Feelings, kindness part of East curriculum now

Angie FIgureo and Lucia Gonzalez

You may not know it, but students at Morton East are also being taught to be kinder.

One of the things teachers are being trained to do is to work on how to deal with the students’ feelings. Social Emotional Learning (SEL) is the process through which children and adult acquire and effectively apply the knowledge attitude, and skills necessary to understand and achieve positive goals. Maintain Positive relationship with other and make responsible decisions. Many schools use Social-Emotional Learning to help students work on things like coping with feelings and setting goals.  An, though, teachers are actually being trained, students, too, should be aware of what they can do.  Students should always consider the feelings of others, as well.

“Pledge to compliment one person each day. A simple compliment can turn someone’s day around. Always remind yourself to treat someone how you’d want to be treated. It’s simple”, school psychologist Dr. Meyer said.

You can’t always tell when someone is hurt or what are other people going through and it’s hard, they are trying to be normal and enjoy their life.

“Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. Be kind always”. Remember, you have no idea what a person is going through- give them kindness to help support each other. It’s also very important to not judge others and remind yourself that how you treat other people are a reflection of you,” Dr. Meyer said.

Be careful with what you say; it might hurt others.

“Reach out to students who may be alone or seem withdrawn, let others know you care about them and are there for them. Also, be very careful of the words you use- either in person or on social media. Words can hurt. Only use positive words! If something isn’t kind, do not post it,” Dr. Meyer said.