Focusing on Social and Emotional Learning
Lately I’ve been thinking about what it would mean for teachers and parents to really prioritize students’ mental wellbeing. In the last few weeks, I’ve heard more about schools working on strategies for physical risk reduction and online learning than about educators placing mental health at the forefront of their classrooms.
I think mental health should trump the curriculum, and I think now is the time for our school communities to make that transition. Learning can be caught up, mental health trauma stays with you.
With this in mind, I looked into the Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL) and came away with two main things to share. The first is the idea that the prevalence of physical distancing makes social and emotional connectedness even more critical. The second is Reunite, Renew, Thrive, a resource developed by CASEL and 40+ organizations as a roadmap for reopening schools in the midst of COVID, economic crises and anti-racist mobilization.
“This moment offers an opportunity to pause and imagine how to bring together educators, students, families and community partners to co-create transformative learning experiences that cultivate the social, emotional, and academic competencies needed to contribute to a caring, thriving, and just society.”
Even if this resource may feel like too much to take on right now, it provides an opportunity to reflect on how young people’s needs have changed over the last six months, and what we as educators might do to better support them. Our school communities could see a major shift if we leveraged this year’s inherent uncertainty to prioritize teaching resilience, mental wellness and healthy relationships over simply checking off curriculum learning objectives.
A greater focus on SEL in schools would have an immediate impact for young people, but could also be part of long-term changes to the way educators work with youth on mental health, relationships, and social justice.
The status quo isn’t coming back any time soon—now is the time to change it.
ICYMI This Week
Why This School Year Is An Ideal Time To Help Your Kids Unlearn Gender Bias (HuffPost)
This 11-year-old sells cups of lemonade to buy diapers for single moms (The Washington Post)
How Schools Can Help Students Cope With Coronavirus Trauma During Distance Learning (Teen Vogue)
Written by Next Gen Men Program Manager Jonathon Reed as part of Learnings & Unlearnings, a weekly newsletter reflecting on our experiences working with boys and young men. Subscribe to get Learnings & Unlearnings delivered to your email inbox.