Honoring Newtown Victim Jesse Lewis, Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal Introduces Legislation to Bring Social and Emotional Learning to America's Classrooms
Following the December 2012 shooting tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School that claimed the lives of 20 young students and six educators, Newtown resident Scarlett Lewis -- whose six-year-old son Jesse was one of the 26 victims -- joined Connecticut's political leaders in Hartford to announce the introduction of important new legislation designed to benefit America's children.
On Monday, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Congresswoman Elizabeth Esty (D-District 5) spoke to a crowd gathered at the state's Legislative Office Building about this new bill. Sen.
Blumenthal announced that later that day he would be traveling to Washington to introduce this legislation -- the Jesse Lewis Empowering Educators Act -- on the floor of the U.S. Congress. If passed by Congress, this legislation would direct a portion of the funding provided through the Elementary and Secondary Education Act to be directed towards training the nation's teachers about Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) and preparing them to use this knowledge to cultivate greater empathy and compassion in their students.
In his remarks to the assembled audience, Marc Brackett, Director of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, said that "research shows that emotions drive learning, decision making, relationships, and mental health. Evidence-based approaches to Social and Emotional Learning lead to higher academic performance, greater teacher effectiveness, and enhanced school climate." Bracket concluded,"SEL ensures that all stakeholders in all schools develop the skills they need to thrive socially, emotionally, and academically."
-- "Nurturing Healing Love" -- and over the past two years, she has carried the message embodied in those three words to audiences, schools and even prisons throughout the US and internationally. In honor of her son, she has also established the Jesse Lewis Choose Love Foundation to support this mission of bringing greater compassion and understanding to the nation's classrooms.
In her remarks, Scarlett Lewis said that in the days following the tragedy, police investigators told her that they had learned that six-year-old Jesse had demonstrated great courage in the midst of this horrific event, taking the opportunity to tell his fellow first-grade students to run while the shooter reloaded his weapon, helping them escape to safety before losing his own life. "We all have the courage within us that Jesse had," she said. "Let's use that courage today and pass this bill that will positively impact our most valuable resources; our children, ourselves, and the future of our country."