Do We (or Should We) Still Teach Friendship Skills & Character Development In School?

Guiding Question 

• How might we level up school culture with compassion and kindness?

Key Takeaways

1. Building friendship and relationship skills in a digital age
2. Where do friendship skills and character development fit in our current curriculum?
3. How might your students play an active role in creating a culture of belonging at your school? 

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Episode Summary

Meet The Friendly Guides. Arnav, Lily, Leago, and Tlangelani are middle school students and part of the compassion club at American School Dhahran, part of the International Schools Group (ISG) in Saudi Arabia. Inspired by a workshop with Inspire Citizens facilitator Ivy Yan, these students developed a project to create a deeper sense of connection and belonging for all students at their school, and especially to support students who are new to their school community. Listen to learn how The Friendly Guides have impacted the culture of their school through compassion, connection, and kindness.

Discover a transformative podcast on education and learning from a student perspective and student voice, exploring media, media literacy, and media production to inspire citizens in schools through a media lab focused on 21st-century learning, empathy to impact, Global citizenship, collaboration, systems thinking, service learning, PBL, CAS, MYP, PYP, DP, Service as Action, futures thinking, project-based learning, sustainability, well-being, harmony with nature, community engagement, experiential learning, and the role of teachers and teaching in fostering well-being and a better future.