This course fosters authentic, passion-based learning, and will change the way educators view themselves and their students, and what they can collectively accomplish. Participants will become empathetic, empowered, self-aware, courageous, collaborative, innovative, well-informed, and passionate agents of social change. Curriculum materials for students and a classroom implementation packet are included. The course will take 6-8 seat hours and includes ample opportunities for group discussion. It would be an excellent choice for professional development days in your district. All schools of education should make this course available to their teachers in training. The course will be available on June 5, 2017 at www.MarkMoran.com/c2m.html The cost is $99 per teacher, which covers up to 30 students. Teachers above the elementary level may cover more students, for a modest additional fee.

1. Introducing
Choose2Matter
An Online Course
for Educators and Students
By Mark Moran and Angela Maiers
Choose2Matter challenges everyone
to live up to their responsibility as citizens

2. Grace Miner, 2016 U.S. Presidential Scholar

3. Testimonials for Choose2Matter
“Choose2Matter helped my team learn important things about each other we
never knew. We used it as a chance to remind each other what’s special about each
of us.” –Lovejoy HS (TX)
“I’ve been trying to find the right words to capture the energy, the passion, the
enthusiasm, the positivity of the first professional development day in a long time
that actually mattered. The takeaways of our staff have been incredible. The
effects of the Choose2Matter message have transcended the high school
auditorium.” - Steve Figurelli, Edison Township School District (NJ).
“Something remarkable Thursday in Estherville that will no doubt influence ELC
students for the rest of their lives. Empowerment is giving power to others, and
tools to change their lives and the lives of others. It’s thinking outside the box,
above offering a unique perspective. We should all try thinking that way. It just
might help us solve the world's problems.” - Estherville Daily News

4. Overview of Choose2Matter
Choose2Matter is a call-to-action that challenges everyone to live up to their
responsibilities as citizens. It was formed in response to the breathtaking
reaction to Angela Maiers’ “You Matter” TEDxTalk in June 2011.
The authors have conducted hundreds of Choose2Matter events. Participants
learned they matter and have a genius to contribute, and to identify their
heartbreak and take action to solve the world’s problems. Students and
educators learned to innovate and iterate, and to persevere.
This course brings the Choose2Matter message to classrooms everywhere.
https://vimeo.com/204777895/fc0b4e83ed
Angela Maiers explains ChooseMatter
Click to Watch

5. Undisputed Research: Mattering Matters
“Teenagers given responsibilities that are relevant to their world had higher test
scores and fewer behavioral problems than those who did not. Dropout and
pregnancy rates among such teens also dropped by at least half.” - UVa Magazine
“Mattering to others is an existentially reassuring awareness, and failing to
matter is terrifying. Mattering is a basic component of social integration.” -
Family Matters: The Importance of Mattering to Family in Adolescence
Mattering provides students with a “strong foundation of self-efficacy and self-
confidence from which they have found a sense of purpose and an enduring
sense of intrinsic motivation and drive for continued school engagement and
academic success.” - American School Counselor Association

6. A Universal Question
”
Everyone the world over asks the same question:
‘Do I matter?’
They want to know, ‘Does what I do have meaning to others?
To myself? Am I worthy? If you come to believe you’re worthy,
your entire life shifts. Change that fundamental belief
and you change your world, and the world at large.
- Maria Shriver
The One Question on Everyone’s Mind
Igniting Architects of Change, April 30, 2017
“
”

7. Technological change is stirring an existential fear.
That fear is stoking the wildfires in our politics and society.
When we’re reminded that we matter, things get better.
We’re more likely to act as good citizens, to be our best selves.
We’re more likely to actually solve problems.
This is key to saving democracy and solving our biggest problems.
- Eli Parisier
Dominican University Commencement
May 14, 2016
The Key to Solving Our Biggest Problems
“
”

8. The Answer to a Vital Question
As a society, we owe our children safety, support, opportunity and a way forward.
We can start by showing children they matter.
It’s the answer to a vital question that all children and adolescents
ask about their place in the world: Do I make a difference to others?
When the answer is no, kids feel rejected and alone.
They become more prone to self-destructive and antisocial behaviors.
Others withdraw.
- Sheryl Sandberg
“How to Build Resilient Kids, Even After a Loss”
The New York Times, April 24, 2017
“
”

