What is Social & Emotional Learning?

Block One examines Social and Emotional Learning, and involves building compassionate learning communities in which all students feel safe, valued, and have a sense of belonging. The term "social and emotional learning" was coined by CASEL, a group dedicated to supporting SEL in schools. In this block, the Three-Block Model uses three main strategies:
  1. Spirit Buddies
  2. Democratic Classrooms
  3. The Respecting Diversity Program - used at the beginning of the school year to develop student self-concept, respect for diverse others, and an inclusive classroom climate. The program involves eight lessons that introduce students to their own and other learning profiles, and how diversity benefits a community.
These strategies are detailed in chapter 3 of Dr. Katz's first book, "Teaching to Diversity."

Why It Matters

Positive relationships rather than risk factors have the more profound impact on prognosis.
  • This means that a student who is highly at risk due to family, health or other factors, is helped to develop resiliency and is more likely not to engage in risky behaviors such as substance abuse, aggression, and suicide when a significant relationship, whether with a family, school, or community member, is present.
  • In contrast, a student who does not have such risk factors is more likely to engage in risky behavior if there is no significant relationship in their life.
  • The teacher-student relationship can therefore have significant buffering effects, and conversely, can have significantly negative impacts on student mental health, learning, and school completion.
So the question every educator must answer is what is your choice - to wound, or to heal?  The reality is, as dramatic as that sounds, it's the truth. From our body language, to our tone of voice, from our words, to our actions, and even from the instructional activities we design that either breed success or failure - we make this choice every day. 

The students most likely to receive negative feedback, are also the ones most in need of that one person who believes in them. Will that be you?