Character education and the personal intelligences, Intrapersonal and Interpersonal are very important to us. Intrapersonal intelligence is understanding yourself well or "Self Smart." Interpersonal Intelligence, or understand people well is "People Smart."
We utilize a number of methods to develop these skills and intelligences. Our Guidance Counselor acts as our leader in these areas. She visits our classroom twice a week to work with two small groups to help us develop many skills including understanding ourselves well and understanding people. These are key principles in living an effective life. Her lessons may involve setting goals, getting along with others, ways to learn more effectively, and friendship plus many others.
The Capitol School utilizes a set of Lifelong Guidelines and Life Skills as identified by Susan Kovalik and Associates as a part of their Integrated Thematic Instruction (ITI) model. These act as rules, but differ from rules significantly because they are important to all ages and situations in our society. These guidelines become an agreement between the student, teachers, parents, guests, and peers that help us clarify our expectations of one another. We continually learn how to interact with one another in our special community. We encourage you to use these words at home to identify behaviors and provide consistency. Our ultimate goal is to create lifelong learners and model citizens.
We read books about these skills in our classroom to understand what our goals are and how to use them. For instance, we might read the book, "Chrysanthemum" by Kevin Henkes to understand that we should use kind words when working with others.
We also have a "Calming Corner." This is a place where the students can go when they feel that they need a "time in," rather than a "time out." Perhaps a student feels overwhelmed, angry, upset, or scared. It gives the student a chance to regain their physical and emotional control. They reflect on their feelings and learn how to deal more efficiently with emotions.
We also use a mindfulness program called "Inner Explorer."(
innerexplorer.org) We listen to an audio recording that guides us through stress reduction and creates a mindset of calming peace. It helps us increase our focus for learning and concentration.