A SPICE 2005 Program
The Personal Development Education Program
The Ursuline High School
New Rochelle, New York
The philosophy of the Personal Development Program and in particular the Peer Counseling / Peer mediation Program is to teach and empower students to make their lives successful socially, academically, and personally. The learning of social skills is intrinsic to social and academic adequacy and leads to successful functioning and survival skills in a challenging world.
Most of the skills in the program are ones that people learn incidentally- the experiences each of us has will determine what skills we learn best. The Personal Development curriculum offers students the opportunity to learn and use these skills in a systematic way. It teaches students to understand behavior both other peoples’ and their own, to assume control over their feelings and actions, to make responsible decisions to communicate effectively and to behave in ways which will lead them to socially acceptable planned goals.
A girl’s sense of self and her autonomy is threatened during adolescence. The demand to conform to stereotypes are significant and these pressures to conform sets the stage for the problems that are endemic in our society: eating disorders, abusive relationships, poor choices in sexual decision making and the indiscriminate use of alcohol and drugs, and a non-assertive approach to prejudice and bullying.
Our program, Personal Development, under which the Peer Counseling and Peer Mediation Programs fall, seeks to foster a positive self-concept through recognition and celebration of their possibilities as women and leaders of the future.
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National Catholic Educational Association
