Jeanne Cosby: A Force for Good
Jeanne worked at Stanford University for more than 35 years and during the 1980s co-developed a Parent-Infant Demonstration program and now continues to work with an outdoor exploration program with parents and preschoolers. She is the generous sponsor funding Siddhartha School’s Social and Emotional Learning Implementation.
What strength do you see in social and emotional learning (SEL)?
In my experience, those with stronger social and emotional learning skills tend to appear as more content, fulfilled, and optimistic; accepting of themselves as having weaknesses and strengths; accepting constructive criticism; taking risks and learning constructively from challenges and failures.
What is your relationship to social and emotional learning?
My own SEL message has been writing itself throughout my professional and personal life for about 50 years. Some of my more conscious beginnings were with teenagers, observing, listening, writing curricula and implementing it. I also worked at the infant level, discussing observations with a pediatric neurologist and then creating and implementing parent observation programs over a 10-year period at Stanford’s University research laboratory school.
Later, with my own four children, I continue to work with the SEL principles, implementing them in all my personal interactions with associates, friends, and family.
What are some of the outcomes of using SEL?
I think people who are using their social-emotional skills—which involve how to identify multiple feelings in themselves and others; how to listen; how to empathize; how to share opinions, thoughts, and feelings; how to accept and solve ongoing life problems in healthy ways; how to nurture lasting friendships with self-acceptance, empathy, patience, flexibility—are better equipped to face minor and major challenges with their identities and values intact. Above Graphic: An SEL tool that helps students develop emotional labeling.
