Welcome to Mike the Innovator :: Innovators -- Global SEL in action. Let's step into a unique human's mind, heart, perspectives, and story. Let's explore self, others, and our world in a new, beautiful way. A wordless video, story, and lesson plan to help us practice social emotional learning skills, empathy, global curiosity, critical thinking, and compassion. Culturally inclusive Social Emotional Learning (SEL) integrated directly with math, literacy, and more. 

As we engage, let's remember that this story is an introduction to who this human is. It would take years (even a lifetime of heartstorming!) to wholly understand this person, just like it takes us such a long time to begin to understand ourselves.

As we enter the wordless video, let's remember to suspend judgment and to focus on curiosity and wonder. To recognize bias and assumptions, and to explore how we might move beyond these assumptions together in a meaningful way. (Here is a powerful lesson plan for this, as another option for a lesson plan!)

As we enter the written stories, let's remember that this person in the story is not representative of a whole culture or way of life -- learning means moving beyond generalizations and simple single stories. We've got to remember that this person is a unique individual with unique experiences, just like everyone in our own lives and classrooms. We've got to live with ubuntu.

Judgment and bias are both quick to get and hard to get rid of. And both are rather boring!

But learning? Learning is magical. Learning is forever.