Acting on Impulse

Dear Middle School Families,

I once managed to drop kick an orange through my parents’ sitting room window! Now, this may not be the expected behavior of a Head of Middle School, but I will confess that I was only 13 and my brother threw me the orange and shouted "Shoot." So why do I share this with you this week?  Shipley has partnered with Dr. Mark Brackett of Yale University’s Center for Emotional Intelligences to further develop our Emotional Literacy Program.  

The Yale Ruler Approach focuses on the following five aspects

1. Recognizing emotions in oneself and others

2. Understanding the causes and consequences of emotions

3. Labeling our emotions using a rich vocabulary

4. Expressing emotions appropriately

5. Regulating emotions effectively

In the coming months, the Middle School faculty will work on these five components of emotional intelligence and will learn to use tools designed by Yale University to help our students understand and manage their emotions.  One of these tools, the Meta Moment focuses on pausing while in the moment and thinking about how one should really act. By creating this "space" research has found that children are more likely to make better decisions. 

Perhaps if I had been exposed to the Meta Moment as a teenager I would have paused for a split second when my brother threw me the orange and not kicked it through my parents’ front window.  I look forward to sharing our Yale work with you all in the coming months and hearing the feedback from our middle school children as we teach them these important tools.

Sincerely,

Shane

Dr. Shane Kinsella

Head of Middle School