Overview

A College of Education-Tested Toolkit for Teaching People Skills Imagine a classroom of students who are more relaxed, more empathetic upon listening to their classmates' stories of fears, sadness, and angst, and more eager to communicate and share their stories. Imagine a classroom of team members who help one another resolve problems with more confidence and enthusiasm. Imagine a classroom with more positivity and a willingness to volunteer and, thus, find meaning in their lives. As a teacher of over 30 years, Vera Hirschhhorn, M.S., is excited to share and offer her new educational resource, I'm Somebody & So Are You! The Human Connection in Education: A Toolkit for Teaching People Skills. In this tech age of alienation, isolation, and cyber-bullying, Vera's five interdisciplinary teaching tools will help teachers and students experience more inner peace and more success in interpersonal relationships, academics and leadership. I truly believe in your philosophy and know that your curriculum has value for students and teachers. The future of education depends upon teaching and learning that focuses on caring and trusting relationships. The key to learning is to value others and yourself. -Dr. Susannah Brown, Professor of Art Education, Florida Atlantic University I really loved your approach to integrating arts activities and learnings with strategies for learning about oneself, diversity, differences, sameness and challenges of growing up in the cyber-age. -Susan W. Mills, Ed.D., Director of Music Education, Appalachian State University I plan to share the book with my colleagues who teach the middle grades and high school, because we are all talking about the concerns we have about increased anxieties, depression, bullying and suicides in our student populations. Recognizing genocide, such as the Holocaust, as the most extreme form of bullying is an important note as children and teens who are unable to express their identities, their passions and their fears become afflicted with diagnosed or undiagnosed conditions of anxiety and depression at alarmingly increasing rates in the U.S. Expressive arts, mindfulness, deep breathing and positive self-talk become an essential part of a curriculum that contains the human element and this book provides teachers with the tools and the incentive to integrate the tools in their subject area curricula and address the age of alienation that young students find normal. The link between the suggested activities and the soft skills that Forbes Magazine described as missing from the skill set of this generation's graduates is especially useful in encouraging teachers and teacher education students to study and implement story-telling. The arts connection is equally well linked through the author's presentation of her own personal story, modeling vulnerability as a valid state of expression and sharing her pathway to teaching the whole child/person. Music, drama, puppetry, visual art, writing and volunteering may be just right for getting at 'soft skills' for students given their multiple intelligences profile, their diverse backgrounds, their learning style preferences and their prior educational experiences. An important learning from my first attempt at utilizing some of the book's story-telling exercises in my university classes for music education students is to consider the mindfulness and breathing as preparatory components. College students who have not experienced the safe spaces, encouragement and benefits of personal artistic expression alone or in groups need the time and the assistance to set their biases and hurried schedules aside for best results. -Susan W. Mills, Ed.D., Professor and Director of Music Education, Hayes School of Music, Appalachian State University

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Vera Ripp Hirschhorn, M.S., educator, workshop presenter, author and educational consultant has written curricula since the mid 1990s. As founder of the America's Young Heroes program to teach tolerance, understanding and prevent bullying in Florida's secondary schools, Ms. Hirschhorn's mission has been to promote self-respect and respect for each other's diversities. Her curricula has also been implemented in colleges and universities such as Florida Atlantic University and Appalachian State University in North Carolina. She is grateful to all the administrators, teachers and students for their enthusiastic participation, as well as to the congratulatory praises recorded in the 112th Congressional Records for her anti-bullying programs.

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