cedu literature on ?emotional growth?:
http://northwestacademy.com/about/eg.shtml"Beyond Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic...Emotional-Growth Education
by Bill Valentine
Unless you are coping with a troubled teenager, you have probably never heard of an "emotional-growth" school. And even if you've heard the term, you may not be clear about its meaning. The traditional education most of us received centered on reading, writing and arithmetic.
Emotional-growth education goes beyond the basics to address all of a child's developmental needs: cognitive, physical, and social. The average public or private schools touch on these needs, but what distinguishes an emotional-growth school is the integration of emotional awareness. Advocates of emotional-growth schools argue that knowledge without caring is sterile. Our feelings, not our thoughts, are the essence of our humanity. Too often, education ignores the feeling child in favor of the intellectual child, and in the process may put the child at risk. By honoring the emotional life of the developing child, emotional-growth education exemplifies the true mission of education as defined by its Latin root, educare - to bring up, to nurture.
Many emotional-growth schools base their programs on social learning theory and the psychosocial theories of Erik Erikson, who defined several different stages of development leading to healthy adulthood. According to Erikson, it is important for each child to master the developmental tasks associated with each stage. Otherwise, dysfunctional behavior can hinder the child until the old conflicts are resolved. Emotional-growth schools provide a structure that deliberately guides a child through each developmental task to ensure the necessary skills are learned. Unlike Freud, who believed personality was set in the first five years, Erikson believed we continue to develop throughout our life. However, children have a much better chance of becoming lifelong learners if they build a solid foundation during early development.
So what are the major developmental stages, and how do emotional-growth schools address them?
First Stage: Trust vs. Mistrust. Learning trust is the first step in the development of a healthy, independent person. Trust is learned in an environment of comfort and safety, where fear and apprehension are minimized. Ideally, children establish a positive outlook on life and their place in it. At emotional-growth schools, a great deal of emphasis is placed on warm, comfortable surroundings and abundant, healthy food. The earliest phase of emotional-growth education focuses on boundaries, honesty and predictability. The child learns that there is safety in "no." They are taught that truth can free you from fear.
Second Stage: Autonomy vs. Shame or Doubt. During the second developmental phase, a child begins to explore independence. The challenge is for parents and other responsible adults to allow the child to experience free will, safety and self-confidence within boundaries. If a child is too restrained or punished for asserting autonomy, the result can be lasting shame and self-doubt. At emotional-growth schools, autonomy is encouraged. Students are challenged to accept boundaries within agreements, make new choices, and develop new behavior. Children are supported in balancing the influence of peer groups against personal responsibility. They also are encouraged to support healthy choices by their peers. A guiding principle is: "the harder the truth is to tell, the better the friend who tells it."
Third Stage: Initiative vs. Guilt. As the child's world expands to include others, challenges increase. According to Erikson, the primary challenge now is for the child to accept responsibility for possessions, actions, and choices. Responsibility increases initiative. However, responsibility is learned gradually, and if children are punished too harshly for lapses, the result may be feelings of guilt that slow or stop initiative. At emotional-growth schools, children are given an opportunity for leadership. They are encouraged to outgrow irresponsible behavior and let go of any guilt associated with bad choices in the past. The guiding belief is: "guilt stops growth."
Fourth Stage: Industry vs. Inferiority. At this stage, the child needs to be encouraged to take on the challenge of learning. Erikson stressed that it is important for teachers to stimulate a sense of adventure by giving children the opportunity to accomplish tasks they once believed were beyond their capabilities. A child who does not successfully complete this stage may develop a sense of incompetence and inferiority. At emotional-growth schools, the middle phases are times of exploration of limits, physical and intellectual. Children are exposed to experiences in which they can learn new things and confront old beliefs. Classroom teachers, as well as counselors, are a critical part of this learning phase. Success in acquiring new skills and knowledge is critical at this stage if the student is to feel competent in taking on new challenges. Life-long learning is a concept that is discussed and modeled by staff. For many students, academic achievement far exceeds their previous attempts. "Somewhere inside of you is a giant."
Fifth Stage: Identity vs. Identity Confusion. At this critical stage, the young person must begin to learn who they are; separate from their family and peer group. Future hopes, plans and direction comes from a clear understanding of one's interests and unique abilities. Failure to accomplish this task leads to identity confusion. Children not allowed to be who they are, who have an identity forced on them by over-controlling parents, or who succumb to the mass culture's reverence for style rather than substance, are at risk of falling into the "rebel or robot" syndrome. Lacking their own identity, both rebels and robots look for themselves in the roles of others. The final stages of emotional-growth schools prepare students to leave as lifelong learners. The focus shifts to hard questions, such as: "When did you decide to become someone else?" The student is supported in looking past negative messages to commit to a life of healthy choices and personal agreements. Emotional-growth is a life-long process. When, as adults, we give ourselves permission to develop and share our emotional selves, we invite our children, partners, friends and colleagues to truly know who we are. Most important, as we model our own growth, we make it safe and successful for our children to flourish. We are, after all, "children, one and all."
Bill Valentine is a Doctor of Psychology who has led thousands of parents through parenting and outdoor workshops; he is a former headmaster and executive director of a private emotional-growth boarding school and has more than fifteen years experience directing emotional-growth. "
