Compassion Begins With Attention.

Happy, Calm Children Learn Best

People Who Are Optimistic See A Failure As Due To Something That Can Be Changed So That They Can Succeed Next Time Around, While Pessimists Take The Blame For The Failure, Ascribing It To Some Characteristic They Are Helpless To Change.

There Are Some Surprising Payoffs With Only A Few Minutes' Practice, Like Eliminating The Loss Of Concentration That Multitasking Usually Brings. Short Daily Mindfulness Practice In Beginners Also Improves Memory, To The Point That A Group Of Students Who Volunteered For A Study Got Significantly Better Scores On Their Graduate School Entrance Exams.

A Little Girl Who Finds A Puzzle Frustrating Might Ask Her Busy Mother (or Teacher) For Help. The Child Gets One Message If Her Mother Expresses Clear Pleasure At The Request And Quite Another If Mommy Responds With A Curt 'don't Bother Me - I've Got Important Work To Do.'

Emotional 'literacy' Implies An Expanded Responsibility For Schools In Helping To Socialize Children. This Daunting Task Requires Two Major Changes: That Teachers Go Beyond Their Traditional Mission And That People In The Community Become More Involved With Schools As Both Active Participants In Children's Learning And As Individual Mentors.