SkillS

"The purpose of a social-emotional learning program...[is] to channel [emotion]: to surf the rapids rather than to be swamped by them." — Jennifer Kahn, "Can Emotional Intelligence be Taught?"

What are Social and Emotional Learning Skills?

There are many different strands within Social and Emotional Learning (the Harvard EASEL lab describes more than 100. Link to Harvard EASEL LAB) That large number makes sense since these skills are the ones that help us understand and have healthy relationships with both ourselves and others.

For this website, I've focused on the most critical skills, based on interviews with students, teachers, administrators. After reviewing the CASEL five core competencies of Social and Emotional Learning, I've selected traits that fall under each section.

Self skills include mindfulness, and grit & persistence. Social skills include empathy & friendship, self-advocacy.

how and when do we teach sel to our students?

There are many answers and opportunities to teach Social and Emotional Learning:

bite-sized, easy-to-adapt strategies

Instead of an all-encompassing SEL curriculum, there's a recent push to have teachers use SEL skills as they naturally are needed by students, even on the busiest day.

Harvard's CASEL department is in the process of trying out a new curricular tool called Kernels with this exact premise. To get a sense of the way these one-off strategies might work, here's a link to three quick strategies: Magic 8 Ball, Dear Abby and Belly Breathing.

Throughout the year or certain times?

Incorporating SEL skills into daily library/classroom lessons is the most impactful way to teach these vital life skills. That said, if having an anchor in time is helpful, here are a few suggestions.

  • Character day: This is an annual day (often in September) on which people around the world work to develop personal characteristics like grit, empathy and kindness. This link from Share My Lesson includes a collection of resources for Character Day, organized by elementary, middle school, high school and community-wide resources. There are also many short films to celebrate Character Day from Let It Ripple, a film studio whose mission is to use film, technology, discussion materials, and events to engage a 21st century audience in conversation and action around complicated subjects that are shaping our lives. The Dear Student video (2 min) was especially poignant in gently suggesting that students rethink their relationship with technology.

  • Respect for All Week: Every February, the New York City Department of Education organizes “Respect for All” week, an initiative that helps students respect their peers of different races, ethnicities, religions, gender identities, gender expressions, and sexual orientations. The Department of Education information is at this link, and additional resources around empathy, connection-building, and friendship are on the Empathy & Friendship page of the website.

  • Mental Health Awareness Month: May is Mental Health Awareness Month. All SEL skills relate to healthy mental health, and some of our resources on empathy are useful in decreasing the stigma around mental health struggles. Teen Mental Health has a lot of relevant, free resources for teens, parents and teachers. There are numerous classroom units (as well as stand-alone activities) related to mental health, available at Share My Lesson.org. The AHA (American Hospital Association) also has a page full of resources, as does the National Institute on Mental Illness (NAMI).

how can we do this work remotely?

I believe we can incorporate SEL into our remote and blended learning models. See ALL recommendations on my Resources for Remote Learning page.