Travis Bradberry and Jean Greaves, trainers in emotional competence as measured by your EQ (emotional quotient) wrote Emotional Intelligence 2.0. I wrote about the beginning in part 1. The second half of their book covers strategies for developing the four components of EQ self-awareness, self management, social awareness and social management. I have read many books about developing leadership skills, executive function skills, and social skills. The strategies the authors present are simplistic listings of things found elsewhere.
Keeping a journal of your feelings may be good for recognizing them and how you respond, but the strategy itself, like most of the ones in the book, is poorly developed. Although the text might be a start for self improvement, more explicit training is likely necessary for people with struggling skill sets. The authors propose that months are required to advance skills. Such progress could be narrowed to simple awareness as much as any particular approach that is recommended. This book seems more like a money grab than an honest program for helping people.
Wednesday, April 11, 2018
Wednesday, April 4, 2018
juvenile crime and the four day week
Years ago some mostly rural districts in the Midwest moved to a four day school week. The rationale was it would save on costs, primarily transportation, lunch room and utilities. There is mixed results on academic impact. Some studies show no impact and some show a decrease. When Hawaii furloughed teachers the military bases opened a fifth day educational program to mitigate the lost educational time.
There exists, however, a more hidden effect- social emotional. When my children were younger I consistently argued against half days for my kids. Yes, I had one for whom, even as he entered high school I dared not leave alone with his sister, but challenges for others also exist. Parents often have a hard time taking a half day, especially when they need to be home by 10:30am so they are left with painful choices: find day care they can often ill-afford, take a full day of vacation time, or leave the kids home alone. The last one is especially troublesome. We know that small children should not be left home alone, but when they enter middle school, we often let them be by themselves, even if it means caring for younger siblings. When these older kids are left alone they often get up to mischief of one sort or another: drinking, drugs, vandalism, and sex just to name a few. If you think back to your youth, you probably remember when you engaged in behavior that was not appropriate- if you were anything like me, it was on weekends and during vacation.
A new study related to those 4 day weeks confirmed my argument. Juvenile crime increases, especially on Thursday night, when school districts move to short work weeks. Chalkbeat reported on a study of those short weeks in their article by Matt Barnum, "Four-day School Weeks, a Nationwide symptom of Tight Budgets, Lead to More Youth Crime, Study Finds." Why this is a surprise confounds me. Youth crime always increases when youth are less structured and supervised. Unfortunately, our children do not always make wise choices. The question is what is our better choice: teen trouble and crime or increased taxes to pay for those extra days. Wrestling with that one will give some ulcers. I would argue that in light of the increased tendency for inappropriate behavior and questionable academic results, perhaps finding ways to get that extra day of school in is worth it.
There exists, however, a more hidden effect- social emotional. When my children were younger I consistently argued against half days for my kids. Yes, I had one for whom, even as he entered high school I dared not leave alone with his sister, but challenges for others also exist. Parents often have a hard time taking a half day, especially when they need to be home by 10:30am so they are left with painful choices: find day care they can often ill-afford, take a full day of vacation time, or leave the kids home alone. The last one is especially troublesome. We know that small children should not be left home alone, but when they enter middle school, we often let them be by themselves, even if it means caring for younger siblings. When these older kids are left alone they often get up to mischief of one sort or another: drinking, drugs, vandalism, and sex just to name a few. If you think back to your youth, you probably remember when you engaged in behavior that was not appropriate- if you were anything like me, it was on weekends and during vacation.
A new study related to those 4 day weeks confirmed my argument. Juvenile crime increases, especially on Thursday night, when school districts move to short work weeks. Chalkbeat reported on a study of those short weeks in their article by Matt Barnum, "Four-day School Weeks, a Nationwide symptom of Tight Budgets, Lead to More Youth Crime, Study Finds." Why this is a surprise confounds me. Youth crime always increases when youth are less structured and supervised. Unfortunately, our children do not always make wise choices. The question is what is our better choice: teen trouble and crime or increased taxes to pay for those extra days. Wrestling with that one will give some ulcers. I would argue that in light of the increased tendency for inappropriate behavior and questionable academic results, perhaps finding ways to get that extra day of school in is worth it.
Tuesday, April 3, 2018
Emotional Intelligence 2.0 part 1
In 1995 Daniel Goleman published his book Emotional Intelligence, sending shock waves through the community. Not only was intelligence a factor of cognition but there was a critical element of emotional understanding that led to success as well. Research demonstrated that while IQ, intelligence quotient was relatively stable, EQ, emotional quotient, was highly trainable. Travis Bradberry and Jean Greaves, trainers in emotional competence as measured by your EQ wrote Emotional Intelligence 2.0 as a follow up to their first book and an element of their training protocol.
