>>Teacher: How many of you know a boy or girl here at school
who gets picked on and left out and never included
and laughed at all the time?
>>Narrator: School can be a mean and dangerous place.
>>Raise your hands high, high.
>>Narrator: Evidenced by headline grabbing tragedies
and subtle daily slights.
>>Gina, why don't you shut up?
>>Who cares what you think?
>>Narrator: Fortunately, there is growing consensus
that teaching social and emotional skills
in school can make a difference.
>>Teacher: We're gonna use it as a tool to help us solve problems.
>>Narrator: And there are a number of programs,
like Resolution Conflict Creatively, that teach those schools.
>>Teacher: -- to the room and said,
"You're gonna wear those old rages to school?"
>>Linda: We are talking about a whole new vision of education that says
that educating the heart is as important as educating the mind.
And so it's about equipping young people with the kinds
of skills they need to both identify and manage their emotions,
to communicate those emotions effectively,
and to resolve conflict nonviolently.
>>It's mine.
>>No, it's mine.
>>Narrator: As part of a school wide effort
to create a positive environment, fourth graders
at Brooklyn's PS Twenty Four act as peace helpers,
teaching younger students how to handle conflicts.
>>Alexus: When the peace helpers were helping solve the conflict,
what did you see the peace helpers do?
>>I'm still learning, 'cause if I go into sixth grade next year,
I need to learn how to control my anger,
'cause I have a serious temper problem.
>>Daniel: Emotional intelligence is just a key human skill,
but it also turns out that kids who are better able
to manage their emotions, for example,
actually can pay attention better,
can take in information better, can remember better.
In other words, it helps you learn better.
>>Narrator: Benefits of social emotional learning programs include
improved academic performance and attitudes towards school,
a reduction in violence, bullying and other negative behaviors,
and an improved school environment for children and adults.
>>Teacher: We're just seeing great behavior, so--
>>Narrator: As part of a district wide mandate, schools in Anchorage,
Alaska, have adopted comprehensive social emotional learning
curriculum standards.
>>Vickie: I'm a curriculum coordinator,
so I am seen in the same office as the language arts coordinator,
the math coordinator, the health coordinator, et cetera,
to show just visually, politically, everything else,
that we are gonna value this like we value any of our other curricula.
A lot of my job is to look at the already adopted curriculum and say,
"Okay, here's a place where, if I was teaching this reading lesson,
I could also hit this social emotional learning center
at the same time."
>>Teacher: What are some of the cool headed thoughts he could have?
>>Michael: We're all under the gun to improve our test results,
the academics, but it's a whole lot more fun to start focusing
on that connection with kids
and helping people feel good about where they are.
The other will follow.
Our teachers, I think, are much happier.
They like their kids.
>>Teacher: Good job, kiddo.
Excellent.
Practice being cool headed this weekend.
>>Vickie: There's research out now that shows that kids involved
in intentional social emotional programs, like we're trying
to do right here, scored on average ten percent higher
on their standardized tests.
So what are we giving up?
We're giving up, you know, higher referrals,
we're giving up violence in our schools.
What are we getting?
Kids who come to school because they wanna come to school,
and kids who know how to act when they get into the schools.
And hopefully, kids who will go into their futures
with a better chance at success.
>>Student: Gina, I would like to keep on being friends.
>>Teacher: And freeze, all right, yeah.
Nice job. [applause]
>>For more information on what works
in public education go to edutopia.org
