| Advocating progressive values and equality for humanists, atheists, and freethinkers |
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| Advocating progressive values and equality for humanists, atheists, and freethinkers |
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The foundation of Heart Talk is the understanding that all people share the same needs. Young or old, of any ethnicity, our survival depends on food, shelter, safety, and for play, peace and meaning in our lives. Heart Talk (also known as Compassionate or Nonviolent Communication) is "speaking and listening from the heart." Its purpose is to communicate with each other in empathy and to understand and see our common humanity. The curriculum that has been developed follows Rosenberg's Nonviolent Communication model where children learn to make observations, get in touch with their feelings, learn the difference between a universal need and a strategy, and practice clear requests. They explore anger, empathy, gratitude, conflict resolution and look at historical and current peacemakers. A number of lessons have been developed for Pre-K through the 6th grade. They include: Observation, Feelings, Needs, Requests, Self-Empathy, Gratitude and Celebration, Anger, Empathy and Conflict Resolution, and Peace and Contribution. For additional information, visit: www.uucards.org/lassen0807.php or heartvistas.com/nvccurriculum.aspx
This program has been shown to have dramatic effects in reducing aggression in children by raising social/emotional competence and increasing empathy. Empathy is defined here as a key ingredient to responsible citizenship and responsive parenting. The lengthy curriculum is divided into nine themes and four age ranges: kindergarten, grades 1 - 3, grades 4 - 6, and grades 7 – 8. The curriculum addresses the affective side of education although the activities have many links to the curriculum. For example, literature is used as a way to open the door to feelings. Art also plays a role as children paint their inner feelings which they often cannot say with words. The related program, Seeds of Empathy, fosters social and emotional and attitudes in children 3-5 years of age. For additional information: www.parentmap.com/content/view/875
This resource builds on a heavy framework of critical thinking skills. Develop by Jeff Liebmann, Student Minister, First Unitarian Church of Pittsburgh. Descriptions and ordering information are available at www.pitt.edu/~jdl1/UUcurric.htm
by Sandra McLeod Humphrey. Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books, 1999
From ages six through elementary and junior high school, young people are continuously exposed to questions of personal values; their responses help to develop those unique virtues that govern their actions for years to come. The 25 anecdotes in this book offer challenging situations involving school-age children who must make their own life choices.
by Barbara A. Lewis. Minneapolis, MN: Free Spirit Publishing. 2005.
This compendium of ideas, activities, and resources helps young people explore who they are and develop positive traits such as caring, good citizenship, empathy, respect, peacefulness, and responsibility.
The Personal and Social Responsibility Curriculum, intended for grades 6 - 12, is a one semester curriculum whose objective is to develop students' sense of responsibility while acting in ways that maintain dignity and respect for themselves and others. Students explore how to stick to commitments, ways that promote cooperation and decrease conflict, and coping with life choices. The detailed 87 lessons are accompanied by a 10-session program to help parents interact with their adolescents in ways that assist young adults in assuming personal responsibility. The curriculum also is available in a shorter 52 lesson version.
The Self-Esteem Curriculum, intended for grades 5 - 8, helps students develop self-esteem through concrete activities. The 85 lessons help students build strong, realistic, positive self-images. Becoming increasingly self-directed, they take greater responsibility for their actions and set goals for positive growth. Also included is an optional 8-session program to provide parents with skills to interact more effectively with their teenagers For additional information, see -- www.iasd.com/responsibility/
The Parent Project deals with personal & social responsibility and character-building for teens and focuses on a number of goals, including accountability, cooperation, dependability, honesty, integrity, reliability, responsibility and self-esteem (to name a few).The Parent Project® version is a 10 to 16 week activity-based curriculum that includes a Teacher Manual (52 Lessons), Blackline Masters (200 Reproducible Student Activity Sheets), Color Transparencies (41 Reusable Overheads), Complete 6 Video/CD Set and a Story Handbook. The self-esteem sections include such topics as expectations for yourself and others; the responsibility section includes responsibility to others and for yourself. For more information: www.parentproject.com/
This resource for grades K -5 includes the video "Being Responsible" as well as many thought-provoking discussion questions, student activities, writing assignments, and home assignments. It is anticipated that the students who use this resource will learn (and practice) the many characteristics of a responsible person. Since the materials in the website is intended for non-commercial educational use and is under copywrite, we are only citing the link to this very creative resource. Check it out at -- www.goodcharacter.com/YCC/
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