When Founder and CEO Sara Potler LaHayne first embarked as a Fulbright Scholar in Colombia in 2007, it struck her as odd that students in conflict ridden Bogota were being taught about empathy and conflict resolution through textbooks. Students weren’t interested in reading about these important concepts.
One day at recess, she watched students passionately rock out to reggaeton music playing from a boombox in the school parking lot. She saw how inspired students were through their laughter and movement and it clicked. As a lifelong dancer, she knew creative expression could be used as a mechanism to promote social emotional learning skills. She knew creative expression could help each of us better understand our emotions, express these emotions authentically and build empathy across communities. It was then that she approached the school’s physical education teacher to discuss how she could use something all of the Colombian students loved – music and dance – to inspire those same social, emotional and civic skills being taught in their textbooks. In partnership with her Fulbright research team, educators and creative arts therapists, she developed and implemented the first Move This World (MTW) social emotional learning curriculum.
Source: Move This World