LEVEL 3: LONG-TERM SUPPORTS
LIFE SKILLS

This is the third level in the Self-Discipline Pyramid.  This level emphasizes the need to develop skills and procedures for managing student behavior that will carry on into the future, and outside of the school environment (Villa, Thousand, & Nevin, 2010).

Strategies:

  • Teach Empathy: Part of being a good human being involves the ability to empathize with others.  In order to create a supportive classroom environment, I need to teach my students how to listen to others, and develop a respect and understanding of their experiences.  Through projects that allow students to share personal writing, as well as address current issues going on in the world around us, I hope to teach my students how to step outside of their own experiences and show caring for others (Wendler, 2014).

  • Develop Writing Skills: As I am an English teacher, it is important that I teach my students how to write - not just for class assignment purposes, but to help them in their life outside of school.  I want my students to have a variety of writing opportunities (proposals, letters to congressmen, resumés, cover letters, etc.) that will be useful beyond the four walls of my classroom.  I want my students to see that writing is an important communication skill that will help them be successful in college, in the workforce, and far beyond high school graduation (©SkillsYouNeed, 2014).

  • Develop Presentation Skills: Being able to stand in front of a group of people and present your work or your opinions is a skill that many fear and few have the opportunity to practice.  I plan to create an array of opportunities for my students to learn and practice formal presentation skills in my classroom.  This is a way to help build student confidence, as well as make them better communicators (©SkillsYouNeed, 2014).

  • Develop Group Work Skills & Motivating Others: Many students dread assign group projects, which is unfortunate because they are a necessary skill to develop - both in and outside of school.  Students need experience working in teams, delegating tasks, taking responsibility for people other than themselves, as well as learning how to encourage and motivate others to be successful.  I plan to utilize a great deal of group work in my classrooms, where students will be able to assume a variety of roles and take on various responsibilities (©SkillsYouNeed, 2014).

  • Fostering Group Identity: There are a variety of activities that I can have my students do as group writing exercises to foster a sense of group identity.  I can solicit surveys that ask students to list their likes and dislikes and group them according to things that they have in common, as well as things that they do not have in common.  Allowing students to work with different groups of students will allow them to learn about the things they have in common with other students that they might not have thought they would relate on.  It will also allow them to see that though they are different in certain ways they can still work together for the good of the whole.  This will create a classroom environment of respect and appreciation - for both similarities and differences (Shapiro, 2004).

  • Showing Interest in Others: Many students do not have the opportunity to connect with others outside of their own experience, or to imagine what life is like for someone else.  I plan to utilize cultural literature, current events, former students from other parts of the world, and other resources to allow my students to have windows into new experiences.  Learning about different ways of life, different perspectives, and different experiences will not only help students to understand their own experiences, but will also shape them into open-minded members of the community (Shapiro, 2004).

  • The "RULER" Approach: It is critical that students be able to understand their own emotions, if they are ever going to be able to understand the emotions of others.  This approach will require students to Recognize, Understand, Label, Express, and Regulate their own emotions before acting.  Teaching students how to assess their own feelings will foster a sense of maturing and self-discipline that will make them into better learners and better people (Brackett & Kremenitzer, 2011).

Philosophy Behind the Strategies:

The Progressive Educational Philosophy is supported by the pillars of "Social Justice," which allows students to examine the world far beyond their own community and experiences, as well as "Attending to the Whole Child," which focuses on students developing not only as learners but as people (Kohn, 2008).  The strategies listed above will allow my students to better understand themselves as individuals, and to better understand their peers, as well as people outside of their community or culture.  They will give students the tools they need to make a difference in their own education, but also in the world around them.  Students will be able to understand people they may never have thought they could connect with, and through the use of these strategies be able to grow into young adults who care about themselves and the world.

How Will My Students See These Strategies In Action?:

These strategies will be emphasized as goals on the classroom syllabus.  One of my priorities as a teacher is to help my students develop into open-minded and empathetic individuals.  I will create projects and assignments that push students out of their comfort zone and allow them to see the world through the eyes of their classmates and people all over the world.  Students will be able to practice skills that will help them in all of their school subjects, but most importantly in college, the work force, and beyond.

Examples of Activities:

Sources:

Students as Collaborators in Responsibility. (2010). In R. Villa, J. Thousand, & A. Nevin (Eds.), Collaborating With Students in Instruction and Decision Making (pp. 171-188). Thousand Oaks, California: Corwin

Wendler, D. (2014, January 1). Empathy. Retrieved September 21, 2014, from http://www.improveyoursocialskills.com/empathy

©SkillsYouNeed. (2014, January 1). Retrieved September 21, 2014, from http://www.skillsyouneed.com/

Shaprio, Lawrence, E. (2004).  101 Ways to Teach Children Social Skills: A ready to use, reproducible activity book.  The Bureau For At-Risk Youth, United States.

Brackett, Marc A., Kremenitzer, Janet Prickard. (2011). Creating Emotional Literate Classrooms: An introduction to the RULER approach to social and emotional learning, Port Chester, NY: Dude Publishing.

Kohn, A. (2008). Progressive Education: Why It's Hard to Beat, But Also Hard to Find. Independent School, (Spring 2008). Retrieved September 21, 2014, from http://www.alfiekohn.org/teaching/progressive.htm