Although my pupils get along quite well, I would like to teach them to quarrel less. I’m constantly thinking about how to reach that goal but haven’t found a good way yet.

An article about Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) in YES! Magazine caught my attention. After clicking aroung, I found a very nice program on SEL at LearningMatters.tv. It explains the importance of learning kids to express their feelings. One of the teachers talks about “I” messages and “active listening”, which are explained in Thomas Gordon’s book Teacher Effectiveness Training (I incidentally finished reading the book today — hope to post a review soon…).

I particularly liked the interview of Daniel Goleman, author of the book Emotional Learning, who explains that the curriculum is a necessary but not sufficient condition for a good life. You also need to learn how to manage yourself and how to handle relationships.