About Teaching Positive

Dr. Keces partners with families and educators to foster respectful communication practices that build genuine connections while prioritizing long-term, compassionate solutions. This approach enhances academic rigor and cognitive engagement while supporting social-emotional learning (SEL) and cultural competency, ultimately helping to create loving, resilient relationships.

Teaching Positive empowers children, teens, adults, families, and educators by equipping them with the social-emotional tools and cultural competency needed to cultivate peaceful, collaborative homes, classrooms, and communities. In these environments, both adults and children can thrive academically and emotionally.

Rooted in the principles of Positive Discipline developed by Dr. Jane Nelsen, and informed by the work of thought leaders such as Abraham Maslow, Albert Bandura, Martin Seligman, and Marc Brackett, Teaching Positive is dedicated to a relationship-centered, solution-focused approach. Our mission is to nurture social and emotional well-being while emphasizing academic excellence, cognitive engagement, and cultural competency.

Teaching Positive is guided by four core principles:

1. Healthy relationships are taught. Children benefit greatly from being explicitly taught how to form meaningful, healthy connections—skills essential for successful adult relationships.
2. Adults lead by example. Parents, teachers, and mentors are responsible for modeling and teaching key social-emotional competencies, such as self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making, as outlined by CASEL.
3. Growth is lifelong. Adults must continually cultivate the very life skills they hope to instill in young people—developing their own emotional intelligence and cultural competency over time.
4. Strength-based and collaborative approaches matter. A proactive, growth-oriented mindset grounded in cultural humility, empowerment, and collaboration supports thriving individuals and communities.

At Teaching Positive, we believe in the power of experiential learning—an approach that integrates foundational communication skills to help both children and adults build stronger, more peaceful, and productive relationships. Through this process, individuals develop essential life skills such as problem-solving, intrinsic motivation, empathy, and cooperation.

The impact of Teaching Positive extends beyond the classroom, offering practical tools that enrich everyday interactions at home, in schools, and in the workplace. Our approach has proven effective in nurturing growth, fostering connection, and supporting individuals in leading more intentional and compassionate lives.

Core Social Emotional Skills and Characteristics For Thriving Include:

• Self-Awareness
• Self-Management
• Social Awareness
• Relationship Skills
• Responsible Decision Making

How well do you really know your social-emotional strengths?

Take a moment to reflect:

• Which SEL (Social Emotional Learning) skills come naturally to you?
   
• Which ones challenge you—or hold you back from thriving in your relationships, work, or personal growth?
   
• How would you rate yourself in areas like self-awareness, empathy, communication, and decision-making?
   
• How might your parents, friends, or colleagues rate you?
   

At Teaching Positive, we explore these questions together through a collaborative process of self-discovery. Everyone brings a unique story—shaped by family dynamics, personality, and lived experience. By taking a closer look at specific SEL competencies and Habits of Mind we begin to identify where we shine and where there’s room to grow. Understanding yourself is the first step toward meaningful connection—with others and with your own potential.

Self-Awareness Skills: 

• Asking for help
• Telling others about your strengths and challenges
• Being positive about the future

Self-Management Skills: 

• Listening to others
• Following the rules
• Paying attention to your "work"
• Staying calm with others
• Expressing your feelings
• Staying calm when pushed, hit (physically and emotionally)
• Expressing your feelings
• Using appropriate language when upset
• Taking criticism without getting upset
• Saying when there is a problem

Social Awareness Skills:

• Doing nice things for others
• Standing up for others
• Making others feel better
• Showing concern for others
• Showing kindness to others when upset
• Forgiving others 

Relationship Skills:

• Saying "please" and "thank you"
• Taking turns when you talk
• Getting along with others
• Asking others to do things with you
• Introducing yourself to others
• Making compromises
• Resolving disagreements calmly

Responsible Decision-Making Skills:

• Doing the "right" thing
• Owning your actions
• Respecting other people's things
• Doing your part in a group
• Listening to different ideas

Social-emotional competencies and habits of mind are closely connected, as both focus on cultivating the skills and attitudes that enable individuals to navigate challenges, build positive relationships, and engage in lifelong learning. 

Here's how they are related:

1. Self-awareness (SEL) & Metacognition (Habits of Mind):
   Both emphasize the ability to reflect on one's thoughts, emotions, and actions. In SEL, self-awareness involves recognizing and understanding your emotions, strengths, and areas for growth. In Habits of Mind, metacognition refers to thinking about one's thinking processes, which is closely aligned with self-awareness as it helps individuals assess how their emotions and thoughts influence their behavior.
    
2. Self-management (SEL) & Persistence (Habits of Mind):
   Self-management is about regulating your emotions, thoughts, and behaviors in different situations, particularly in challenging circumstances. Persistence, a key habit of mind, emphasizes sticking with difficult tasks despite setbacks. Both skills involve the ability to control impulses and stay focused on goals, which are essential for resilience and achievement.
    
3. Social awareness (SEL) & Listening with Understanding and Empathy (Habits of Mind):
   Social awareness involves recognizing and respecting the feelings and perspectives of others. This aligns with the Habit of Mind of listening with understanding and empathy, which encourages individuals to pay close attention to others' ideas and feelings, fostering positive relationships and effective communication.
    
4. Relationship skills (SEL) & Thinking Interdependently (Habits of Mind):
   Building and maintaining healthy relationships require strong interpersonal skills, including effective communication and collaboration. The Habit of Mind of thinking interdependently complements this by encouraging cooperation, teamwork, and valuing the input of others to solve problems or reach common goals.
    
5. Responsible decision-making (SEL) & Striving for Accuracy (Habits of Mind):
   Responsible decision-making involves evaluating consequences, making ethical choices, and considering how one's actions affect others. Striving for accuracy, a Habit of Mind, emphasizes the importance of making careful, thoughtful decisions and constantly refining one's understanding to improve outcomes.
    

In essence, social-emotional competencies provide the emotional and relational foundation for learning and personal growth, while habits of mind offer cognitive strategies and mindsets that help individuals apply those competencies in diverse contexts, both in and out of the classroom. Together, they create a holistic approach to developing well-rounded, thoughtful individuals who can effectively navigate the complexities of life.

Explore the links below to discover valuable resources on Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) and Habits of Mind.

https://casel.org/

https://www.habitsofmindinstitute.org/what-are-habits-of-mind/