The Whole You Card Game:
Our project investigates ways in which students and teachers can hold space for nurturing the whole child. Fostering a “whole child” can be defined as a process in which children can learn to manage their emotions, set and achieve goals, understand empathy, maintain relationships, and make responsible decisions. Social Emotional Learning is an educational practice meant to bring these five tenets into school curriculum. But, are these social and emotional skills being taught in schools?
Through research in our own schools (Stuyvesant High School, City-As-School High School and Frank Sinatra High School) we discovered that many students feel as though they do not learn these skills in all of their classes. Although there are many other important skills to learn in high school, such as math and science, it is also important to utilize the skills that many students gain from their more “creative” courses, such as art and yoga.
In our current time of 2022, many students lost a year of socializing that can lead to practicing and learning these tenets due to the pandemic and virtual school. We would like to create a way for students and teachers to learn to incorporate this “whole child” approach into their classrooms. The card game will facilitate dialogue among the students and teachers, bridging the gaps between their understanding of tenets of SEL. The students’ responses to the card game could serve as resources for teachers to use when they plan to incorporate teaching of SEL in their own curriculum and lessons, therefore allowing students' voices to be heard and creating reciprocal feedback between the teachers and students.
The goal of this game is to destimitize conversations about wellness of students and staff in schools. Their is a disconnect of what "wellness" looks like, and this game is meant to bridge the gap between the students' ideas of wellness, and the teachers' ideas of wellness.