At the heart of Emotional Intelligence is the delayed gratification lesson. Years ago, the famous “marshmallow study” showed kids that were able to control themselves and master delayed gratification experienced more success in life. Check out the details of the study here.

WINGS is part of a social and emotional learning (SEL) movement and it feels good. When I first starting working for WINGS, not many people understood or cared about SEL. 13 years later, it seems everywhere I turn I see positive research about the benefits of it.

Every January my health club’s parking lot becomes very full. This can be extremely frustrating because during the other 11 months of the year I have my choice of parking spot. I call it the “New Year’s Rush.” A lot of people decide to make a New Year’s resolution to join a gym and get fit. Unfortunately, their energy and motivation begins to dwindle by February.

In a couple of weeks we will be working with our kids on strategies to keep agreements they make with themselves or others. We use the acronym “Uphold” to teach this.

At WINGS we teach kids social and emotional skills everyday with our intentional curriculum. The WINGS experience  is filled with learning and fun but at the same time kids are challenged to make good decisions and behave well.

Because our Program Directors and WINGSLeaders facilitate this teaching day in and day out, they too become masters of SEL.

As 2010 comes to a close, it a great time to reflect and ask yourself, “Have I lived the WINGS creed this year?”

Last March Grace Rubenstein from Edutopia visited our program and corporate office for 3 days. We met with staff members, principals, WINGSLeaders, kids, etc. And she spent two full days in the program. She has been to schools all over the country so as her "guide" I was curious as to how she felt about her visit.

1st quarter school report cards came out this week. As part of our ongoing effort to measure our success towards achieving our outcomes, we pay particular attention to the behavior grades on our WINGS kids’ report cards. Kids are graded in 12 different categories. Some example categories are cooperation, responsibility, self-discipline and respect for authority.

As I gathered the data, I caught myself wondering “What if adults were graded on these behaviors? What type of grades would we receive in the workplace? How about at home?”

It is officially football season! During football season Saturdays and Sundays take on a whole new meaning for NFL and college fans. It’s a time for watching the games, tailgating, celebrating victories, contemplating losses, etc. Unfortunately through the years another aspect of the sport has evolved; players, coaches, parents and fans displaying poor sportsmanship or lack of social and emotional skills. Unfortunately, this behavior is not limited to professional or college level athletes. We are even seeing this type of behavior in youth sports.

Like everyone from Pittsburgh, I’ve been glorying in the Super Bowl victory of the Steelers this week. What a great game! What a great team! As someone who teaches emotional and social skills to kids, I am struck by the extraordinary character and emotional intelligence of Dan Rooney, the owner who built the spirit of this special team based on his own personal values.