Umoja - Student Development Corporation

Umoja- Student Development Corporation was founded in 1997 by Lila Leff. Umoja means "unity" in Swahili. Umoja- Student Development Corporation (https://www.umojacorporation.org/) is an organization that teaches educators how to better support students through social emotional learning (SEL) and restorative justice.  Umoja believes that by teaching and training educators on ways to support and better develop students, students will have a better chance of success in their futures. On the Umoja website it states, "We build deep social-emotional learning (SEL) skills in educators to transform the ways young people experience school and the ways schools exist to serve society." Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion are at the center of Umoja’s work.

            One of the deans at my internship went to a professional development workshop at Umoja to learn more about SEL and restorative justice (because learning from the school social workers was apparently not enough). The information that was learned from Umoja was then presented at an all staff institute day. Even though social workers have been teaching and implementing SEL, other educational professionals are only starting to realize the importance and the ways in which SEL can improve other areas within the educational environment. Additionally at my internship, fighting has been a big issue this year. One of social work’s best practices for when there is conflict is through implementing a restorative justice process. At the all staff institute day, information from Umoja about restorative justice was also presented. Below is one of the information sheets that was presented when talking about restorative justice but is also just a good self-check in general when working with any student.

References

Umoja-Student Development Corporatin. Retrieved October 22, 2019, from

https://www.umojacorporation.org/.

Social Emotional Learning books (Pre-K- 5th grade) and questions

My first item of interest is a list of books for friendship skills, bullying anger management, acceptance, adversity, divorce, changing families, feelings, and emotions. This list of books is a useful tool for implementing a social-emotional learning (SEL) lesson. Each of these books illustrates powerful messages and are separated by theme and grade levels.

I decided to share this book list because it helps with effectively applying the knowledge, discussion, and skills necessary to understand and manage emotions by using the narrative approach. By using this technique, it will motivate the children to learn, use their critical thinking skills; ability to connect and reflect from the book. It may also help students express kindness, empathy, and cope with challenges that they are currently experiencing or have in the past.

In the context of my internship at District 104, my supervisor and I plan to use this list of books as guidance when planning our SEL lessons. This serves as a great tool because we can share with teachers and parents to help them talk about specific topics. This list of books is appropriate for grades Pre-K - 5th grade.


I have attached the documents of the list of books and questions to ask to promote social-emotional learning. I hope this is helpful to you! Here is the link from where I got the list of books: https://pin.it/jwvwckyxxedljz

WhyTry Program

WhyTry Program

The Why Try curriculum is a program used to help students be able to answer the question “why try in life?”.  This is used in our Social Emotional Learning groups and in helping students who are having difficulties putting effort into home, school, and peer challenges.  We use this curriculum in the high school setting but I think the activities could be directed at middle school aged students.  It can address behavioral problems, dropout prevention, classroom management, and career and college preparation.

WhyTry curriculum uses 10 analogies: Channeling Anger and Challenges into Positive Motivation, the Reality Ride, Tearing off Labels, Defense Mechanisms, Climbing Out, Jumping Hurdles, Desire Time and Effort, Lift the Weight, Getting Plugged In, and Seeing Over the Wall.  These analogies use “active learning” which means the students are actively involved in the learning process.   They see and hear the analogies, music and lyrics are involved, and hands-on experiential learning activities are used.  Visual, verbal, discussion, experience, teach and share with others, application, and internalizing are all the different learning styles used for effectiveness and retention.

This program would be used in the Social Work Model area of “provide evidence based education, behavior, and mental health services” because it is a research based program implemented in a group setting.

The website offers a free sample program, the products, access to training events, and research on the success of the program.

Second Step

The item of interest that I chose is Second Step Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Program. Programs are available for grades as young as pre-kindergarten through 8^th grade with each program being tailored for the grade that it is being used for. Second Step also provides anti-bullying and child protection programs as well. The program I specifically focused on was the Second Step SEL for elementary students. I chose this program because it is evidence based and it is endorsed by the Department of Education as being proven to decrease behavior problems in students. This program would fall under the home-school-community linkages in the school social work model.

            Each grade gets their own customized boxes. All the boxes contain lessons that explain the concepts, objectives, and preparation needed. The lessons clearly lay out what is intended to be done during each session. This can include watching a short video, listening to a story, or playing a game. Second Step SEL is intended to have one lesson be worked on for five days. The first day the initial lesson is taught, such as empathy, listening with attention, and being assertive. The following four days are intended to practice what was taught in the initial day or what Second Step calls “follow through.” The programs also consist of materials to be sent home with the students. The parents are provided with activities and information on the lesson that is being taught that week, so that they can reinforce and work on those lessons at home as well. The programs also come with resource DVDs and online materials, including Spanish translations, for the teachers to use to supplement the lessons.

www.secondstep.org 

This is a great activity for students in social work group because it makes students identify their own strengths.  This makes students self aware and makes them look at the positives qualities they have.  They get to share what they are good at and feel good about themselves.  By putting the chains together, it becomes a teambuilding activity because it shows that utilizing each others strengths is what makes a team great.  These chains should be hung in the classroom or in the social work office to serve as a reminder for the students of their own strengths!

This activity is from a book titled “Everyday SEL in Elementary Schools” Integrating Social-Emotional Learning and Mindfulness into your Classroom.  The title says it all about this activity.  This activity is a practical strategy for teaching social emotional learning and mindfulness.
model: 

 Link: https://books.google.com/books?id=LihqDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA104&lpg=PA104&dq=strengths+paper+chain&source=bl&ots=FmWI60o8qr&sig=6tIdB1ov0A6bsPGtN487lkul_wI&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwifwciWmpPQAhUFOiYKHT1QBiYQ6AEIKTAC#v=onepage&q=strengths%20paper%20chain&f=false

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