I believe in results and outcomes.

I understand results come from action and focus.

I think in terms of focus, then action and finally the results.

So if I turn my attention onto the education of students, I see that schools focus primarily on intellectual development.  Obviously intellectual development is important, and shows up in scores in math, reading comprehension, English, science.  The results in all core subjects areas are directly related to the amount of time and energy spent on these subjects.

What about the social and emotional development of our youth?  Where do you think those results might show up on a school’s report card?

From my perspective it shows up in classroom behavior, schoolyard interactions, as well as student dealings with teachers, administrative staff and each other throughout the campus.  It shows up in how students communicate with each other.

Most schools review the numbers of principal referrals and bullying incidents.  Some schools might interview teachers on the classroom management issues they are facing.  All of these give us information regarding the job we are doing as educators.

Measuring Emotional and Social Literacy on a scale like that used for intellectual development is much harder.  It might even be an illusive ideal to have a school wide measure for these things.  But it might be time to start thinking along these lines.

The community in which your school, your family and in fact my family and friends live is dependent on us measuring and developing the emotional and social well being of students in our classrooms.

The community we want tomorrow is dependent on the results of schools today.

I agonize for the parents. I agonize for the child who left our world in torment, thinking there was no other way out. I agonize for those that didn’t hear or respond to the cries of a child’s desperate need. I agonize for the schools who have these issues and the teachers and principals who face these issues daily. And I agonize for a system that has gone awry.

I feel as if I’ve been a voice in the wilderness calling for emotional and social literacy reform in the schools forever. But this blog is not about me. It’s about an issue so deep that It has become systemic. And maybe its deeper than that. Maybe it is about the health or lack of health of our humanity at its very core.

How many more children will be sacrificed? What does it take for all of us to wake up? Please follow this story and see if you can stand aside.

Every child is our child.

I am so sorry we lost this one.

Teachers please read this article, and parents too if you think your child might be being bullied

I am not the only voice calling for reform, this article also calls for action, but I want the reform to be deeper then policies and procedures.

Human beings are emotional social beings. If they are not getting emotional and social education, then we need to provide it. Let’s get to the heart of the matter that is ailing our children and then support this work with viable policies and procedures.

We see it everywhere. It’s in our homes; the divorce rate is nearly 50% or maybe a bit more now. It’s in our communities; the drug and alcohol abuse rate is reaching extremes. It’s in our schools; bullying and cyber-bullying has reached peak proportions. It fills the front pages of our papers.

My work in the business sector is called , the human side of enterprise. Businesses require a full comprehensive approach to the people and human side of organizational effectiveness. And this is for the adult level! Emotional and social literacy are at the heart of design for such organizations. It includes such things as: self-awareness, communication skills, leadership and coaching skills etc.

I think we need a “start early, keep going and stay late” approach to emotional and social literacy in our schools. It’s about time to face the need head on and design a comprehensive approach that has a deep and long lasting effect into adulthood. Maybe then our stats will change and maybe then we will see a positive difference in our societies.

It’s like climbing a mountain. When you looking up at the high peaks and pinnacles before you begin, it looks like a monumental climb, an overwhelming feat, an impossible objective. If you see the undertaking as one huge burgeoning endeavor, you can become overwhelmed before you start.

Maybe this is why so few schools set out to take the challenge. Maybe this is why so many organizational executives cringe at the thought. And maybe this is why so many set out with the best of intentions but give in or give up before they reach the summit.

I worked with the Royal Canadian Bank in Canada and they were looking across a terrain of 15 years to create the culture they envisioned. But they had a staff of 2,000 people. And they were spread from shore to shore – Vancouver to the coast of Newfoundland.

Smaller organizations and schools take less time. But they still require a clear sense of mission, a vision of what they want, involvement of each of the stakeholder groups, and attention to the details on a daily basis.

Is it hard? Probably…. Is it worth it? Absolutely.

Can it be done? Unreservedly and unequivocally YES!

I’ve staked my 35 years of professional work on it. I call it the Human Side of Enterprise. And I’ve guided many a school and organization in making the transformation over the years.

In the coming months, I’ll revisit this subject with specific achievable strategies and steps you can utilize to create a culture of greater caring in your organization or school.

As educators, we may think we’re doing our job, but are we really? The quality of the social and emotional fabric in our schools is varied and often perilous. And the symptoms are beginning to show up with students in younger and younger age groups.

When I was working with a fifth grade group in one of the schools in Hawaii, one of the students, Bobbie,  told me that he had written his will and final letter to his mother when he was 10 years old.  “I wanted to die,” he said.  When I asked him why, he responded, “They called me every dirty name for fat until I couldn’t stand it any longer.”

“What made you change your mind, Bobbie” I asked.

“I found out that some people care about me,” he said quietly. “So I decided to stay.”

