Hermosa schools’ latest tool in wellness effort: the book club
The newest summer reading assignment from the Hermosa Beach City School District isn’t a book report on “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” or an essay on “To Kill a Mockingbird.” In fact, it’s not even intended for students, at least not exclusively. It’s “Unselfie: Why Empathetic Kids Succeed in our All-about-me World,” by psychologist Michele Borba. The book will be the subject of discussion for the Empathy Project, a community-wide book club that will kick off in the coming fall. The Empathy Project is the work of the Hermosa district’s Social and Emotional Wellness Committee. The book club is open to members of the broader Hermosa Beach community. Four group discussions are scheduled throughout the school year. HBCSD Board Member Doug Gardner, who sits on the wellness committee, said the book club format is to emphasize that this was “not just for second-graders, or not just for teachers or administrators.” “If we want more empathetic children, we need to start with having more empathetic adults. Hopefully, this community-wide book club will begin that conversation. Like they say, ‘It takes a village.’ The idea is that if we can get that conversation going, it will lead to a…
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