Matters of the Mind and Heart: PROACTIVE vs REACTIVE? By Cecile Wren

Matters of the Mind and Heart: PROACTIVE vs REACTIVE? By Cecile Wren

Horrific, horrendous, horrifying and frightful! None of these words can accurately describe the depth of emotions that are being experienced throughout the world regarding the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. It has been over 20 years since the Columbine mass shooting occurred on April 20, 1999. Subsequent school shootings occurred at Sandy Hook Elementary School, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Virginia Tech University and the list goes on and on.

More than 311,000 students have experienced gun violence at school since Columbine. This year we had 27 school shootings and 214 mass shootings. Unimaginable but a frightful reality. This is a constant reminder of our nation’s failure to provide students with a safe environment in which they can learn, grow, and achieve.

Gun control disagreements over the interpretation of the second amendment continue and gun related injuries and deaths continue to increase. In 2020, PEW Research Center stated that 45,222 people died from gun-related injuries in the U.S., according to the CDC.

https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2022/02/03/what-the-data-says-about-gun-deaths-in-the-u-s/

Enough is enough! Our country has a pervasive problem, and we need to carefully reflect on the issues at hand and immediately develop an action plan to bring about systemic change. We need strong bipartisan and compassionate leadership to be proactive in order to eliminate these horrendous occurrences and poisonous threats.

We do not need to re-invent the wheel. In August of 2019, less than one month after a gunman killed 50 people in an attack on two mosques in Christchurch, the New Zealand Parliament voted to ban most semi-automatic and military-style weapons. The law makes it illegal to possess the prohibited weapons in New Zealand. Let’s follow suit.

https://www.npr.org/2019/04/10/711820023/new-zealand-passes-law-banning-most-semi-automatic-weapons

Our system of educating students from K-12 is incomplete. Educators design curriculum, classroom activities, and hands-on experiences that challenge, excite, and enrich a student’s mind. However, we need to provide students with the necessary tools, strategies, and resources that would allow them to identify, use, understand, and manage their emotions and the emotions of others. This can be accomplished by utilizing frameworks for Social and Emotional Literacy (SEL) and Emotional Intelligence in a K-12 learning environment. SEL is the terminology utilized in academia and Emotional Intelligence (EI) is the terminology in the workplace; they are essentially the same thing.

SEL frameworks are based on the research conducted by the CASEL – The Collaborative for Social and Emotional Learning.

https://casel.org/fundamentals-of-sel/what-does-the-research-say/

Significant contributions in the field of emotional Intelligence have been made by John D. Mayer Ph.D., Peter Salovey Ph.D., and David R. Caruso Ph.D. They designed the Mayer Salovey Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT) a valid and reliable test for Emotional Intelligence based upon research conducted at Yale University and the University of New Hampshire.

https://doi.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2Ft05047-000

The essence of the SEL/EI frameworks focus on our ability to navigate through life’s challenges, and this is best described by Aristotle when he said:

“Anyone can become angry – this is easy.

But to be angry with the right person, to the right degree,

at the right time, for the right purpose, and

in the right way that is not easy.”

Teachers, administrators, and parents all know that children learn by example. As a result, we need to ensure that we are practicing what we preach.

“You cannot teach and empower children to be successful

if you do not hold yourself to be so.

Everything you are and all that you believe

is transmitted to your students at some level.”

Mike Milstein and Doris Anne Henry

This quote focuses highlights the importance of what is called the Theory of “Self-First.” Every member of our society needs to be committed to being a reflective practitioner who continually Re-examines, Re-thinks, and Re-aligns (the new 3 R’s) what they are doing on a daily basis. Reflective practitioners understand that emotions influence behavior and that they need to role-model those behaviors and attitudes they want to instill in their children.

We need to understand that SEL/EI is not limited to the field of education. SEL/EI needs to be integrated in our society beginning at birth and it needs to include all walks of life. The University of California at Irvine conducts training programs for their staff in the field of Emotional Intelligence. They call their program ‘The Language of Caring’. Staff comprehend that internalizing their EI training into their daily repertoire of skills is paramount. Through these efforts they are able to build effective relationships and work through life’s challenges in a constructive, ethical, and compassionate manner. They are able to talk the talk and walk the walk.

Today companies worldwide routinely look through the lens of EI in hiring, promoting, and developing their staff. The research has shown that all businesses, whether a financial institution, a school district, a medical school, or hospital, will benefit by incorporating Emotional Intelligence into the fabric of their workplace.

Keeping this in mind, our society needs to . . .

• Be proactive and not reactive
• Create professional learning communities where all constituencies work in a collaborative manner to successfully integrate SEL/EI into the fabric of their school communities and in the workplace
• Elect politicians who are bipartisan, compassionate, willing to pass legislation regarding gun control, and develop action plans that will end acts of domestic terrorism

We must utilize our emotional intelligence as a resource tool to reach new levels of social, emotional, ethical, and academic literacy. “We must be the change we want to see in the world.” Gandhi

FOR YOUR INFORMATION

I am a retired New York State Principal who now lives in Southern California. Presently, I am an online instructor and consult with Teacher Centers in New York State. Our focus is the New York State Dignity for All Students Act (DASA), Social and Emotional Literacy, Emotional Intelligence, UPSTANDER Responsibility and Anti-Bullying. I have experience in these areas for the last 22 years.