Ellington

Biography

In an era when children frequently feel disconnected from friends and family, where rapid social change is the norm, when media and sports stars demonstrate poor behavior, educators recognize the human need for developing social and emotional skills. At the same time, school budgets are being cut while pressure is being intensified to improve test scores – leaving many educators with a perceived dichotomy. They believe the choice is either nurture children or help them achieve. Fortunately, the compelling evidence shows that it is not an either/or choice; rather, the data says addressing children’s social and emotional needs is an effective way to improve academic achievement.
Marion Wright Edelman believes that harsh discipline policies are pushing kids out of school and depressing Mississippi's high-school graduation rate. At 73.7%, that rate is one of the lowest in the nation. “We're undermining our future workforce by imprisoning our children rather than educating our children,” Edelman said. How are we educating our children? Fear of the Common Core is causing an overemphasis on academics and direct teaching techniques. Young children learn social skills by working within a classroom society – making choices, working in groups on projects, building with blocks, doing dramatic play activities, and expressing themselves through independent art. The classroom society is falling by the wayside in favor of direct, whole class teaching which means children sitting quietly at tables doing worksheets and listening to the teacher most of the day. There is no evidence that “rigorous” standards and high stakes testing increase student learning. In fact, the data shows that the opposite is true (Nichols, Glass, & Berliner, 2006).
Research has illustrated how EQ can substantially decrease anti-social behavior and aggression, school suspensions, and discipline problems while increasing personal and social competency, school attendance and completion, satisfaction, and academic achievement. (Cherniss, Extein, Goleman, Weissberg , 2006). This overwhelming body of new findings has led to a powerful conclusion that direct intervention in the psychological determinants of learning promise the most effective avenues of reform. Social and emotional development is central to children's success in school. By incorporating EQ into existing educational programs, we can promote our children's achievement in the present and secure their success for the future.
Dr. Fish taught young children for over 23 years. He serves now as an Associate Professor in the Department of Elementary and Early Childhood Education at JSU working with graduate and undergraduate students. Dr. Fish specializes in emotional intelligence. He is certified as an Emotional Intelligence Trainer.
He served on the NAEYC's Early Childhood Professional Education Review Panel. He continues to perfect his storytelling skills as Dr. Rhythm for libraries and schools throughout the country. He served as Chairman of the Child Care Advisory Board for MS (2006-2010) and plays blues and jazz whenever possible. His children are now out of college out of state, and Dr. Fish lives in Ridgeland, MS with his wife