This week was a big one for research in developing the PASTA youth curriculum. I met with four different members of the team to ask their advice and ideas. They all provided great resources and models to use. My favorite research materials from the week was completing the Choose Love curriculum. The Choose Love for Schools curriculum was started by the mother of Jesse Lewis, one of the children who passed away due to the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy in 2012. Jesse’s mother realized that the shooter was neglected in his life and that the shooting could have potentially been prevented if people were better versed at reading the signs and in socio-emotional learning (SEL). The program emphasizes nurturing healing love, positive psychology, mindfulness, emotional intelligence, gratitude, and character education. During the week, I also reviewed the resilience curriculum from the Rural Healthcare Alliance, in which I learned different methods in teaching resilience. I also reviewed models from Cornell Cooperative Extension concerning ambiguous loss and the Family Portraits Project. The project was started by a coordinator of RAPP (Relatives as Parents Program), Emi DiSciullo. The youth in the program develop a personal family book, encouraging family communication and an exploration of family dynamics and history. I believe that all these resources will aid me in developing our own curriculum and I am excited to start drafting it!
