Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Amita Roy Shah.
Hi Dr. Amita Roy, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My Social Edge started in the Summer of 2017 to help meet the needs of kids in the Bay Area! Parents in our community asked their children to learn critical social and emotional skills not taught in schools. There had been a rise in mass school shootings, and parents were worried. As a community, we all wanted to do something that would address the rise in anger, anxiety, and depression in our community. As we discussed what we could do, I knew what I had to do. I felt like it was a calling. I started thinking about ways I could empower children to understand why emotions are important to learn about and what happens to their minds and bodies when they don’t pay attention to them. I knew I had the background and expertise to do something about this! I was a senior lecturer in the Child and Adolescent Development Department at San Jose State University. My classes focused on social and emotional development for children and adolescents; I was also a former elementary school teacher and curriculum designer.
During the summer of 2017, I reached out to parents in my community to pilot some of my ideas. I taught children about emotional intelligence (EQ) through neuroscience and mindfulness-based activities. As I taught more classes, they quickly picked up on all brain science terminologies and started using these terms in their daily lives. The kids were going home and telling their parents how the front of their brain (i.e., their prefrontal cortex) would stop working when they had meltdowns (i.e., the amygdala hijack!). It took off. From 2018-2020, I started teaching Brain-Based EQ through the City of Dublin’s Recreation Guide on the weekends. I bought plain notebooks, and children would draw out the parts of the brain and take notes. Parents told me they noticed a difference in how their kids regulate their strong emotions. To make the best use of their time with me, I realized it would be better to have a Brain-Based EQ workbook, so our best-selling workbook was organically created from the activities we did in our classes.
Then the pandemic hit, and the world shut down. I decided to offer free Brain-Based EQ classes to kids in March of 2020 over Zoom because we were all trying to process what was happening. Parents needed more support with their kids being at home. Many parents were losing their jobs or figuring out how to transition online without much notice. The kids needed to talk to someone and have their questions answered.
From those initial virtual classes, I learned how anxious kids were over things they could not control. They were worried about their parents and their families getting sick. They wondered when they could go to school and play with their friends again. They lacked routines that helped them feel safe. I didn’t have any answers, but I did have concrete strategies to help them regulate the feelings that they were having.
From teaching the free classes online, I realized that teaching Brain-Based EQ could be done virtually, and kids could still grasp the concepts. However, it would be more fun and engaging if the children had the hands-on materials we used in my classes. I wanted them to work in the Brain-Based EQ workbook and engage in our anger volcano experiment, heads-up game, and positive affirmation challenges. I wanted them to be able to make calming slime, mind jars, and vision boards.
In the following months, I registered Social Edge as a company and re-launched my program to be taught online. The following summer, we had many students sign up from Northern and Southern California, and we worked with kids ages 7-14. After the schools opened up, I decided to transition this program to self-paced classes online. I wanted to offer these classes to more students and make it convenient for families to access the videos whenever possible. These self-paced classes were also created with parents, teachers, and non-profits in mind. They can access these classes to teach Brain-Based EQ to the kids they work with.
Today, it has become an innovative, experiential, hands-on class offered all around the world online through Udemy (Introduction to Brain-Based EQ) and Teachable (full course comes with our digital Brain-Based EQ workbook). So far, we have had students from across the United States, Belgium, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, India, Nigeria, Egypt, Brazil, and Australia!
In 2021, I launched my latest book for tweens or teens called Brain-Based Life Hacks!, which also has to do with the brain, happiness chemicals, and emotional intelligence. Working with various emotional intelligence concepts, I realized that to learn and understand Emotional Intelligence (EQ). Truly, it must be taught with cultural intelligence (CQ). We can’t have EQ if we don’t understand CQ. I re-launched my website with a focus on both EQ and CQ. I wanted to meet the needs of children and their social, emotional, and cultural well-being. The research shows that children who can identify with their bicultural identity experience less confusion, isolation, and alienation in school and life. They are more self-confident and perform better in schools than children who reject one of their cultures.
