Are Adults in Need of Social Homework?

A front page article, The Social Homework, in the October 6, 2010, Chicago Tribune caught my eye. In 2004, Illinois became the first state in the nation to require all school districts to teach social and emotional skills as part of their curriculum and daily school life. They hoped that the students would achieve benchmarks such as recognizing and managing feelings, building empathy and making responsible decisions. And in doing so, schools experienced a decrease in disruptive classroom behavior and an increase in grades.


I was reminded of the Jane Elliot experiment in discrimination. In the best-selling media program, Eye of The Storm, Jane describes how our perceptions of others and how we treat others influence their ability to perform. Elliott vividly captured this effect when teaching her students a flash card math game. Students who had performed well were re-tested the next day after being told they were inadequate, slower than other children, not very bright and last in all tasks. Those same children that had performed so well the day before, failed miserably.

What messages are we sending everyday to our colleagues, our families and our students and what impact are those messages having on their ability to perform?

Preview Jane Elliot's Eye of The Storm from Trainer's Toolchest!