Teaching Social/Emotional
Skills in Preschool Impacts
Learning for a Lifetime
or
How to Make
Middle School
a Better Place
Cathy Cook, M. Ed.
Training/Technical Assistance Coordinator, Region 5
Virginia Dept. of Education
James Madison University
There are too many words and worries on this slide!
A National Portrait of Young Children at Special Risk for Early School Failure
• More than 153,000 children under age 6 are in foster care.
• More than 300,000 children under age 6 (half of whom are infants and
toddlers) have incarcerated parents.
• More than 567,000 young children are homeless, representing 42 percent of all
homeless children.
• More than 300,000 young children are victims of substantiated child abuse or
neglect every year.
• An estimated 2.2 million young children (10 percent) live with parental
substance abuse or dependence.
• One to four million young children who are exposed to domestic violence.
• An estimated 27 percent of low-income kindergarten children are affected by
parental, especially maternal, depression.
• An estimated 17 percent of young children have diagnosable emotional and
behavioral disorders.
http://www.nccp.org/publications/pdf/text_648.pdf
The objectives for this presentation are to
establish understanding of…
1) Why early childhood is
2) What is social emotional competence
3) What can we do early to make a difference
later
Developing Brain
AND
Growing Child
#1-
Plasticity
#2-
Mirror Neurons
Stress can be POISON if it is…
Severe
Persistent
Uncontrollable
Executive
Function
http://www.ne.edu.sg/hhh_framework.htm
What is
social and emotional
competence
and/or
democratic life skills?
What will give your child his or her best chance
at happiness?
A. Having close friends
B. Finding a satisfying career
C. Living according to his or her values
A Question from Brain Rules for Babies by John Medina
Whose job is this??
What can we do, sooner, to make
a difference later?
1) Look at the research
2) Look at our own practice
3) Use the strategies recommended
with intention and consistency
All
Sequences
Varying rates
Interaction
Experiences
Self-regulation
Relationships
Social and Cultural Contexts
Variety
Play
Challenged
Learning
…must guide our practice!
TEACHING THROUGH
OUR ACTION
—
AND
OUR INTERACTION
WITH ALL PEOPLE
IN THE CLASSROOM
What should we do?
Model
emotional expression
and
regulation
YOUR SKILLS
promote Social and Emotional
Competence
to MAKE the DIFFERENCE
in
LEARNING for LIFE
Source: National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). (2005). NAEYC early childhood program standards and accreditation
performance criteria. Washington, DC: NAEYC <www.naeyc.org>.
Resources for Teaching Social/Emotional Competence
High Expectations!
Thank you for coming!