Here are other situations students have shared:

• Put downs that turn to constant torment
• Merciless teasing or taunting
• Rumors that take on a life of their own (even when they are stopped)
• Hateful text messages or emails
• The use of coventry or isolation (‘icing’ a student out)

As teachers and principals we need to learn how to build community.  Maybe we could develop a new master’s degree program:  Creating a Culture of Caring – How to create the conditions for positive growth, sharing and support between students in the classroom, on the playground, in the hallways and the lunchroom.

Some of these new degrees were:

1. Learning to Listen – Narrative medicine
2. Safety First – Homeland Security
3. Education Leadership – Learning to Fix Failing Schools
4. Sustainable Cultures – A Step Beyond Anthropology
5. Cars of the Future – Start Your Engine Programs

The post and article got me thinking about the reasons why I have returned to the classrooms of the world and the things I spend time thinking about:

• How do we make our schools more relevant NOW?
• What can we do NOW to transform students’ experience of learning relevance?
• What should the NOW classroom look and feel like?

I guess it is very hard to determine what the future requirements for students entering the workforce might be.  Seeing that university courses are being developed all the time and the jobs that they might do don’t even exist yet.  How do we as educator try and predict the potential skill sets that they need?

I think the answer is that we don’t predict, but instead we lay the foundations with great development for NOW.

Those foundations must include a focus on Emotional Literacy and Social Literacy.  Because the need for EQ and SQ skills alongside the IQ is a fundamental that has not changed for many many years.  These skills will always ensure that a student can adapt to the things that are presented to them.  The challenges that our students will face are unknown, but I am certain that a robust balance across Intellect, Emotions and Social skills will always be necessary for success, happiness and satisfaction.

Fast is slow when:

1. A team member has an idea and you’re in too much of a hurry to listen.
2. You make all of the improvement decisions.
3. You pass someone in the hall (anyone) and don’t say hello or at least acknowledge them with a smile.
4. You give a short answer when a longer one is needed or vice versa – you give a long answer when a short answer would do. (Know your audience!)
5. You engage in the Kaizen process alone.

Why is fast slow in these cases? Because each situation requires damage control which takes time. People want to feel that they make a difference and in each of these cases they went away wondering.

Don’t ever leave a person wondering. Remember, the human brain is hardwired to connect with others. Relationship is everything. Students, teachers, principals and business leaders can develop their Social Intelligence or SQ competencies. SQ saves time and energy in all human relationship connections and in our professional lives.

Here’s 2 pieces of information that really hit the SQ mark and may help clarify the role of relationships in our lives.

1. Neuro-plasticity – Your brain is like plastic. It is moldable. It changes throughout your life based on your experience, who you hang with, and your intention to change yourself. Human beings can learn and change at any stage in life.
2. Our brain is wired to connect with others. Even our immune system is linked to respond to our relationships. Positive nourishing relationships nourish us while negative relationships are toxic to the system, especially over time.

The more scientists study the human brain, the more they realize how important our SQ really is. Our social relationships and interactions influence both our brain and our biology.

Every school, every teacher and every principal needs to understand the importance of SQ education. It lowers the bullying incidents, upsets in the classroom and referrals to the principal’s office in the school.

And how important is SQ in leadership? A policeman friend put it simply when he said that a new police chief had just been hired from the ranks. “I judge a leader by whether I would go in before him on a raid or let him go in before me,” he said. “I would go in first to protect this man. That’s how much I trust him,” he said quietly. ”And from what I’ve heard, I believe anyone on the force would do the same.” The trust that my friend spoke of here only happens out of SQ!

The Boardrooms of the companies I have worked with are not full of people with the highest IQ’s, they are full of Smart people.

Here smart means the ability

• to lead people,
• to articulate a vision
• to focus a discussion
• to genuinely interact with others
• to listen
• to influence the thinking of others
• to engage the team in system wide change when needed

All of these traits are in the Emotional and Socail domains.

Now think about your classroom, the tests you give, the report cards you write… Are we enhancing a student’s potential or measuring the school’s Key Performance Indicators?

The most successful people are those with a balance of intellect, emotions and social skills.  This is the essence of a human being.  The balance of these three domains is what makes each person unique.  The potential of each student also lies somewhere in this IQ,EQ,SQ balance. If this is a students potential, don’t we as educators need to focus across all three domains in our teaching so as to support a student during their development?

Human beings are more than IQ. Success, satisfaction and happiness is not purely a function of intellect. A whole and happy human being is made up of a combination of factors that go way beyond intellect.

In my IQ, EQ, SQ Model I have replaced quotient with Quality.  Quotient is by definition a linear process, starting at the bottom and leading to the top, but as we know humans are not on a linear scale, they are multi-dimensional. Humans have many facets, many reactions, many relationships and ultimately a combination of all their intellect, their emotions and their relationships.  Quality is a measure that removes scale, every single person has quality, what makes them unique is their personal combination of these qualities.

Intellectual Quality is how we use our minds and how we think, not our ability to think or the measurement of our thinking in relation to the “norm”.

Emotional Quality how we react or respond to events and situations in our lives. It how we manage our emotions moment by moment, day after day.

Social Quality is how we connect with and relate to others. It is how a student engages with other people in his or her environment.