Suggests the missing piece in violence-prevention programs is character development through the skills of empathy and self-discipline. Notes that to nurture such qualities in young people, schools must help them learn basic decision-making and perspective-taking skills, delay gratification, learn persistence, develop a set of positive values they…

Notes that teaching social and emotional skills can have a long-term positive effect on academic achievement. The University of Washington's Raising Healthy Children Project tries to reduce children's risk of developing problems in adolescence by providing interventions that bond students to family and school. The program features staff…

Role playing is part of a violence-prevention program for sixth graders in Richmond (Virginia) Public Schools called Responding in Peaceful and Positive Ways (RIPP). The district includes nine middle schools with about 2,000 students; 95% are African Americans. The program stresses personal responsibility, respect for others, and a peaceful future…

When a Connecticut school's assertive-discipline plan failed to generate a sense of ownership and community, faculty replaced rewards with schoolwide celebrations and consequences with problem solving. When students misbehave, teachers encourage them to reflect on their behavior, consider its effect on others, and devise appropriate restitution. A…

The New Haven (Connecticut) Public Schools established a district-level department of social development to coordinate all prevention and health-promotion initiatives. The goals are to educate knowledgeable, responsible, and caring students who acquire a set of basic skills, values, work habits, and positive self-concepts. (MLH)

At a private high school in Providence, Rhode Island, students benefit from Big Brother and Sister programs, peer mediation, and lessons in emotional intelligence across the curriculum. These activities are part of a comprehensive social and emotional education program called "Success for Life." For nearly 20 years, seniors have been required to…

After observing students learning to work out differences in conflict-resolution classes, a supervising administrator at a Connecticut high school began using his office wall as a backdrop for large posters representing model conflict-resolution practices. Posters define conflict; address ways to handle anger; discuss win-win strategies,…

Research has shown that the classroom social environment is a chief psychological determinant of academic learning. A recent study showed students who gave their classrooms high ratings on cohesion, challenge, satisfaction, and absence of friction and favoritism on the Learning Environment Inventory achieved more academically, had better attitudes…

For six weeks, 25 Connecticut seventh graders interviewed senior citizens from a nearby assisted-independent-living facility. By celebrating their senior partners' life experiences, students formulated a better understanding of major events in 20th century American history. During the fifth and sixth weeks, students shared something from their own…

A student survey at a relatively inclusive Rhode Island elementary school revealed some environmental deficits. Many students saw the atmosphere as unsafe, uncomfortable, divisive, and unwelcoming. To facilitate community, staff began questioning before advising, and devised structures that allow students to welcome new students and to succeed on…

Asserts that a kinder, gentler version of the Socratic method can help students recognize contradictions between the values they espouse and the choices they make. Suggests that well-aimed questions actively engage learners by forcing critical thinking about ethics and values. Hypothetical dilemmas, like those in the video series "The Power of…

Notes that students with a history of failure may be hampered by feelings of incompetence and diminished expectations. States that teachers using responsive instruction become attuned to these perceptions and encourage students to regain control of the problem-solving process. Notes that to succeed, teachers must propose certain goals and…

A primary school community in Nottingham, England, has built a social system (via extensive orientation, parent teaching assistants, and multiple school assemblies) in which staff, parents, and students share responsibility for children's academic, social, and personal development. Holistic learning is encouraged by an integrated curriculum,…

Frustrated by her ninth graders' misbehavior with a substitute teacher, a high school English teacher shelved her recriminations and engaged miscreants in a problem-solving exercise examining the incident. Establishing a protocol to talk about problems openly, without fear of retribution, made a big difference. Boys admitted to some poor choices;…

Describes a sixth-grade language arts classroom's experience with the "Write for Your Life" project, which led to a partnership between University of Texas faculty and Austin classroom teachers. Students construct life narratives, generate questions from these narratives, and conduct investigations to learn about their experiences. Sharing…