Mr. David Gusitsch: Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence

2018.3.21

Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence - RULER Training
“Outtakes”. A snippet of thoughts to kick off this blog post:

The Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence is an impressive operation. The RULER approach makes so much sense and can have a positive impact on all members of a school community.

What I am looking forward to putting into practice, or continuing:
Practicing the use of “meta-moments” and picturing my best-self when I am faced with tough decisions or adversity.

Quote(s) that resonated with me this week:
“Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.” ~ John F. Kennedy

“Experience is not what happens to you; it's what you do with what happens to you.” ~ Aldous Huxley

“Success is the sum of small efforts - repeated day in and day out.” ~ Robert Collier

This week began with two days of training on the “Anchors of Emotional Intelligence” with staff from the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence. Our trainers were extremely knowledgeable, engaging, and related many/most aspects of the training to real-world situations (which is always appreciated). Including myself, there were six employees representing NCHS as we were joined by educators from across the country (CT, NY, NC, TN, IL, KS, TX, CA) and around the globe (Spain, Qatar).

The focus of the workshop was on implementing the RULER approach at the high school level. RULER stands for Recognizing, Understanding, Labeling, Expressing, and Regulating. This has already been rolled out to the K-8 levels in New Canaan. Our team will continue planning and then be introducing it to the high school staff in the coming weeks, which is exciting.

The training began with one of my favorite quotes by Maya Angelou, one that I have shared several times on Twitter as well as my blog. “I’ve learned that people will forget what you’ve said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” There is so much power, wisdom, and common sense in this quote. This was a terrific way to begin the workshop and set the tone for the work that we would be doing together.

Over the course of the two days, we learned about RULER, the science behind, and importance of, recognizing our emotions to be our best selves, and steps to implement this approach in our respective schools. This included thought sessions, collaborative discussions, activities that reinforce the foundation of RULER, and the four anchors of emotional intelligence: the Charter, the Mood Meter, the Meta-Moment, and the Blueprint.

Some of my biggest takeaways include:

Emotions matter for: attention, memory, learning, wellness, everyday effectiveness, and more...
The RULER approach is not an initiative, but a way of thinking/life.
The elements of RULER are not just for students, but for the entire school community (and certainly applicable in our personal lives).
They are all important, but I liked the “L” is RULER (“Label”) and the quote that goes along with it: “You’ve got to name it to tame it”. So true...
Each quadrant on the mood meter is important and where we fall on the meter will ebb and flow depending on the situations that we are in at any given time. Quadrants are not defined by “good” or “bad” and each serves a purpose (more on this below).
It is all about being aware and not necessarily expecting yourself, or anyone else, to shift or adjust. It is this awareness that allows us to respond accordingly.
The meta-moment is a six-step process, in the moment (that they jokingly say will keep you away from having to follow a 12-step program). The irony here is thick… The six steps include: Something happens. Sense. Stop. See your best self. Strategize. Succeed (which does not mean “win”; act in a way that reflects your best self, that you can be proud of).
This is definitely a marathon and not a sprint. The introduction and roll out need to be done thoughtfully and purposefully, over an extended period of time. This may mean years for full implementation, and that is okay...

This has been a tiny snapshot of RULER. I attempted to capture the essence of the approach and hope to share more about our introduction and implementation in the near future. We will be receiving several resources as well as research to back up the foundation of RULER to help us develop our blueprint for NCHS. In the meantime, you are welcome to check out a couple of their sites:

www.ei.yale.edu
http://rulercommunity.yale.edu (website)

Thanks for taking the time to check out my blog. Have a great week!

Tags: @YaleEmotion, @RULERapproach, #EmotionsMatter, @JADHoffmann, @NCHS_CT

Please feel free to contact or follow me:
Twitter: @DavidGusitsch
Blog: https://davidgusitsch.blogspot.com/
Email: david.gusitsch@ncps-k12.org

Here are a few pictures from the Yale EI Training:
Our @NCHS_CT EI crew. Representing English, Math, Art, Psychological Services, District, and Admin:

One of my favorite quotes as seen in the halls of NCHS:

Working on a draft “charter”:

Defining RULER:

Some words to describe emotions in different quadrants on the Mood Meter:

Some mood congruent instruction based on the meter:
Red - persuasive writing; debating
Blue - proofing/editing; showing empathy
Yellow - creative writing; brainstorming
Green - journal writing; building consensus

We took a quick walk before Day 2 began to get ourselves in the best mindset possible to learn!