Importance of Social Emotional Learning in our Schools

 

“What role does SEL have in Teaching and Learning?

“The skills associated with social-emotional learning provide the foundation for effective communication, problem-solving critical thinking, resiliency, perseverance and teamwork — all of which are necessary for individuals to be successful in a technical or career field and postsecondary work.” (ODE, 2019)

 

              Honestly, the above excerpt from the Ohio Department of Education’s SEL Research Summary answers this week’s journal question succinctly. Social Emotional Learning isn’t just a soft skill, it is an interconnective tissue that supports the learning that takes place in the content areas and allows students to achieve their individual goals. It helps schools to create community and enables students to find their place. Really if you think about it… schools are just a microcosm for our larger society as a whole. There are school norms to understand. Students are asked to interact with people they can relate to and those they cannot. There are going to be areas where students excel and areas where they don’t. Learning how to navigate these situations with skills and tools is an essential part of assimilating into society as an adult.

I thought the author, Nadja Reily, summarized the above points beautifully in her article, “Bonds of Social and Emotional Learning”. She writes…  “The cumulative goal of education is to offer students opportunities to develop interrelated academic, personal, and social competencies that have a long-term impact on their lives.” (2018) The goal of school shouldn’t be that a student has memorized the periodic table or can resight the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution upon graduation. We want them to be aware that these things exist and understand their significance, but the real success is when they used these learning standards to become strong problem solvers, active members of their school and local community, and having sense of accomplishment in achieving whatever goals they set out for themselves in school. I think the following quote from the same ODE SEL Research summary does a nice job at expanding on Reily’s thought and the implications of developing this learning: “As children grow, social-emotional learning contributes to their connections to school and community, reduces dropout rates and truancy (Smith & Low, 2013), and predicts important life outcomes, such as increased likelihood of graduating on time, full-time employment by age 25, higher earnings and financial stability; and decreased likelihood of receiving public assistance or being arrested (Gabrieli, Ansel, & Krachman, 2015; Jones Greenberg, & Crowley, 2015).” (ODE, 2019)

As I reflected on my own philosophies on SEL in the classroom, I found the AMLE article, “8 NEW Characteristics of Middle School Kids: What Can We Do?” written by Jack Berckemeyer very thought provoking about emerging trends we are seeing both behaviorally and emotionally from middle level students. Below are the top three that I can relate to based on my current placement as well as my role as a mom.

1.      Characteristic 1: Students struggle with basic school expectations – I think the most important support we as teachers can give students in terms of expectations is to MODEL them. I was just talking to a fellow parent about a child who was discouraged because a teacher was always on their phone in class. This is after we as a state have banned the use of cell phones in schools for all students. There are a laundry list as to why a teacher may need access to their phones (family obligations, school notifications, medical issues, ect) but how can we ask a student to follow an expectation that we are not willing to hold ourselves to? I will ensure that I am following all expectations that my students are asked to follow and in the specific example of a cell phone usage, I may ask that my family email me to communicate with me or call the front office in the event of an urgent issue.

2.      Characteristic 2: Apathy, Disengagement, Disconnection – This is one I see daily in my field placement. What is interesting is that one student in particular communications her apathy for the assignments with questions about why she is even being asked to complete them. She asked me one day, “Why do we have to do this? Will completing this vocabulary sheet about rocks get me a job one day?” I think as teachers, it is our responsibility to really listen to what our students are communicating to us in this aspect… in this student’s case it’s, why should I care about doing this? I could, as a figure of authority in this classroom say, “because I told you to do it” but instead I first asked her what she wanted to do after she graduated from high school. When she told me she wanted to be a musician, I told her that knowledge about rocks might not help her do that one day but accomplishing the goal of passing her science class might… proving to herself that she could do things to reach her goals when they feel either hard or boring. My goal as a teach is to stay curious rather than lead with command.

3.      Characteristic 7: Expanding Voice and Self Advocacy – My son told me the other day when I was getting frustrated with him, “Mom – You always tell me that I should consider how my actions make other people feel and when you get frustrated with me, it makes me feel bad.” WOAH!! Mic drop buddy. But really I think what this shows is that with a focus on SEL, we are teaching students at a younger age how to better identify and EXPRESS what they are feeling. What an amazing life skill. In this instance, my son chose respectful words and responsible time to tell me just that. In the classroom, however; students are still learning how and when to best communicate these feelings. As their teacher, that may mean recognizing the intent of their comments and providing feedback about how to more appropriately express these types of emotions without telling the students what they are feeling is wrong.