In response to a large increase in the number of visits to Graham House in the past two years, the Empathy and Balance Subcommittee of the Strategic Plan is creating a new required curriculum for students to promote community wellness.
The new curriculum proposed by the faculty in February will include two different models for upperclassmen and lowerclassmen. Juniors and Lowers will take an altered version of the currently existing Personal and Community Education (PACE) class, said Carol Israel, Director of Graham House. Classes will be taught by Andover faculty members, who will receive training from Graham House counselors, and address topics such as stress management, time management, coping skills and mindfulness. As part of the proposal, Seniors will take weekly classes about the transition to college, and both Seniors and Uppers will be given the opportunity to gain leadership skills by leading the Junior and Lower classes.
“The idea is that [students from] all four years will have much more time devoted to strengthening their coping skills, strengthening their empathy skills, helping people feel more confident [and] basically learn to treat people more decently. There will be a real curriculum for all four years that’s not just, ‘Sit in the classroom and read a book.’ It’ll be a variety of things,” said Israel.
So far this year, 318 students have visited Graham House, and the number will likely exceed 400 by the end of the year, according to Israel. In the 2013-2014 school year, 379 students visited Graham House, and in the three years prior to that, the number of students did not exceed 300.
“I really think that kids in general aren’t as resilient these days when they hit roadblocks, when they face failure, when they have a crisis. I think we adults haven’t been as good at helping our children develop really good coping skills, and sometimes I think we protect them a little bit too much from the stress of the world, and they don’t get a chance to develop good coping skills,” said Israel, who is also a member of the Empathy and Balance Subcommittee.
At the moment, the proposed curriculum is in a planning stage.
“Our intention is to have all four grades devote 30 hours per year to activities that fall within the scope of Empathy and Balance learning. The options for activities will be varied and include classroom learning, leadership opportunities, community engagement, capstone Senior projects and numerous other activities that contribute to the overall health and well being of individual students and of our community,” wrote Israel in an email to The Phillipian.
In addition to the new curriculum, Graham House will hire a part-time psychology Ph.D. student from Boston University as part of their new collaboration with the university. The student will collaborate with Graham House’s half-time intern to help maintain the workload.
