Middle School seeks speaker on Empathy for Girls
Searching for a speaker or program to help with social/emotional development for middle school girls - any leads GREATLY appreciated!
Mar 19, 2018
Searching for a speaker or program to help with social/emotional development for middle school girls - any leads GREATLY appreciated!
Parent Replies
I can recommend 2 programs, neither of which is exclusively "for girls" but both can really help with MS and teen girl communication - and one may have a bit more relevance to girls than boys.
One is Dovetail Learning's Toolbox program - https://www.dovetaillearning.org/ This is used by my son's school and is a great program actually for K-8 - which "builds resilience, self-mastery and empathy for self and others." It's a simple but clear and effective program for schools, the facilitators that I have seen are strong, and we actually find it useful at home as well.
The other is The Body Positive's Campus Leadership program - https://www.thebodypositive.org/campus-leadership. This is billed as for high schools but they definitely run this for MS and even younger kids. I can attest from first-hand experience that it is fantastic program, where kids learn self-regard, empathy for others, resilience and leadership. A great anti-bullying program. The focus is on accepting the way you and others look, but it's so much deeper than that and has real resonance for even the most "perfect" appearing kids, who often have great anxiety about themselves lurking below the surface. The facilitators are very strong and kids are trained to be campus leaders, and to help stop bullying and facilitate communication.
Both of these programs are in many Bay Area middle schools and high schools - and TBP has a national presence. I'd interview both and see what might fit for your school.