9. •The Course launches June 5, 2017, at MarkMoran.com/c2m
•Participants will engage in authentic, passion-based learning and become self-aware,
empathetic, empowered, collaborative, innovative, passionate agents of social change.
• The course takes six seat hours; it includes activities and group discussion that extend
the learning for a full course or a full year. An email newsletter and online forums provide
substantial follow-up to ensure the lessons are fully adopted in your school.
• The course is an excellent choice for professional development days, and would utterly
transform college students and aspiring teachers.
• Pricing is just $99 per teacher, which includes student materials. Volume discounts apply.
Overview of the Course

10. Structure of the Course
At the National Academy of Sciences, President
Barack Obama said: “The call and need of a new era is for
greatness. It's for fulfillment, passionate execution and
significant contribution. Students can rise up to the
challenge and do amazing work. They can do genius work!”
Is your school a place for invention, innovation and amazing, genius work?
This course takes you and your students on a journey to make it so.
• In the first set of lessons, we begin the brave journey of living up to our genius.
• The next set focuses on how to explore what makes us come alive.
• Set three discusses ways in which we let others know they matter.
• The fourth explores how to solve problems by leveraging collective genius.
To help you implement this course in your classroom, we include:
• A video-based module for you to share directly with your students
• A Classroom Implementation Guide
• Follow-up through a newsletter and private social media group.

11. Excerpts from the Course
“Andrew Robinson examined 10 episodes when an inventor supposedly experienced a ‘eureka’
moment leading to a famous discovery. He found in each case ‘a long lead-up to
breakthroughs, and efforts required, following the revelation, to explore and substantiate it.’”–
How Do Genius Learners Work?
“When we dwell in possibility, we help others do so. We stretch their thinking and build their
capacity to dream, hope, and plan for a brighter future.” – Why See Limits Instead of
Possibility?
“We fool ourselves into thinking that we show people they matter every day....To actually do so
consistently, we must make an affirmative choice each day to offer, thank, encourage, inspire,
and let others know we notice and believe in them.” – Accelerating the Message:
Everyone Matters
“The language and tone we use with students has a profound effect on learning, classroom
management, students’ self-control, and their sense of belonging. However, thoughtful use of
language is an often overlooked component of the teacher’s repertoire.” – Words Matter

12. Testimonial - The Room Nine Kids
Tammy Dunbar is a fifth grade teacher in California.
She and her “Room Nine Kids” worked through many aspects
of this course this past school year.
Below are just a few wonderful things that resulted from
presenting the lessons to the Room Nine Kids.
“While grieving over a KinderTechBuddy killed in an accident, my students created
“Compassion Portraits,” drawing their Buddy on their device and inviting their Buddy to draw
themselves. My students added “You Matter,” printed the drawings and gave them to their
buddies. The buddies snuggled close, put their heads on the shoulders of my students and
smiled. My students came away touched, and changed. One said, “I think they know how
important they are to us.”
“One reason they are so ready to tackle projects is the lesson “Finding Mentors.” Students
connected with experts. When you meet people from fields you’re interested in, you invite them
t0 an amazing conversation that provides students with resources, confidence and excitement.”
“I was shocked to see the growth of the average class score. In Math, the class average increased
from 12.7 out of 20 to 16.6 out of 20. Our students now approach standardized district testing
with more confidence and more creativity. That can be directly traced to these lessons.”

13. Mark E. Moran spent four years collaborating with Angela
Maiers to launch Choose2Matter. He has worked with educators and
students at hundreds of schools at live events and professional
development workshops.
About the Authors of the Course
Mark is now publisher of SweetSearch, A Search Engine for Students, and SweetSearch2Day,
which curates the web. He is also writing a course on effective online research. Mark was
previously General Counsel at 24/7 Media. He has an M.B.A. and J.D. from Fordham
University, and a B.A. from University of Virginia.
Angela Maiers, founder of Choose2Matter, has been leading change in education for 28
years, teaching kindergarten to graduate school and consulting with companies globally. Her
powerful message and down-to-earth style has made her a renowned keynote speaker.
Angela is the author of six books, including Classroom Habitudes, The Passion-Driven
Classroom and Genius Matters. She is an alumna of The University of Iowa, with a Bachelor’s
in Education and her Master’s in Educational Supervision.