The first thing of note is that they describe IQ as stable from birth. Current research in cognition shows this to be misleading. There are many things we can do to impact cognitive capacity. While they indicate brain injury can have negative impact on IQ, other things can as well: neglect, lack of exposure to speech and environmental enrichment, poor diet (especially low protein), exposure to environmental toxins like lead and drugs, and housing and food insecurity. Other things can maximize cognitive potential. These include things like: exposure to a rich environment (play outside, novelty presented in a safe way, opportunities to travel and be exposed to age appropriate cultural activities like sports games, concerts, and plays, and opportunities to take safe age appropriate risks), a well-balanced diet with adequate protein (think myelination of nerve cells), security in housing, food and caregivers, and exposure to rich language and human interactions. It seems that IQ is more of a window of potential that our environment impacts. As a parent and teacher, I know that we can impact IQ and I fear for our newest generation that are screen addicts from infancy- they are not receiving the attention and enrichment that will develop their brains.
The authors state that "emotional awareness and understanding are not taught in schools" (p.13-14). In part this is true. Especially in this era of testing, we are focused on the academic aspects of education. An increasing number of schools are looking at whole child initiatives, character education and social-emotional learning (SEL) programs to enhance and improve their efforts. Students on the autism spectrum particularly are in need of this type of education and good programs provide it.
The authors point out that most people are limited in their understanding of emotions and include a chart from Julia West showcasing five primary feelings (happy, sad, angry, afraid, ashamed) with three levels of intensity (high, medium, low) A number of face charts are available to showcase feelings and their intensity. One is below:
I have used such ideas in classrooms. Collecting paint chip samples from the hardware store we classified emotions by intensity. This was a great lesson for children who struggle with seeing shades of gray.
Once you can label your emotions the next part is to address them. You cannot control having the emotion, but you can control "the thoughts that follow and emotion, and you have a great deal of say in how you react to an emotion" (p.16-17). Schools accept this as true even if they don't teach it- students are responsible for their behaviors regardless of what prompts it. The key that the authors want to do is grow EQ and help people identify their triggers and "practice productive ways of responding" (p.17). This then is premise of the text: identify emotions, understand personal reactions to them and develop more thoughtful, positive responses to them both in yourself and others.
The first thing of note is that they describe IQ as stable from birth. Current research in cognition shows this to be misleading. There are many things we can do to impact cognitive capacity. While they indicate brain injury can have negative impact on IQ, other things can as well: neglect, lack of exposure to speech and environmental enrichment, poor diet (especially low protein), exposure to environmental toxins like lead and drugs, and housing and food insecurity. Other things can maximize cognitive potential. These include things like: exposure to a rich environment (play outside, novelty presented in a safe way, opportunities to travel and be exposed to age appropriate cultural activities like sports games, concerts, and plays, and opportunities to take safe age appropriate risks), a well-balanced diet with adequate protein (think myelination of nerve cells), security in housing, food and caregivers, and exposure to rich language and human interactions. It seems that IQ is more of a window of potential that our environment impacts. As a parent and teacher, I know that we can impact IQ and I fear for our newest generation that are screen addicts from infancy- they are not receiving the attention and enrichment that will develop their brains.
The authors state that "emotional awareness and understanding are not taught in schools" (p.13-14). In part this is true. Especially in this era of testing, we are focused on the academic aspects of education. An increasing number of schools are looking at whole child initiatives, character education and social-emotional learning (SEL) programs to enhance and improve their efforts. Students on the autism spectrum particularly are in need of this type of education and good programs provide it.
The authors point out that most people are limited in their understanding of emotions and include a chart from Julia West showcasing five primary feelings (happy, sad, angry, afraid, ashamed) with three levels of intensity (high, medium, low) A number of face charts are available to showcase feelings and their intensity. One is below:
I have used such ideas in classrooms. Collecting paint chip samples from the hardware store we classified emotions by intensity. This was a great lesson for children who struggle with seeing shades of gray.
Once you can label your emotions the next part is to address them. You cannot control having the emotion, but you can control "the thoughts that follow and emotion, and you have a great deal of say in how you react to an emotion" (p.16-17). Schools accept this as true even if they don't teach it- students are responsible for their behaviors regardless of what prompts it. The key that the authors want to do is grow EQ and help people identify their triggers and "practice productive ways of responding" (p.17). This then is premise of the text: identify emotions, understand personal reactions to them and develop more thoughtful, positive responses to them both in yourself and others.
Monday, April 2, 2018
Comprehension Connections
Delving into a colleague's bookshelf before break, I came across TannyMcGregor's book, Comprehension Connections: Bridges to Strategic Reading. This book captured my interest since I am currently working with a group that has poor comprehension skills. Her premise is two fold: one, reading strategies, like other skills should be taught from a concrete model to an abstract one and two, reading is thinking. She subtitles her book bridges to show how to teach an abstract concept by starting with an object.
