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Designs For Progress student materials and staff development programs are based on the premise that social/emotional skills – character – have far more to do with an individual’s success than his or her academic achievements or intelligence. For example, inmates do not recidivate because they cannot divide fractions. Ex-offenders recidivate because they make poor decisions and poor choices. At-risk adults do not end up as substance abusers because they cannot spell. They end up as substance abusers because they are frustrated and have low expectations of themselves. At-risk juveniles do not run away from home or sell drugs because they cannot write an essay. They reject accepted behavior because they have not developed the skills to cope with peer pressure and other forms of adolescent stress. Many at-risk students have poor social/emotional skills that contribute to their getting in trouble again and again. However, research supports the opinion that people can change the attitudes and behaviors which lead to repeated poor decision-making.
 
Dr. Martin Seligman is the former president of APA, a well recognized researcher in cognitive psychology, and a prolific author of best selling books. Seligman argues that individuals can and do control their own destiny. “Habits of thinking need not be forever. One of the most significant findings in psychology in the last twenty years is that individuals can choose the way they think.” (Seligman, Learned Optimism, Simon and Schuster, Inc. N.Y., N.Y., 1968)
 
Additional research to support this theory comes from Daniel Goleman. “Emotional intelligence: abilities such as being able to motivate oneself and persist in the face of frustration; to control impulse and delay gratification; to regulate one’s moods and keep distress from swamping the ability to thin; to empathize and to hope.” (Daniel Goleman, Emotional Intelligence, Bantam Books, N.Y., N.Y., 1995 )
 
Designs For Progress’s materials are based in the belief that people can change, and that a positive and supportive environment is essential to create the kind of attitudes and behaviors at-risk students need to be successful.
 
Click on one of the four main categories in the maroon band above, Reentry/Adults, Corrections, Juveniles, or Staff Development, to learn more about the products we offer to support our beliefs.