Emerson Waldorf School is committed to creating a healthy social environment, and has instituted a program to work with teachers, parents and students towards that end. The Social Inclusion Group, composed of teachers and parent volunteers, leads discussions about social behavior throughout the school, and helps when intervention is necessary.

We encourage simple acts of politeness and courtesy in order to:

1. Deepen respect
2. Foster empathy
3. Provide predictability
4. Slow time down
5. Control impulses
6. Humanize daily interactions
7. Foster the ability to see more than one perspective
8. Create an attitude of reverence
9. Foster goodwill

Emerson is committed to the following social values:

• Nurturing and modelling polite communication in tone, verbal language, body language and behavior
• Holding our children accountable for polite behavior, despite the cultural push to normalize or to make funny disrespectful and/or rude behaviors.
• Using good manners: Please, Thank you, You‘re welcome, Excuse me, I‘m sorry
• Avoidance of and accountability for put-downs and disrespectful replies such as ‘whatever’, ’so’ and ‘who cares?’
• Avoidance of interruptions
• Adopting an ‘everyone can play’ attitude: everyone has a role in the game or project, inclusiveness on the playground
• Providing active assistance through offering help or doing good things for others, sharing, opening and/or
  holding doors for others, picking up objects which were dropped
• Acknowledgement and growing understanding that each of us have our own challenges
• Honoring meals with a blessing
• Providing responsibilities and chores at home and at school and holding children accountable for these
• Encouraging children to care for others, to contribute to the group and to develop personal responsibility
• Expecting children to listen to and respect the authority of their teachers and other adults who take
  care of them

More Information

• Social Inclusion Diagram
• D.A.D.D.