The thinking strategies she identifies are:
One key idea that she suggests is teaching that Text + Thinking = Real Reading. Too many of our students think that reading is merely identifying a group of words and perhaps getting a surface level understanding. What we want them to realize is that reading is more than that. It requires, utilizing background knowledge, making inferences, questioning the author, identifying importance and more.
I really liked one of her suggestions for showcasing schema. Make a T-chart. Give the students 30s to list everything they know about a topic they know about- a local amusement park, common video game or pop star, or a common experience- and record on the left side of the chart. They should be able to generate quite a list in the short period of time. Then give them something few, if any are familiar with- Tivoli (an amusement park in Copenhagen), Centipede game, or Mansa Musa (an African leader who single-handedly reduced the worldwide value of gold on his pilgrimage to Mecca). Record their thoughts on the right. This chart represents their schema. It will be easier to read about and learn about things for which they know about than those they do not.
Another important item the author mentions is developing listening comprehension. In special education we often use tests may be read as a test modification and audiobooks as a compensatory reading strategy. These are important activities that help our kids move forward, but listening comprehension is different from reading comprehension and needs to be taught. We want students to follow along while they are being read to, perhaps annotating important parts with symbols we have taught. We also need to develop their listening skills. She suggests using songs and poetry as ways to develop these skills. You can, and should, teach all the thinking skills with listening as well.
My biggest area of concern is around visualizing. I do not visualize anything. I think in words and charts. About 10% of the population struggles with this skill as well. Our strong visualizers can be reminded to visual while the read and the impact will be dramatic. (Many people on the autism spectrum are great visualizers. Some, like Temple Grandin, are such extreme visualizers they think only in pictures and need pictures to help them think.) Our mediocre ones need practice making a movie in their head of the story or draw a picture or create a storyboard of the story to show what is important. Weak to non-visualizers need support to understand that many people do this routinely and need alternate strategies. I paint pictures with words. Every thought I have is laden with lots of words. We can teach them constructs like graphic organizers that can be used to help with maintaining order and flow.
I like how she talks about using nesting dolls to begin to discuss synthesizing. There is a surface level or biggest doll, but nested within are many ideas that require deeper thought, and sometimes exploration. Synthesizing means taking all those levels and developing meaning or a complete set of dolls. The analogy works well for showing multiple meanings of text.
This book is not a set of scripts, but a series of jumping points to begin discussions. A list of ways to start teaching about thinking from concrete examples and expand to the abstract. A quick and easy read with major implications.
The thinking strategies she identifies are:
- use schema
- inferring
- questioning
- determining importance
- visualizing
- synthesizing.
One key idea that she suggests is teaching that Text + Thinking = Real Reading. Too many of our students think that reading is merely identifying a group of words and perhaps getting a surface level understanding. What we want them to realize is that reading is more than that. It requires, utilizing background knowledge, making inferences, questioning the author, identifying importance and more.
I really liked one of her suggestions for showcasing schema. Make a T-chart. Give the students 30s to list everything they know about a topic they know about- a local amusement park, common video game or pop star, or a common experience- and record on the left side of the chart. They should be able to generate quite a list in the short period of time. Then give them something few, if any are familiar with- Tivoli (an amusement park in Copenhagen), Centipede game, or Mansa Musa (an African leader who single-handedly reduced the worldwide value of gold on his pilgrimage to Mecca). Record their thoughts on the right. This chart represents their schema. It will be easier to read about and learn about things for which they know about than those they do not.
Another important item the author mentions is developing listening comprehension. In special education we often use tests may be read as a test modification and audiobooks as a compensatory reading strategy. These are important activities that help our kids move forward, but listening comprehension is different from reading comprehension and needs to be taught. We want students to follow along while they are being read to, perhaps annotating important parts with symbols we have taught. We also need to develop their listening skills. She suggests using songs and poetry as ways to develop these skills. You can, and should, teach all the thinking skills with listening as well.
My biggest area of concern is around visualizing. I do not visualize anything. I think in words and charts. About 10% of the population struggles with this skill as well. Our strong visualizers can be reminded to visual while the read and the impact will be dramatic. (Many people on the autism spectrum are great visualizers. Some, like Temple Grandin, are such extreme visualizers they think only in pictures and need pictures to help them think.) Our mediocre ones need practice making a movie in their head of the story or draw a picture or create a storyboard of the story to show what is important. Weak to non-visualizers need support to understand that many people do this routinely and need alternate strategies. I paint pictures with words. Every thought I have is laden with lots of words. We can teach them constructs like graphic organizers that can be used to help with maintaining order and flow.
I like how she talks about using nesting dolls to begin to discuss synthesizing. There is a surface level or biggest doll, but nested within are many ideas that require deeper thought, and sometimes exploration. Synthesizing means taking all those levels and developing meaning or a complete set of dolls. The analogy works well for showing multiple meanings of text.
This book is not a set of scripts, but a series of jumping points to begin discussions. A list of ways to start teaching about thinking from concrete examples and expand to the abstract. A quick and easy read with major implications.
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