The Marvin Maurer Award for Excellence in Emotional Literacy

"What is the common human experience that historical figures and my students have in common? My answer was feelings."
~Marvin Maurer

Over thirty years ago, Dr. Marc Brackett’s uncle, Marvin Maurer, struggled with teaching a “boring, lifeless” middle school Social Studies curriculum in New York. Mr. Maurer realized that in order to energize his students to learn, he needed to connect their feelings to the people and events encountered in academic lessons. He developed a wildly successful method of teaching Social Studies using feeling words. He quickly realized that this Feeling Words Curriculum not only helped students to learn better, but also helped them to understand their own and others’ feelings more effectively.

Decades later, in collaboration with his nephew, Dr. Brackett, Mr. Maurer’s original Feeling Words Curriculum acts as the foundation to all of the student programs encompassed by The RULER Approach to social and emotional learning. What was once a curriculum implemented in one classroom in upstate New York is now integrated into thousands of classrooms throughout the United States and abroad.

The Marvin Maurer Award annually recognizes a teacher who both embodies Mr. Maurer’s belief in the importance of connecting personal experiences to academic material and exhibits outstanding teaching practices of emotional literacy. Each spring, schools using The RULER Approach to social and emotional learning are invited to submit nominations for this award; winners are announced each fall.

How to nominate someone for the 2011 Marvin Maurer Award:



In order to be considered for the award, nominations must be received by May 15th, 2011. Nominees will then have until July 1, 2011 to submit their materials for consideration for the award. Detailed information about how to nominate yourself or someone else and how to submit materials are included below.

Candidates must be teachers who have attended at least one RULER training and have embedded emotional literacy tools and curriculum (e.g. Mood Meter, Feeling Words Curriculum) into regular teaching practices.

To nominate yourself or another teacher for the 2011 Marvin Maurer Award for Excellence in Emotional Literacy, email allison@rulergroup.com with the following information:

• First and last name of nominated teacher
• 
District name

• School name

• Grades and subjects taught
• 
Phone number

• Email address



If you are nominating someone other than yourself, also include:

• Your role (teacher, principal, program coach, superintendent)
• 
Your name
• 
Your district

• Your school (if applicable)
• 
Your phone number
• 
Your email address

After nominations have been received, nominees will be contacted to submit the following by July 1st, 2011:

• Why s/he believes that teaching emotional literacy to students is important
• An explanation of how RULER has benefited his/her classroom
• At least one example of an emotional literacy lesson described in detail
• 3-5 examples of students' work that showcases emotional literacy learning and instruction
• A letter of recommendation by a colleague (e.g., fellow teacher, principal, program coach)


The award recipient will receive $300, a plaque and public recognition in the fall of 2011.