College, elementary students link to learn

It's the last period on a Friday at St. Ambrose School in Latham, and the students in Sister Mary Immaculate Heart's eighth-grade class are talking gossip.

She doesn't mind, though. Neither does Siena College junior Ernie Kabelka, who leads their discussion about gossiping and encourages them to voice their opinions on many other topics, including friendship, family and loyalty.

Welcome to a day in the Social-Emotional Intelligence program, designed by Dr. Maureen Hannah, a parishioner of St. Ambrose and an associate professor of psychology at Siena.

Linking students

The program, also known as EQ, teaches students in kindergarten through eighth grade various social-emotional principles and skills that can enhance their ability to make and keep friends, develop self-esteem, make appropriate choices, and appreciate differences in people.

Dr. Hannah became interested after reading a book on EQ that emphasized the importance of social-emotional concepts and their influence upon human interaction. She and a Siena student piloted an EQ program for one grade at St. Ambrose in spring 1996; the feedback was so positive that Dr. Hannah developed an EQ program for the entire school for the 1996-97 academic year.

Dr. Hannah's own children certainly know what EQ is all about; she has daughters in kindergarten and fifth grade, and a son in second grade at St. Ambrose. And she takes EQ to heart in her daily life, as well.

"I'm always thinking about my own EQ, what is the best EQ way to react to a certain situation," she said.

Connected to faith

Although EQ deals primarily with social-emotional issues, "emotional intelligence is, in many ways, Christianity in behavior," Dr. Hannah pointed out. One of the benefits of using EQ in a Catholic school is that she and the instructors can incorporate Christian principles into their lessons.

"This is completely congruent with our faith and with the kinds of behaviors that we talk about in the school setting as well as in the home," she said. "We're teaching children to understand what it means to love another person, to be kind, to treat others the way Christ would want us to treat others."

Mr. Kabelka, the EQ instructor for eighth-graders, believes the students benefit socially and morally by participating in the program. "I definitely think they're coming away with something," he said. "I know they can relate to it in a religious sense because they are in a Catholic school."

Talking it over

The Siena students, many of whom are psychology majors, teach lessons prepared with Dr. Hannah's help by using a variety of techniques, including role-playing, discussions and play, depending on the grade level. The students generally work in pairs and sport t-shirts with the EQ logo during each weekly lesson.

During a typical lesson, Mr. Kabelka begins a discussion on such topics as sharing, humor or loyalty by using lead-ins or asking open-ended questions. The students usually have a lot to say, and he has such a good rapport with them that they'll speak openly to him.

"They're always willing to talk. They would talk to me all day if I was there," he said.

Positive results

Mike Clay and Alycyn Farr teach EQ to the fifth-grade students in Sister Rose Marie Chamberland's class. During a recent lesson, the pair came up with ideas for skits and role-playing to demonstrate loyalty, and the students were eager to participate.

Ms. Farr, a Siena junior, enjoys visiting the students each week and feels satisfied when her lessons sink in. "When you know they got your point, it's great," she said. "It's such a good feeling."

Mr. Clay, a senior, is impressed with the students' opinions and insights, and believes they're glad to have someone to look up to each week.

"I think they just like having older kids come in and talk to them," he said. "We talk to them about things they care about."

Teacher's view

Sister Rose Marie thinks EQ is great because it reinforces the lessons her students learn in Drug Abuse Resistance and Education (DARE) and from the Albany Diocesan Drug Education Ministry (ADDEM) programs. EQ also helps to remind students of two acronyms on the walls in her classroom: "I Am Lovable And Capable" and "Remember Only, You Are Loved".

Much of the success of EQ is due to the rapport that the EQ instructors have developed with her students, Sister Rose Marie pointed out. She also likes the different techniques that the instructors use to teach the lessons, as well as the options that they encourage her students to consider if they are faced with personal dilemmas.

Sister Mary Immaculate Heart, the eighth-grade teacher whose students have Mr. Kabelka as an EQ instructor, agreed that the close relationship between him and her students makes the program very effective.

"They open up to him, and he opens up to them," she said. "Ernie is not afraid to talk about his faith, to talk about Jesus. It's a good image for them."

(02-19-98) [[In-content Ad]]