If you had to choose, what would you do?

We all know that setting goals is important to success in all areas of our lives. In Social Emotional Learning, we aspire to having our students become empathic individuals who are able to appreciate theirs and others’ viewpoints in this increasingly global environment. With this in mind, our 3^rd Graders (with the help of Mrs. Martin), have implemented personal and class goals which they discuss each Monday. They define the goal, and talk about ways in which the goal can be applied both in and out of the classroom. As the week progresses, the students have the opportunity for self-assessment to see how well they perform, as well as those areas where they could improve.

The first goal, established a few weeks ago, was “showing respect”. In our Social Emotional Learning class, we read a short story from the book titled: “If You Had to Choose, What Would You Do?” by Sandra McLeod Humphrey. This book is a treasure-trove of problem solving scenarios to get students to think about a moral dilemma and brainstorm solutions that are empathic and respectful. In the story “Double the Money”, the main character (Tara), was mistakenly paid double her fee for tending her neighbor’s garden. Tara was saving for a bike which was going up for auction in 2 weeks and the extra money would ensure the likelihood that she would be able to buy it. So the dilemma was: Should she keep the money for the highly coveted bike, or should she return it?

This reading was discussed by pairs of students who then reported to the entire group how they would solve this dilemma. And once again, I was in awe of the level of empathy the students displayed. But even more impressive were the solutions they arrived at in order to earn the money that had been overpaid! A few of the students offered to clean her garage, while others would do extra gardening, or not accept payment for the following week’s work. The students presented a variety of creative responses which indicated honesty, resourcefulness, and respect for the feelings of others. These heartfelt responses reinforced how teaching respect and ethics to our young children is internalized and demonstrated in so many ways.

Young children love to do these kinds of problem solving exercises, and research indicates that reading comprehension is improved when they do. Moral reasoning enhances empathy, but also creative thinking, negotiating, perspective taking and critical thinking – all important to success in school and in relationships.

So encourage your children to problem solve by asking them to predict what might happen in a story, or by asking them to solve a moral dilemma. They will enjoy it and you will be amazed by their responses and feel proud of them (and yourselves) for raising ethical and empathic individuals!