The RULER Approach

Novitas Academy is proud to implement the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence’s, The RULER Approach. The RULER Approach is a comprehensive emotional literacy program. It helps to empower and teach individuals to regulate their emotions and find success in their daily endeavours. We have implemented an emotional literacy program to help create this physically and emotionally safe learning environment . This reduces bullying, increases attentiveness in the classroom, and creates an emotionally safe environment for those that we serve.

In order to feel respected, each day we will be kind to each other, speak in a polite and respectful tone, not call each other rude or inappropriate names, and not get into physical confrontations. We will treat everyone equally, not be disruptive during class or groups and keep our noise level at appropriate volumes.

In order to feel emotionally safe, each day we will lift each other up and not put each other down, we will keep our language clean and refrain from swearing, we will not gossip, bully, steal or lie. We will allow ourselves to be vulnerable with each other, we will take time to mentor our peers, and we will be respectful and non- antagonistic to our peers and the staff.

In order to feel joyful, each day we will go out of our way to serve others, manage our emotions, and participate in the groups and activities presented to us. We will participate in activities that we feel are fun and make us happy. We will try to stay calm instead of get upset and we will remember to be grateful each day.

In order to feel trusted, each day we will be honest with each other, not steal or lie, and ask when we want to borrow things instead of just taking them. We will have integrity, do what we say we’re going to do, not make promises that we can’t keep, and we will keep confidential information confidential.

In order to feel understood, each day we will acknowledge each other’s ideas and follow through with making them a reality when possible. We will voice our opinions and ideas in a respectful way and communicate clearly with one another. We will listen intently to each other, talk openly about our feelings, and create an environment where we can each be vulnerable and feel comfortable sharing our feelings, thoughts and ideas without fear of judgment or criticism.

In order to prevent and manage conflict, we will be proactive, positive, calm and relaxed. We will be assertive in expressing our feelings and have healthy relationships and boundaries. We will be loyal, helpful and find opportunities to make each other’s day. If conflict does arise we will communicate clearly and kindly with each other and seek staff advice if needed. We will try to resolve any conflict without antagonizing or instigating any further argument.

RULER Approach Teaches The Fundamentals For:

Recognizing

Understanding

Labeling

Expressing

Regulating Emotions

The RULER Approach and Bullying Prevention

Bullying is not tolerated at Novitas Academy, and the RULER Approach is an effective tool in preventing the behavior. The tragedies of bullying are rooted, in part, in a failure to regulate emotions effectively. Teaching children how to manage their emotions and how to create and maintain healthy and supportive relationships often is not considered part of the standard school curriculum. But if children cannot handle the many emotions they experience throughout the day—jealousy, anger, excitement, curiosity, loneliness, disappointment, boredom, fear—how can we expect them to concentrate on learning and being kind to others? If children cannot feel empathy for peers who may look, act, or feel differently than them, how can we expect them to critically analyze a character in a text or take others’ needs into consideration? We cannot and we should not. Children need to learn healthy and compassionate options for expressing the range of emotions they experience throughout the day, and The RULER Approach teaches the students the skills needed to accomplish this.

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