Social Emotional Learning at Middle School >>
Exclusiveness in Middle School “Shake it Off“ Not surprising, the social groups at our middle school can tend to be “clique-ish”. We address the issues of inclusiveness, exclusiveness, and relational aggression, through our Social Emotional Learning program. However, “you can’t sit here”, was being said in the cafeteria, and other examples of exclusiveness were observed. Searching for a way to address this issue in a direct manner, we discovered the Teach Tolerance website, and the “Mix it Up Lunch” program. Using this as our framework, we adapted this to fit ASIJ Middle School.
After lunch, the students and advisors traveled to the MS Gym for the culminating activity. “Shake it Off ”, by Taylor Swift, blared over the sound system; each group performed 10 seconds of dance moves in a “popcorn/wave” manner around the gym. The Advisors flooded the center of the gym floor and students followed the lead of the teachers in Flash Mob style, the entire MS community united in one big mob of good vibes! With smiles, laughter, and a bounce in their steps, the students and advisors went back to class for the rest of the afternoon.
Through advisory groups we introduced this special “Mix it Up Lunch” event. Helping students become aware of patterns of exclusive behavior exhibited in the cafeteria and elsewhere was a main goal. Lunch groups were formed through a puzzle piece activity and crossed grade levels and social groups/cliques. Another goal was to help students develop the skill of empathy. By explicitly teaching our students to be more aware of other people’s feelings, the hope was that they would be less likely to exclude others. Five SEL/Advisory lessons were used to prepare our students for Mix it Up Lunch. Students identified the differences between friendship groups and cliques, discussed whether cliques are positive or negative and how and why it can be important to make friends outside of a clique. Questions discussed were: What would happen if the groups at our school mixed it up; What might keep the groups from wanting to mix it up? After weeks of preparation we celebrated the event. Conversation starters such as, “if you could only eat ice cream or chocolate for the rest of your life, which would you choose and why?” and “traveling to outer space or to the depths of the ocean - what would be your preference?”, helped generate friendly discussion at the tables. Students embraced this opportunity to share ideas as they became more familiar with their new group members. Students came away with an understanding that forming connections with peers outside of friend groups is a real possibility.
Institute on Higher Education Admission & Guidance
Our aim was for the students to have fun, be engaged, and inspired to stretch themselves on their own, not just on a designated day. Feedback from students and teachers was mixed, but mainly positive. The outcome was certainly met - students mixed it up and engaged in conversation and activity with students from diverse groups and grade levels. The best result of the day was summed up by one of the participants who remarked at the end of the event, “What a great day! So much positive energy!” By Jackie Douglass & Steve Bennett Middle School Counselors American School in Japan
EARCOS-CIS is pleased to announce the 2nd EARCOS-CIS Institute on Higher Education Admission and Guidance which will be held on Friday 30 September and Saturday 1 October 2016 at the Shangri-La Hotel in Bangkok, Thailand. The EARCOS-CIS Institute will present a perfect opportunity for admission officers from CIS member colleges and universities around the world to connect with guidance counsellors from CIS and EARCOS member schools throughout East Asia. Conference details and registration are both available in the EARCOS and CIS website. www.earcos.org | www.cois.org
Spring 2016 Issue 23
