Adam Saenz - The EQ Intervention: Shaping a Self-Aware Generation Through Social and Emotional Learning

Advance Praise
for The EQ Intervention

In The EQ Intervention, school psychologist Adam Saenz offers teachers practical Social and Emotional Learning Skills that will help them maintain effective relationships with every student, every day.

Todd Whitaker, Ph.D.; Distinguished Adjunct Professor,
College of Education, University of Missouri; author of
What Great Teachers Do Differently

Dr. Saenzs experience working with students and staff makes this book a very powerful tool for all educators. This book validates how social and emotional learning impacts school cultures and positively impacts academics in the process. Emotional intelligence is an essential component of educationof life!

Orlando Farias, principal, Mission Collegiate High School,
Mission Consolidated School District

Kudos to Dr. Adam Saenz for laying the groundwork for best practices in Social and Emotional Learning! As educators, we often focus our work on improving instruction in order to meet standardized testing expectations but fall short in addressing this critical area. Now more than ever, we must provide social and emotional learning as statistics continue to show that mental health concerns are clearly on the rise in our younger children. The EQ Intervention goes beyond school safety and emphasizes why we must prepare our youth to handle the adversities of life. Simply put, our childrens lives depend on social emotional learning. Thank you, Adam, for always being a Life Giver. Your insight and kindness never cease to amaze me.

Diana Otero, Ph.D., Director of Special Services,
Ysleta Independent School District

The EQ Intervention is not just about how to improve the social and emotional learning that occurs in our classrooms. It is more than a book about identifying ways for educators to work with students so they find a place of belonging and investment in school. It is a book about connecting: connecting with ourselves (within the walls of our own hearts and minds) and connecting with each other (within the walls of our homes and within the streets of our neighborhoods). It brings insight, wisdom and compelling arguments to the necessity of having smart hearts to make our schools and (in my opinion), our homes and communities more connected and safer for everyone.

James Deegear, Ph.D., L.S.S.P., A.B.P.P., Associate Director,
Student Counseling Services, Texas A&M University

A valuable, extensively researched guide for helping support educators. Students will learn the SEL competencies they will need for maximizing their opportunity to live successful and fulfilling lives.

Harvey Deutschendorf, author of The Other Kind of Smart,
Simple Ways to Boost Your Emotional Intelligence for
Greater Personal Effectiveness and Success

Dr. Saenz uses humor and wit, along with personalized stories, to make the intimidating topic of EQ and SEL understandable and even intriguing. The real life examples and applications presented are eye-opening and invoke self-reflection. If The Power of a Teacher impacted classroom educators, The EQ Intervention will impact educational leadership.

Magan Martin, Coffeyville Public Schools Board Member
and Parent Educator with a National Early Childhood
Home Visitation Program

This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher and author are not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional services. Nothing herein shall create an attorney-client relationship, and nothing herein shall constitute legal advice or a solicitation to offer legal advice. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought.

Published by River Grove Books
Austin, TX
www.rivergrovebooks.com

Copyright 2020 Adam Saenz

All rights reserved.

Thank you for purchasing an authorized edition of this book and for complying with copyright law. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the copyright holder.

Distributed by River Grove Books

Design and composition by Greenleaf Book Group
Cover design by Greenleaf Book Group
Cover and interior images: shutterstock.com/Martial Red;
shutterstock.com/Lyudmyla Kharlamova

Publishers Cataloging-in-Publication data is available.

Print ISBN: 978-1-63299-441-7

eBook ISBN: 978-1-62634-679-6

First Edition

Educating the mind without educating
the heart is no education at all.

Aristotle, philosopher

CONTENTS

Introduction

My Journey Into SEL

To be honest, when I started researching SEL (Social and Emotional Learning) in 2005, I wasnt aware of its long-reaching benefits; I came to it as many in education do, in search of solutions to the problem of school violence. It wasnt until our clinical and research teams sat down to write the EQ-uipped Classroom curriculum that the light bulb of SELs power illuminated for me. The idea for the curriculum was conceived thirteen years ago in the saltwater bays of Port Mansfield, Texas.

Mike Garcia loves to fish as much as anyone I know, and hes good at it, too. I met Mike the summer before we started second grade, and weve fished together since. It was Labor Day weekend of 2005opening day of dove seasonand the saltwater flats were still producing nice stringers of speckled trout.

Mike and I walked slowly, side-by-side, through knee-high water, wade-fishing through the same bay we had fished in as second graders. It was still early afternoon, and we were keenly aware of the quiet, hot stillness that comes before the evening bite.

Hows the security industry? I asked as we moved toward a cove, hoping to scare up a redfish in the meantime. Mike entered the security industry right out of college, selling hard and soft systems to the government. In something of a mid-life career shift, he made school districts his clients and never looked back.

Booming, he said, without missing a beat. You know, its kind of sad in a way. Seems like ever since Columbine, we havent been able to keep up with the demand for greater security in schools. Doors, locks, cameras, metal detectors, you name it.

How about you? he asked. How are things on the mental health end of things?

Like you said, I responded wistfully, kind of sad in a way. Were seeing more and more psychopathology at younger ages. Im talking about the little kidspreschoolers coming to school with symptoms of depression and anxiety. And its not just that these are spoiled kids with no parenting. There are family issues sometimes, sure, but it just seems like kids are facing a world that we never faced. In our day, Mike and I had faced our fair share of violence; looking back, I believe so much tragedy we experienced could have been avoided if wed had access to adults who could have instructed us in how to manage our feelings. Partly because of this lack of guidance, not all of our friends made it to adulthood.

So, do you think thats what all this gun violence is about? he asked. Do you think these kids just have mental illness that isnt being treated?