Social and Emotional Learning

Students are unable to learn in an environment where their social and emotional needs are not being met.  Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) refers to how students interact or build relationships with others and how they control their emotions.  There are five competencies that make up Social Emotional Learning: self awareness, self management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision making.  Each of these skills are what allows students function in a classroom with so many classmates. These skills must often be taught by teachers before any content learning can be accomplished.

Teachers can look for signs that students have excelled in their Social and Emotional Learning, such as higher academic success, improved classroom behavior, and natural, friendly social interactions with others.  Students who have excelled in their Social and Emotional Learning grow up to be more confident, have better mental health, and are able to adapt better than those who lack SEL skills. Ultimately, those who excel in these skills will be more successful academically and socially.  

With an entire list of standards to complete during the course of the school year, it is overwhelming to think that SEL skills must also be taught to students.  However, these skills can be quite easy to incorporate into your day-to-day routine. We can start each morning with students greeting each other or have students work in groups or partners to promote social interaction.  It is slightly more difficult to promote emotional learning, but can still be done each day through multiple strategies. It is often difficult for students to describe their emotions. A “How I Feel” chart can assist students through emotions depicted in photos of other children.  We can also read books that help students to develop their emotions. Some books are better than others for this purpose, such as “The Way I Feel” by Janan Cain or “The Invisible Boy” by Trudy Ludwig. It is also important to discuss emotions when students are having a difficult time.  By asking “how did it make you feel when…” to a child who got their feelings hurt, it shows that we care about our students. Children often learn how to react to these situations by watching adults, so it is important to think about how to handle each situation. Students need to know that they are not alone when handling their emotions, so it is best for us to address emotional issues that we see so they can be discussed.  The following video gives a further description of Social and Emotional Learning.