Philosophy and Curriculums

Philosophy

This generation of youth faces more challenges than ever before. Social and emotional demands and expectations, peer pressure and cultural complexities are many. Exposure to the vast amount of information and perspectives in this technological age has great benefits yet puts demands on youth like never before. These challenges and demands have the potential of creating a great deal of problems for our kids if not paired with the skills to cope both socially and emotionally. But with proper skills we have a potential to create a generation of adults who have tremendous capacity to manage and make sense of the increasing complexity the modern world presents. By developing better social and emotional intelligence we can help kids be healthier, happier and better functioning members of society. We here at SDA are deeply committed to this goal.

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Core Skill Building and Social Remedy programs

The standard core skill building program takes place over a 30 week period. While it is recommended that the full core program be taught to students, modifications can be made to fit specific timelines and student needs. In addition to the core program there are a number of supplemental programs to augment the core teachings. There is the social remedy program which targets specific circumstances kids may have trouble with. Some of the issues dealt with in this supplemental program are: making friends, deepening friendships, keeping friends, finding common interests, starting conversations, bullying, cooperation versus competition, conflict resolution, sportsmanship, using humor, complementing, joining in groups, managing group interactions, managing less structured social time, being flexible, turn taking, managing frustration etc…. The social remedy curriculum can be a stand alone teaching or integrated into the core skill building curriculum.
The core skill building and the social remedy programs are both done in the context of teaching kids to become their own social detectives. Through the use of building skills to be a social detective and solving social mysteries students are presented the material in fun and practical ways. They are learning to build their skills so they can be a social detective like the main character in the book “Diary of a Social Detective”.

The High School Program

The program for older kids differs from the program for younger students in that there is less of an emphasis on being a detective. It’s more about critical thinking, and deepening the knowledge of intricacies of social and emotional world, which in turn give students more social equity, personal power and success in life. This serves as a great motivator for these older students.
There is also a strong focus on helping teens have a better understanding of what is going on with them during this important period of change in their lives. We discuss the changes which are going on in the teen brain and how they affect behavior, choices, feelings, sense of identity and one’s overall outlook in the world. A more objective understanding of developmental shifts can help teens derive a better understanding of themselves which facilitates both social and emotional understanding and mastery. We also educate students on key aspects of social relating in order to help them navigate the social world better. Then we dive deeper into emotional exploration and developmentally appropriate mindfulness practices to help them cultivate higher levels of emotional intelligence and ability to self regulate and self reflect.

Mindfulness and Emotional Intelligence Training

Finally we have a module that focuses specifically on mindfulness practices and body awareness. This program helps students to cultivate focus, concentration, clarity, nervous system regulation and kinesthetic awareness and sensitivity. It also helps students to identify, understand and manage emotions. Here we teach and practice these techniques together at a developmentally appropriate level. We also engage in reflection on personal experiences, gains and obstacles that might arise in the student’s’ life.

Below is a brief summary of the 28 week core skill building curriculum:

Week One
We begin by introducing the idea of being a social detective. We will discuss Johnny’s story and present an overview of some of the tools used for solving social mysteries. This week focuses on orienting students to the course and cultivating incentive for them to build their own skills.
Week Two
This week we go deeper into our exploration of tools for solving mysteries and creating social remedies. We will discuss the value of good social relating skills, the concept of social equity and all the ways good social relating can help us in our lives. Specific social mysteries will be presented and students will use their detective notepads and workbooks to help them solve these mysteries in class.
Week Three
In week three we discuss the concept of the “usual suspects” that are often the culprits in social mysteries. We will present Prime suspect #1 – Attention. Attention is often a central issue in social and emotional fluency and learning about its importance will set the tone for the rest of the course.
Week Four
This week we continue discussing attention and explore some of the roadblocks to good attention. We will practice tools for staying focused and paying attention.
Week Five
This will be the first of the social detective challenge weeks. The social detective challenge is a time to apply and integrate learning. Both students and facilitators will present cases to be solved. We will explore the nuance of attention in practical real life scenarios and get more personal about students strengths, weakness and potential obstacles around bringing good attention to their social interactions.

Verbal Listening suspects (weeks 6-9)

Week Six
Week six begins the verbal listening module. We begin by introducing prime suspect #2: verbal listening. We discuss importance of good listening and differentiate between verbal listening and nonverbal “listening” which will be explored in the next module. We will discuss the role of attention in good listening and the impact of good and poor listening.
Week Seven
This week we begin to explore specific aspects of good listening. Prime suspect #3: Topic missing is introduced and tools to helps students identify and attend to the main topic are discussed and practiced.
Week Eight
This week we introduce prime suspect #4: Mood Missing. This is a very important aspect of listening and one that is often overlooked but which has a significant impact on social competency. The concept is defined and expanded on and tools are offered and practiced to help students become more adept at identifying and attending to mood in social interactions.
Week Nine
This will be the second of the social detective challenge weeks. We will explore the nuance of verbal listening, topic identification and mood identification in practical real life scenarios and get more personal about students strengths, weakness and potential obstacles around bringing good verbal attention to their social interactions.

