What Is the Choose Well Program Curriculum?
Lauren Connor joins me in this podcast episode to discuss the work we are doing to create a Choose Well Program curriculum.
Quote of the Day
[0:43] This quote is from The Choose Well Program, “When you make better choices you will live a better life.” Every choice we make becomes a part of our life. That is why it is imperative that we make better choices.
This quote does not mean that life will be perfect. The idea is that your life can get better because of better choices. Even after making poor choices, better choices can have a positive impact in your life. I’m passionate about empowering kids and adults to make better choices to live better lives.
“When you make better choices you will live a better life, so choose well. Oh yeah!” -The Choose Well Program
The Choose Well Program Curriculum
[3:30] The Choose Well Program started as assemblies in schools and working with students. Over time, we started doing professional development with educators and family engagement events because we wanted to impact the whole school culture. It’s great to give students a positive message, but there was an even greater positive impact when the adults in the school community also got the message.
After doing in-person visits, we created follow-up videos so that schools could continue reinforcing the Choose Well message. These follow-up videos grew to become an entire video library. My good friend and podcast guest, Dr. Terri Daniels, raved about the video library and encouraged us to pursue creating a curriculum.
Social Proof
[5:00] Like Dr. Daniels, Lauren felt strongly that the video library could be turned into a curriculum and has joined the creation team. Lauren discovered firsthand how The Choose Well Program connected with her students. She had used several other social and emotional videos with her students, but did not see the kind of engagement she noticed with The Choose Well Program.
The Choose Well Program is meant to be plug-and-play for educators and not a cumbersome resource. However, it also connects with students and facilitates conversations in schools.
Building A Better School Culture
[6:00] The great thing about The Choose Well Program is its adaptability. It can be incorporated into programs and curriculum that schools are already using to reinforce social and emotional learning. It promotes better communication about what is already being taught.
Everyone can relate to the idea that, “When you make better choices you will live a better life.” Behavior and academic outcomes all start with the choices that are made. Poor choices, poor outcomes. Better choices, better outcomes. Making better choices can be incorporated into a school’s theme and motto.
At the heart of every school is the people that make up the school community. Connection and engagement are the goal with The Choose Well Program. It comes alongside schools to create a shared language and understanding between students, educators, and families.
Have It Your Way
[10:20] The Choose Well Program offers customizable videos for schools. We find out what messages a school wants and then create videos or video series that go along with the message. The videos can go along with the school’s theme, social and emotional learning (SEL), or positive behavior interventions and supports (PBIS). It’s very flexible in that way.
Some schools find they have so much curriculum already associated with their theme, SEL, or PBIS that they want something more nuanced. That’s when we create videos that are based on hot topics the educators see students struggling with or issues the school is having in general.
The goal is engagement and interaction; giving educators and students an opportunity to have discussions in class. The other videos in The Choose Well Program video library are also a good way to accomplish this.
The Curriculum Development Team
[12:10] The Choose Well Program curriculum team is made up of people who are specialists in their area and they bring a lot of expertise to the curriculum development. The team starts with the vision that I [Mister Brown] have to create a curriculum that connects with students and promotes conversations. The other members of the curriculum team work in various ways to build out and bring validity to the videos and lessons.
Dr. Terri Daniels, Ed.D. has her doctorate in education and is also a middle school principal. She has worked extensively in education administration. Lauren Conner, has been a middle school teacher for many years and is an excellent writer. Jayna Record, MA, LMFT is a licensed marriage and family therapist and a counselor of a middle school. Brad Davis, has his Master’s degree in social and emotional learning and trains other educators to use SEL in their classrooms. Ruth Boston, is an elementary school teacher and brings her expertise from working with younger students.
The team members also bring their experience in schools and classrooms to the curriculum development. They know firsthand what educators need and want in the classroom when it comes to SEL and character development curriculum.
We don’t want The Choose Well Program curriculum to be overly complicated for educators. We want it to be relatable and transferable to any circumstance. The curriculum also allows for creativity and flexibility. Educators can fit the lessons into their school day however works best for them and really personalize it for their school culture.
SEL Is the Plate
[14:50] Social and emotional learning is meant to be incorporated into a school’s culture. My friend Mike Freeman explains SEL this way: SEL is the plate and everything else goes on top of it. Connecting with students is the foundation of education. Academics, extra-curricular activities, and sports are all made better through good connections with students.
SEL gets a bad name sometimes, but The Choose Well Program views SEL as building relationships and connections with students, educators, and families. We want to motivate students to do their best in school, but we want them to want to do their best. It’s not enough to tell students to do better in school, we must help them see the benefits for themselves. We can help empower students to overcome some of their problems and negative attitudes by developing good relationships and connections at school.
Where Do Parents Fit In?
[16:18] We should not be excluding parents from the education of their kids. We should be serving parents and students. The focus needs to move toward making the student the hero of their own story and making parents the hero of their kid’s story. It’s not just an external force that tells you what to do.
We want to expand access to The Choose Well Program curriculum to parents. When kids go home and talk about Mister Brown and The Choose Well Program, parents have the opportunity to learn more about it. Then the message to make better choices extends to life in the home.
The Dream
[18:50] The Choose Well Program is about empowering people. I would like to see it become an environment where schools run The Choose Well Program themselves and they don’t need me as much. I can be the catalyst, but they become the ones making it happen.
I would love to have more speakers join The Choose Well Program. I want the program to be bigger than me. I want to be able to adapt. When it comes to our videos, I would love to update some older ones and get other people speaking in them. I don’t want the message to be about me. It’s about making better choices to live a better life.
Choose well! Oh yeah!
[20:50] Part of my speaking style is call and response. It helps me know the audience is engaged in the message. I also grew up in the Southern Baptist Black church where my grandfather was a pastor. There was a lot of call and response in that culture.
Our rallying cry, “Choose well! Oh yeah!” came from a visit I did in Manhattan, KS. I started asking kids to say, “Oh yeah” when they agreed with me. It just took off from there. I love being out in public and hearing someone shout, “Choose well!” I shout back, “Oh yeah!” It’s a great way to connect.
Our main message is, “When you make better choices you will live a better life.” I believe that better choices will lead to a better life overall. I never say that life will be perfect or without problems. But life can be better when we make better choices.
The Plug
[22:50] The Choose Well Program and curriculum is a great way to get a whole school community involved in student success. Building relationships and connections between students, educators, and families is the best way to empower students to be successful and be productive members of society. The most empowering thing about The Choose Well Program is when people, especially students, understand that they have the ability to choose the direction of their lives.
Find out more about how The Choose Well Program can be customized for your school culture.
