EISD has chosen to highlight self-awareness and self-management as our SEL focus for the second nine weeks.

SELF-AWARENESS: There is a growing body of evidence suggesting “that mindful practice could be beneficial to teens”. Being mindful is part of being self-aware. Educating teens about the mindfulness research and the benefits of mindfulness is a way to support teens in developing their own mindful practice. “Students who meditate before an exam perform better than students who do not”, and “mindfulness-based interventions have been demonstrated to reduce the symptoms of anxiety, stress, and depression.”  In order to learn other strategies to on how to encourage your teen to be mindful read “Teaching Mindfulness to Teenagers: 5 Ways to Get Started.”

SELF-MANAGEMENT: Parents and staff members had the opportunity to hear Jessica Lahey speak at the beginning of the 2017-2018 school year. Jessica highlighted three points: autonomy, competence and connection. As caring supportive parents, we need to encourage our children to be autonomous and independent and try not to control their thoughts and actions. Children build competence through practice and experience. Contributing to household chores builds competence. Viewing failures as learning opportunities allows our children to learn from their mistakes. Loving your child for all their strengths and weaknesses and accepting them for who they are builds connection. Building autonomy, competence, and connection with our kids develops self-reliant, competent and resilient adults.

The Gift of Failure: How the Best Parents Learn to Let Go So Their Children Can Succeed by Jessica Lahey.

“In Praise of Mediocre Kids” is another article that supports Jessica Lahey’s message of building autonomous, independent kids by not “pushing” our kids and trusting they will find their own way.