Blog

From destructive challenges, like “Devious Licks,” to worrisome mental health trends, social media has been making headlines this fall. As a social media expert and educator, The Social Institute’s founder and CEO, Laura Tierney, has interviewed with multiple publications to provide advice on helping students navigate social media and social-emotional health in positive ways. Check out the round-up of the recent national and regional media featuring The Social Institute. 

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In today’s digital world, the things we engage with, scroll through, and share on our pages have a lot of influence on ourselves and others. Recent research shows that with just 150 likes, Facebook’s algorithm knows you better than your immediate family members. With this in mind, it’s so important to make high-character decisions when choosing what we like, share, and post. 

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This week we are excited to introduce Emma Vinall. Emma is a captain of the American University women’s lacrosse team and was named All-American last year! Last semester, Emma put her passion for the environment to work as an intern at Earth Day, a non-profit organization focused on activating the environmental movement worldwide. Social media is important to Emma as it has helped her advocate for movements that she cares about and allowed her to Use Her Mic For Good. When she is at home in Northern Virginia, Emma is fostering kittens, writing in her journal, or hanging out with her three sisters.

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As SEL continues to be top of mind in the classroom, it’s more helpful than ever to have a guiding framework that helps educators integrate SEL seamlessly into their curriculum. The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning, more commonly known as “CASEL”, provides a widely accepted interactive framework consisting of 5 core competencies; self-awareness, self-management, responsible decision-making, relationship skills, and social awareness. Within these competencies, educators have the ability to empower social-emotional health and fuel students’ happiness, health, and future success. Read on to learn more about each individual competency and how you can easily integrate it into your daily classroom life to accelerate social-emotional learning.

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This week we are excited to introduce Anoushka Jani. She is a high school senior from Broomfield, Colorado. Anoushka is a mental health research intern for the Colorado Youth Congress where she empowers young students to create change for systematic issues in Colorado. Her research identifies the issues within the youth mental health system and offers solutions to create long-lasting change. Being a part of the Colorado Youth Congress has allowed Anoushka to grow her passion for mental health as well as expand her leadership skills.

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