My Story Because I have lived it, I understand the profound role that the home, school, and community environments can play in boosting a child’s success, even in difficult circumstances. I was born on the tiny island of Grenada in the Caribbean. My mother and grandmother raised me and my siblings. We were working class. To support the family, my mother worked in a spice factory. My grandmother worked at home looking after us and the house. During kindergarten and elementary grades, I went to my neighborhood public school. We had very little money, and I only went to high school because I won a government scholarship. High school was not free. My mother could not afford the fees, the uniform, or the books.
Although I went to school with white, Asian, brown, and black children; and children whose parents had more or less money, I never saw these differences as affecting my or anyone else’s ability to learn and succeed. Neither did my teachers. As a little black girl in Grenada, no-one told me that any group was smarter or better than me. Having lived and studied in different countries, including Canada and the United States, I realize how important my home and school experiences were in shaping who I am. From my mother I learned hard work, self-reliance, and compassion for others. From my grandmother, I learned to be proud of who I am, to value myself, and not to envy others. From both I learned the value of education, unbounded dreams, and to trust in God. From my teachers I learned the joy of learning, the celebration of success, and to stand up for myself. My home life was not perfect, but I felt loved and protected. My community valued education, and congratulated the families of those who did well on exams. Character was valued above wealth.
No-one ever challenged my ability to achieve whatever I wanted. I want every child to have that same unbounded freedom to dream; and the support necessary to accomplish their dreams. I believe that I can do a little to contribute to that; by working with parents, teachers, and leaders to harness the Power of Place to inspire, empower, and support youth..
Thank you Christine L. Emmons, PhD Founder and C.E.O. SCEPTAR Education Services LLC
What is SCEPTAR?
SCEPTAR is an education service that works with parents, educators, and leaders to implement research-informed strategies to create social environments that promote youth self-worth, self-management, self-direction, empowerment, and success. We focus primarily on the home, school, and community social environments, taking into consideration cyber and national environments. We also work with any institution or organization that serves youth in any capacity. Our goal is to turn tough, transition, teenage years into triumphant years.
We study how the relationships in these social environments affect one another, and the behavior, health, and learning of youth. We share information and strategies for managing and improving these environments to benefit both teenagers and adults. We provide a simple, easy-to-use framework to guide action for improvement.
We provide consultations to identify areas of strengths and weaknesses, presentations and workshops to share strategies for improvement, and evaluations to monitor the use and results of the strategies.
Why SCEPTAR?
I have had the privilege of being a teacher in my early career; and of working with dozens of schools across several states as Associate Research Scientist with the Yale University, Child Study Center, through the Comer School Development Program. These experiences have alerted me to the major and varied challenges faced by parents, schools and communities, as they struggle to raise successful young people who can manage their lives well.
My participation in numerous lectures and programs, primarily at the Yale University School of Medicine in my capacity as an Educational Psychologist, provided exposure to the latest research on how relationships and the environment can affect children’s learning, health and ability to manage themselves. We now know that children’s environments greatly influence what they do and who they become. Therefore, helping to build Best Chance Communities by applying what we know to what we do has become a passion for me.
Through SCEPTAR, I combine my decades of practical experience as an educator and researcher with my professional training in Educational Psychology. I work in partnership educators, parents, and policymakers, to put love into action in children's homes, schools and communities through talks, workshops and studies.
Let us awaken in all children the power to dream. Let us equip them with the tools to accomplish their dreams. Let us together build a world in which children are safe, happy, and can fulfill their potential.
I welcome your participation.
Significance Because of the many societal influences to which they are exposed across home, school, neighborhoods and social media, the task of raising children to manage themselves well and be successful in the 21st Century is a difficult challenge for parents and educators. Teachers have identified classroom management as one of the major issues in teaching. Several programs offer specific strategies to help children manage their behavior, but do not address the social environments in which children live and learn. Research has shown that environment is a major factor in children’s behavior and success.
