Historically both elementary and secondary schools have existed primarily to support analytical intelligence commonly referred to as “book smarts.” And, while this is a very good thing, more and more studies are finding that this is not the entire recipe for a well-rounded and intelligent individual. Enter Social and Emotional Learning (or SEL for short).

Social and Emotional Learning, defined as life skills which include how to interact with others and manage one’s own emotions, is slowly finding its way into classrooms across the world and making a BIG impact as mentioned, for example, in an article¹ by Daniel Goleman:

“The data show that SEL programs yielded a strong benefit in academic accomplishment, as demonstrated in achievement test results and grade-point averages. In participating schools, up to 50 percent of children showed improved achievement scores and up to 38 percent improved their grade-point averages. SEL programs also made schools safer: incidents of misbehavior dropped by an average of 28 percent; suspensions by 44 percent; and other disciplinary actions by 27 percent. At the same time, attendance rates rose, while 63 percent of students demonstrated significantly more positive behavior. In the world of social science research, these remarkable results for any program promoting behavioral change, SEL had delivered on its promise.”

This is exciting news for us at the Color Code. As you can imagine, we are huge proponents of Social and Emotional Learning. This is largely because, more and more, we have been privileged to witness what the application of motive-based learning (our contribution to SEL) is doing for the lives of so many individuals, marriages, and companies. And now, students as we’ve slowly been rolling out our “Getting It!” Program for Secondary Schools to be introduced to the Color Code.

If you don’t already know about “Getting It!”, it’s a fantastic resource for both teachers and students to help them apply Color Code insights into the classroom and student/peer/parent/teacher dynamics.

It is our hope that this program will help in bringing additional effective SEL tools into classrooms across the nation. We’ve experienced that the sooner a youth can recognize his or her own needs, wants, strengths, and limitations, as well as identify those of others and take action accordingly, the better chance they will have to be able to reach their full potential — or at the very least get through high school and life a little easier.

If you’re a parent, maybe you can think of some ways to encourage SEL at home? Maybe you could share your ideas in the comments so other parents could benefit?

Or, if you know a teacher or school who you think would be interested in bringing Color Code into its curriculum, make sure to pass this article along to them so they can get in touch with us if they want.

And, for bonus points, what benefits do YOU think students could receive if they are introduced to the principles of Color Code early on? Let us know in the comments below!

Thank you to all the wonderful educators out there trying to make a difference in the lives of our youth. We sincerely hope these tools will help and look forward to your feedback and ideas at making the program better each year.

—The Color Code Team

¹ http://www.danielgoleman.info/topics/emotional-intelligence/