Children who can learn the American culture without losing their Indian heritage have a much better understanding of the world that they live in. My website also has the children’s books I created about the Indian culture before I began my journey on social and emotional learning: It’s Time for Holi! And Lights, Camera, Diwali! I aim to offer more resources and books related to other diverse cultures in the U.S. to empower all children with an understanding of diverse cultures, values, and worldviews. Today, My Social Edge is dedicated to building resiliency in kids through emotional regulation, social skills, and cultural intelligence.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been smooth?
It definitely could have been a smoother road. I am used to setting a goal and accomplishing it. I like smooth roads that allow me to reach a final destination. However, with Social Edge, I had to take many pivots and turns (as I mentioned above). I am learning that I also like complicated roads that may not have a specific final destination. I’m learning to go with the flow, which is very exciting. I have learned to embrace the growth mindset and to see challenges as growth opportunities. I’ve also learned that mistakes are must-takes because we wouldn’t be growing without them. So here’s to a bumpy, rough road ahead, woo hoo! My Social Edge has transitioned from being a physical class to a live, online class to a self-paced class. Also, when shipping boxes during Covid, many of my bottles broke for the experiments. I had to drive back to the homes OR mail my customers the new bottles.
In addition, I had to re-launch my website when I realized that teaching about Emotional Intelligence (EQ) would not be complete if I didn’t give children more knowledge about Cultural Intelligence (CQ) and how that plays an important role in who we are and what we believe. Our world is becoming increasingly diverse, and children must develop and understand different cultural worldviews, values, and beliefs. This will help them make more authentic and meaningful connections with one another in the future. These obstacles have led me to create a unique, innovative SEL curriculum that provides social and emotional support to children with a multicultural approach.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about what you do?
I am a senior lecturer in the Department of Child and Adolescence at San Jose State University. I specialize in child and adolescent development. I also have a doctorate (Ed.D.) in Curriculum and Teaching from Teachers College and enjoy creating curricula and resources for children and adolescents.
Can you talk to us about the role of luck?
Luck combines hard work, talent, and being at the right place at the right time. I have been working toward children’s social, emotional, and cultural well-being since I started my career as a teacher. After being a teacher and curriculum designer for a publisher, I noticed a lack of children’s books about Indian culture, so I wrote one. This was when I pursued my doctorate in Curriculum and Teaching from Teachers College, Columbia University. I didn’t have much time, but I knew it was important because I also had my son, who didn’t have any books in which he could see himself as an Indian-American. When the parents in my community came to me to help our children identify and regulate their emotions, I created the curriculum for Brain-Based EQ. This was also when I was working at San Jose State University when my daughter was 4. It was a tough period for me as a working mom to two small children, but I also felt this needed to happen. Persistence was key in setting me up to be at the right place at the right time. I believe perseverance toward our goals and passions is key to luck. Don’t give up if you believe in it. I didn’t realize then that the world would encounter a pandemic and that schools would not be able to provide the critical support children needed to help them with their social, emotional, and cultural well-being. The curriculum at My Social Edge will help all kids develop to their fullest potential. With higher self-esteem and confidence, children will be able to thrive in what they set out to do, and they will also be able to persevere when they experience setbacks in life.
Pricing:
- $12.99 Brain-Based EQ Book!
- $12.99 Brain-Based Life Hacks!
- $12.99 It’s Time for Holi!
- $12.99 Lights, Camera, Diwali!
- $19.99 Udemy Intro. Online Course
-
- $49.99 Brain-Based EQ Full Course
Contact Info:
- Website: https://mysocialedge.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/my.socialedge/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mysocialed
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/dramitaroyshah
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCE2xG_xt29cvC4AuZYosvmQ
- Other: https://www.pinterest.com/dramitaroyshah/
Image Credits
My Profile Pic: Photo Credit: Jen Rocha Photography @_jenrocha_