Verbal Responding suspects (weeks 10-14)

Week Ten
This marks the beginning of the verbal responding module. We will start with an overview of what verbal responding is and the overall impact of good and poor verbal responding. We will then introduce prime suspect #5 – Talking Off Topic and its connection to topic missing. We will spend time helping students recognize when they might be talking off topic in subtle or overt ways and begin to offer tools for staying on topic.
Week Eleven
This week we continue our exploration of verbal responding and talking off topic and discuss things that might interfere with staying on topic. We also introduce preliminary body awareness strategies in the context of things that might interfere with staying on topic. Body awareness is central to good social and emotional competency. This week we touch on the concept and practice some basic body awareness techniques. We will elaborate on these tools more in the weeks to come.
Week Twelve
This week we will introduce prime suspect # 6 – Talking off Mood and its connection to Mood Missing. We will discuss ways of accurately and sensitively responding to the mood of another. We will also discuss things that might interfere with acknowledging and responding to the mood someone is conveying and how to overcome that interference.
Week Thirteen
This week we introduce prime suspect #7 over responding and prime suspect # 8 under responding. We will define, discuss impact and do role plays around these two suspects. We will also discuss and practice tools for finding the right balance in our responding in social interactions.
Week Fourteen
This will be the third of the social detective challenge weeks. We will explore the nuance of verbal responding, talking on topic, talking on mood, and over and under responding in practical real life scenarios. We will also dive deeper into students strengths, weakness and potential obstacles around bringing good verbal responses to their social interactions.

Verbal Dancing Suspects (Weeks 15-18)

Week Fifteen
This marks the beginning of the verbal dancing module in which we explore some of the key aspects of verbal exchange. We will start with an overview of what verbal dancing is and the overall impact of good and poor verbal dancing. We will then introduce prime suspect #9: verbal crowding and discuss ways to allow for appropriate space in conversations.
Week Sixteen
This week we introduce prime suspect #10 : Interrupting and make the distinction between verbal crowding and actual interrupting. We present students with tools for assessing the right time to speak and practice verbal dancing with special emphasis on allowing space and being careful not to interrupt.
Week Seventeen
This week we introduce prime suspect #11: Verbal initiating and prime suspect # 12: Topic shifting and practice strategies for identifying and mastering these two important suspects.
Week Eighteen
This will be the fourth of the social detective challenge weeks. We will explore the nuance of verbal crowding, interrupting, verbal initiating and topic shifting in practical real life scenarios and get more personal about students strengths, weakness and potential obstacles around being good verbal dancers in their social interactions.

Non-Verbal Listening Suspects (Weeks 19-20)

Week Nineteen
This starts the beginning of the non-verbal listening module. We will start with an overview of what non-verbal listening is and the overall impact of good and poor non-verbal listening. We will then introduce prime suspect #10: reading faces, prime suspect #11: interpreting eye contact and prime suspect #12: reading body language.
Week Twenty
This week we introduce prime suspect #13: reading melody, prime suspect #14: reading tone and prime suspect #15: reading decibel. We will define, give examples and discuss the impact of these three suspects. Students will participate in role plays that involve these suspects and discuss the impact.

Nonverbal responding Suspects (Weeks 21-24)

Week Twenty One
This starts the beginning of the non-verbal responding module. We will start with an overview of what non-verbal responding is and the overall impact of good and poor non-verbal responding. We will then introduce prime suspect #16: talking with the face, prime suspect #17: Talking with the eyes and prime suspect #18: talking with the body. There will be an emphasis on experiential practice to increase students ability to sense both their own and others non verbal communication.
Week Twenty Two
This week we will introduce prime suspect #19: making melody, prime suspect #20: using tone and prime suspect #21: controlling the volume. We will define, give examples and discuss impact of these three suspects. We will discuss the power of using these types of talk effectively and through demonstration and personal practice we will help students cultivate the ability to effectively use these types of communication. Again this week there will be an emphasis on experiential practice.
Week Twenty Three.
This week we will deepen awareness and skill with nonverbal listening and responding by helping students develop greater connection with their own bodies through learning and practicing a series of body awareness tools.
Week Twenty Four
This will be the fifth of the social detective challenge weeks. We will review reading faces, interpreting eye contact, reading body language, reading melody, reading tone, reading decibel, talking with the face, talking with the eyes, talking with the body, making melody, using tone and controlling the volume in practical real life scenarios. We will also get more personal about students strengths, weakness and potential obstacles around being good verbal listeners and responders in their social interactions.

Reviewing and Refining Module (weeks 25-26)

Week Twenty Five
This week we will review all the skills discussed so far in preparation for the making sense of the facts module of the class.
Week Twenty Six
We will continue our review of the 21 prime suspects discussed so far and have an informal social detective challenge quiz to clarify and solidify students grasp of the concepts.

Making Sense of the Facts Module (week 27-30)

Week Twenty Seven
This week begins the module about making sense of the facts.. This is an integrative culmination of the foundational skills’ training portion of the program. We will review and discuss the importance of making sense of the facts. Then we will introduce prime suspect # 22: Context missing, give examples and discuss the impact of good and poor use of context in social interactions. Examples will be given and some of the prime dimensions of context related to social understanding will be explored.
Week Twenty Eight
This week we will introduce prime suspect #22 : Perspective missing. The concept of perspective taking will be defined and concrete examples given. The impact of good and poor perspective taking with be explored. Strategies for using context and the facts to more effectively take the perspectives of others will be discussed and practiced.
Week Twenty Nine
This week we will continue to explore and deepen our knowledge around understanding context. We will learn more about using context and facts to increase one’s’ ability to understand other people’s perspective.
Week Thirty
Final social detective challenge week and party.