed timetables nor they attend typical school lessons. They work at their own pace, using tablets and taking charge of their own learning process with the help of educational applications. (source: WISE)
-- Watch Teachers, parents and pupils experiences

Responsive Classroom

The Responsive Classroom approach is an innovative way of teaching developed by the Northeast Foundation for Children (NEFC). Since the 1990s it has emerged as a nationally renowned method of teaching. It is associated with greater teacher effectiveness, higher student achievement, and improved school climate. It has been recognized by the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) as one of the most well-designed, evidence-based social and emotional learning programs.
Teachers at Mount Desert Elementary School in Northeast Harbor, Maine, use proven Responsive Classroom techniques -- such as relationship-building morning meetings and engaging student-led activities -- to get students focused and ready to learn (from Edutopia)
-- Read about this approach on Edutopia
-- Read about it on Teach.com

There is Strength in Caring

"One of the most important social skills taught through social and emotional learning is the ability to connect with other people"
Trish Shaffer is the Coordinator for Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) for the Washoe County School District (WCSD). Prior to her role in MTSS, Trish was involved in special education at the university, district and classroom level. She has teaching experience in both special and general education, has provided professional development and technical assistance for pre-K-12, consulted for school districts across the nation, and presented at the local, state and national level. She is a passionate leader of Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) in the Nevada community.
-- Watch To This Day..for the bullied and beautiful by Shane Koyczan

Educating the Whole Child with Emotional Literacy

Marc Brackett is the Director of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, a Senior Research Scientist in Psychology, and a Faculty Fellow in the Edward Zigler Center in Child Development and Social Policy at Yale University. Brackett is the co-creator of RULER , an evidence-based, CASEL (Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning) SELect Program. The acronym RULER refers to the five key emotion skills of Recognizing, Understanding, Labeling, Expressing, and Regulating emotions. RULER intends to increase personal wellbeing, effective teaching and leadership, academic achievement, and classroom emotional climate change.
The Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence uses the power of emotions to create a more effective and compassionate society. The Center conducts research and teaches people of all ages how to develop their emotional intelligence.
-- Read about Emotional Literacy on Edutopia
-- Visit the RULER website
-- Watch the Mood Meter / Go to the Mood Meter App

Social and Emotional Learning

Social and emotional learning (SEL) is the process through which children and adults acquire and effectively apply the knowledge, attitudes and skills necessary to understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions. SEL programming is based on the understanding that the BEST LEARNING emerges in the context of supportive relationships that make learning challenging, engaging and meaningful (from CASEL website)
-- Watch SEL Researcher Mark Greenberg describing Key Aspects of SEL
-- Watch The Heart-Brain Connection by neuroscientist Richard Davidson
-- Explore Social Emotional Learning on Edutopia

Learning to Make a Difference

Charles Leadbeater  is a leading authority on innovation and creativity. He has advised corporations, governments and cities around the world and is the author of several books including We-Think: The power of mass creativity. He is also Chair of CDI Apps for Good, the mobile-based creative learning program.
In this interview for WISE Matters, he states that learning should be an all encompassing experience that involves "head, hands and heart" for best preparing children for life's challenges. Teachers should be able to design creative environments in which children are encouraged to try out new things. One of the major flaws in today's education system is that its changes come from governments and not from within the teaching profession. Many of the ideas he talks about are not new: they were lost in the process of systematizing education and have now to be recovered and applied in new settings. This is only possible if some standard principles about language, mathematics and science are learnt and then be applied in new ways (source: youtube)
-- Watch Charles TED Talk Education innovation in the slums