We need to do better with Social Emotional Learning, and Positive Intelligence is the answer.

 It's taken me a week to feel ready to write this post.  In the previous weeks, our nation's out of control violence was hitting a little too close to home.  On Saturday, November 19, a University of New Mexico Student was killed outside the dorms where my two children reside.  The following day, news broke of the Club Q shooting in Colorado Springs, near my childrens' birthplace in Southern Colorado.  Sickeningly, the Walmart shooting in Chesapeake, VA took place the following day.  According to Gun Violence Archive, there were 10 mass shootings in the US that week.  Aside from continuing calls for common-sense gun legislation, as educators, we often wonder what we can do to prevent this kind of tragedy.  

It's well documented that schools lack the resources to adequately address youth mental health in school.  First, students are struggling more than ever.  In fact, the Surgeon General has declared a youth mental health crisis.  To make matters worse, there is a shortage of mental health workers.  It's no that schools aren't trying to address this issue:  Social Emotional Learning, or SEL, has been given more priority in many schools in recent years.  However, it isn't always done right:  And, as with any new initiative, there are growing pains.  SEL has come under cricisim from both ends of the political spectrum, with some parents saying that SEL without Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Pedagogy (CLR) can be harmful to students of color.  Conversely, parents on the right express concern about SEL as a guise to indoctrinate students with liberal ideology.  For frustrated educators, it seems there is no easy answer.  

I was fortunate to work in a school that was very intentional about SEL, and built their curriculum using research-based strategies.  Still, many teachers requested more support with facilitating SEL classes and supporting students socially and emotionally.  After I left my administrative position and discovered Positive Intelligence, I was convinced it needs to be part of all school curricula.  Let me explain why.

Positive Intelligence was founded by Stanford neuroscientist and world renowned executive coach Shirzad Chamine.  Chamine's team at Stanford performed a factor analysis to determine thoughts and behaviors that unconsciously sabotage us - our saboteurs, as well as positive emotions and thoughts that increase feelings of well-being, confidence and productivity - our Sage powers.  They used this to develop a ground-breaking app of mental fitness exercises (similar to mindfulness exercises) that have been proven to decrease brain activity in the amygdala (the "fight or flight" region of the brain that is activated during stress) and increase activity in the more productive, positive areas of the brain.  You can read more about their reseaerch here.  The exercises are simple and short, in other words, student-friendly, and because they're based in scientific studies of the human brain, they transcend any particular cultural, political or religious viewpoint.  

Chamine explains that all emotions are rooted in either love or fear, and that much of the political strife and violence we are witnessing lately is rooted in fear.  This seems perfectly logical to me, and if true, then don't we need to teach ourselves and each other how to root our thoughts and actions in love as often as possible?  

I am currently connecting with other PQ coaches with a background in education, but we are few.  The fellow educators that I've had the pleasure of training in PQ agree wholeheartedly that it should be a part of every school's curriculum.  I'm genuinely curious to know what other educators think.  Do you have any experience with Positive Intelligence, and have you shared it with your colleagues and students?  For those who are new to PQ, what do you think?  What is the future of SEL?  What can schools do to support youth mental health and peaceful conflict resolution?  I'm really hoping to get some comments on this one.