| It is critical for students with high academic skills to also develop sound social skills based upon the principles of inclusion, community and service. A school must establish mechanisms specifically to teach those skills as opposed to merely expecting they will be learned.
Increasing students' emotional intelligence through skill building, honest communication, problem solving and service learning are all aspects of the affective education curriculum at Odyssey. Advisory, Big brother/Big sister program, student council, school meeting, service learning and seminar all play a part in supporting the skills and curriculum of the emotional intelligence class: Self-Science . This program is designed to build and strengthen the ability to effectively function in the various communities of which each student is a member both in and out of school.
Advisory - Every students has an advisor that meets with that student in an advisory group several times a week. The advisor knows the student well and is an advocate for the student's success academically and socially. Once a week the advisor and advisory group meet at lunch for a relaxed, social experience. Once a month each advisory group dines out at a local restaurant for advisory lunch. Along with getting to know each other, advisory groups experiment with menus and cultures of different countries.
Big brother/Big sister program - Upon matriculating at Odyssey, each student becomes a member of a sib group which can be 2-5 students. Sibs meet each other at a candlelight ceremony at camp at the beginning of the school year and continue their relationship as long as they are at Odyssey. Having sibs provides a sense of family, community and support for every student at Odyssey.
Student Council - Students can hone their leadership skills and make an impact on their school by participating in Student Council. It is an opportunity for those who are gifted in leading and representing a larger group to develop those talents.
School meetings - The entire school meets at the beginning and end of each school day to create continuity, boost self-esteem and morale, focus on the sense and power of community and make sure that everyone gets the information to have a successful day at school and evening at home.
Service learning - Odyssey students complete a minimum of 40 hours of community service during middle school. The community service projects must be with people (not animals or inanimate objects like a clean-up project) and serve to expose students to the larger and more diverse community around us. Perspective and experience is gained, increasing the emotional intelligence of each student as they help others.
For additional information about Emotional Intelligence and its application in education, refer to www.6Seconds.org. This is the web site of Odyssey School Trustee Dr. Anabel Jensen who has trained over 10,000 teachers about emotional intelligence in the classroom.
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