Oct 11, 2018 By Harry Funk staff Writer hfunk@thealmanac.Net 4 min read

The concept is simple, basically a small metal washer with a word or two stamped on one side.

And so it tends to turn heads when the likes of Beyonce, Rihanna, Jay-Z – possibly some folks who use their surnames, too – sport the pieces on bracelets.

“We’re not necessarily about celebrities,” Dave Pan, chief operating officer of the MyIntent Project, will attest.

“But for the purposes of the classroom,” he told a group of educators gathered at Mt. Lebanon High School, the fact that certain celebrities have embraced the concept “might be a way for students to open up and get interested.”

Pan, brother of MyIntent Project founder Chris Pan, was a featured speaker as the school hosted Building Compassionate Learning Communities, an Oct. 8 conference that drew participants from more than 80 school districts, institutions of higher education and community organizations.

“Our mission is to be a catalyst for meaningful conversation and positive action,” Dave Pan explained. “We believe there’s a purpose inside each of us, and we want to encourage people to share more truth and inspiration.”

Singer Michael Bolton, for example, can strike up a conversation about why he chose “compassion” for his bracelet. And talk-show host Larry King can share why he chose “why.”

As for the educational aspect of the MyIntent Project, Mt. Lebanon High School psychology teacher Tina Raspanti brought it to her students. She learned about the project through a Wisdom 2.0 conference, during which she met Chris Pan and he tied her “present” bracelet around her wrist.

“I’ve been talking about intentions and goals in my classes for a long time,” she explained, “and last year, for the first time, some kids said, ‘We want one. We want to do this.’ And so they really organized themselves.”

The students launched a schoolwide MyIntent effort, producing videos to explain the purpose of the project and providing information about how to obtain the bracelets.

In the videos, the students discuss the words they chose for theirs, such as “worldly.”

“The reason I chose this word is as a reminder to myself that we don’t exist alone and I don’t exist alone, and that no matter where you’re from, we’re all here and we all belong.”

Another student selected “gm’eelut chasadim.”

“This is my word of intent because in Hebrew, it means ‘random acts of kindness.'”

Dave Pan discussed how educators can implement the MyIntent Project.

“For teachers, asking your students for their words, have them do a short essay or a short poem, and share it,” he suggested. “The important part is the sharing, sharing with the other students why they chose that word.”

Administrators can use the project for team-building exercises, he said, and the bracelets also have been the centerpieces of fundraising activities.

His talk came between morning and afternoon sessions of the daylong conference, which featured a variety of presenters discussing topics such as mindfulness, community building, social and emotional learning.

Raspanti came up with the idea for the event and chaired its organizing team, which also included Stephanie Confer, Jessica Peconi-Cook, Natasha Dirda, Roddy Gibbs, Michelle King and Leah Northrop.

“It all really started with my own curiosity and my own learning,” Raspanti explained. “We may be teachers, but we’re always learning more.”

A grant from the Grable Foundation, which focuses on initiatives that address child development, made the conference possible. Its keynote speakers included representatives of Penn State and the University of Pittsburgh presenting information on relevant academic studies.

“I saw a lot of interest from schools throughout the Pittsburgh area that were curious about social and emotional learning, and mindfulness, but maybe hadn’t seen the research that’s been done,” Raspanti said. “So my intention in bringing this conference to Pittsburgh was to try to share those evidence-based programs with other educators who were interested.”

Among the visiting educators was Jennifer Murphy, Peters Township School District assistant superintendent.

“It’s a little different topic than what we’re used to,” she said. “It’s completely the opposite end of the spectrum when you think about accountability and test scores. So I think this day really helps us kind of put some things in perspective about what really matters around social and emotional learning.”

For more information about the MyIntent Project, visit www.myintent.org.