Practitioner Level - Social Emotional Learning
At this level, the class is 30 weeks long and meets once a week for an hour.
The first four weeks will begin by looking at identities. We will ask and explore the questions: Does where you come from make you who you are? What privilege do people have based on their identity? How do power and privilege change the way we express and present ourselves? How does our culture influence how we view the world?
Our next ten weeks will focus on social justice. We’ll begin by exploring questions like: How do bias and injustice affect the future? How do power and privilege shape the relationships people have with each other as well as with institutions? We will explore a variety of issues: ageism, racism, sexism, unequal unemployment, what makes a family, sweatshops, LGBT issues, ecological issues, the two-dollar challenge, black lives matter—to name a few. This section is about students envisioning and building the world we dream about.
The final sixteen weeks will be an exploration of virtue ethics. We make hundreds of decisions every day. Some are small. Some are life changing, although we may not know their significance when we make them. This program's premise—in the words of the Buddha—is that "our thoughts and actions become habits and our habits shape our character." We have some control over our character. We can shape the person we want to be by making intentional, thoughtful decisions. This final reflection for students will serve as an opportunity to reflect on what they’ve learned and articulate their personal beliefs.