In this episode I interview Dr. Maurice Elias, an accomplished author and professor of clinical psychology and clinical health at Rutgers University. He is also the director of the Rutgers Social-Emotional Learning Lab, and Academic Director of The Collaborative, Rutgers' Center for Community-Based Research and Service. Maurice and I talk about the importance of social emotional learning and character development, particularly when it comes to adolescents. We get into emotional intelligence, misconceptions about SEL, what’s most important for school leaders to know, trauma-informed care, fostering a supportive climate, and mistakes to avoid. Maurice mentions several helpful links during the interview including the following: The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (http://www.casel.org/) http://character.org/ The National School Climate Center (http://www.schoolclimate.org/) He also blogs at edutopia.org: http://www.edutopia.org/user/67. And I encourage you to check out his book The Other Side of the Report Card: Assessing Students' Social, Emotional, and Character Development.