A respectful, safe, caring environment is essential in order
for students to learn effectively. Teachers
must get along with students and students must get along with each other. If this social environment isn’t created than
chaos prevails. The school is a social
setting that teaches those skills that allow people to interact in a positive proactive
way. A structured systematic approach
to enhance social emotional learning and academic performance has shown in
research as an achievable accomplishment (Elias, 2003).
As a society there are certain attributes that all people
should possess. Schools, parents, communities need to involve
themselves in teaching their children literacy, how to express their thoughts
and opinions. Children need to
understand math and science at a level that makes them competent to engage in
regular interactions with others in the world.
Members of this society must also be able to problem solve and to take
responsibility for their actions, health and personal well-being. Effective people and communities are those
that are caring, respectful and empathetic to others, build effective
relationships that promote growth and development, and are capable of making
sound moral decisions.
Educating the “whole person” takes all these attributes into
consideration with emphasis on both social and emotional learning and academic
skills. The idea of educating the whole
child is not a new premise but it has been a source of challenge for many
years. Social emotional learning is the link between
academics and people being successful in managing life tasks, relationships,
communication, and sensitivity to others.
Growing up with a strong moral compass and the skills for success in the
workplace, community and family is essential to becoming a balanced
individual. How do schools implement
programming that balances and provides a learning environment that encourages
the child to reach their full emotional and academic potential?
Academic and Social Emotional Learning by Maurice Elias give
educators a starting point to begin looking at implementing a balanced approach
to academics, lasting social emotional learning and strong character education. The manual that was produced is an excellent
resource for schools and communities. He
outlines specific ideas and research to promote a holistic outlook.
Learning Requires Caring: Learning environments that are not threatening
to students and include students as resources promote effective academic learning
and positive interactions.
Practical
applications
• Greet all students by name when they enter the school or classroom.
• Begin and/or end the school day with brief periods of time for
students to reflect on what they have learned recently and what they might want
to learn next.
• Create rules in the classroom that recognize positive behaviour,
such as co-operation, caring, helping encouragement and support. Be sure that
discipline rules and procedures are clear, firm, fair and consistent.
• Show interest in their personal lives outside the school.
• Ask them what kinds of learning environments have been most
and least successful for them in the past and use this information to guide
instruction.
Suggested readings: Kriete
& Bechtel, 2002; Lewis, Schaps & Watson, 1996; O’Neil, 1997;Osterman,
2000
Teach
Everyday Life Skills – Life skills that promote academic
and social-emotional learning must be taught explicitly in every grade level.
CASEL’s essential
skills for academic and social-emotional learning
Know
yourself and others:
• Identify feelings—recognize and label one’s feelings;
• Be responsible—understand one’s obligation to engage in ethical,
safe and legal behaviours;
• Recognize strengths—identify and cultivate one’s positive qualities.
Make
responsible decisions:
• Manage emotions—regulate feelings so that they aid rather than
impede the handling of situations;
• Understand situations—accurately understand the circumstances
one is in;
• Set goals and plans—establish and work toward the achievement
of specific short- and long-term outcomes;
• Solve problems creatively—engage in a creative, disciplined process
of exploring alternative possibilities that leads to responsible, goal-directed
action, including overcoming obstacles to plans.
Care for
others:
• Show empathy—identifying and understanding the thoughts and
feelings of others;
• Respect others—believing that others deserve to be treated with
kindness and compassion as part of our shared humanity;
• Appreciate diversity—understanding that individual and group
differences complement one another and add strength and adaptability to the
world around us.
Know how to act:
• Communicate effectively—using verbal and non-verbal skills to
express oneself and promote effective exchanges with others;
• Build relationships—establishing and maintaining healthy and
rewarding connections with individual and groups;
• Negotiate fairly—achieving mutually satisfactory resolutions to
conflict by addressing the needs of all concerned;
• Refuse provocations—conveying and following through effectively
with one’s decision not to engage in unwanted, unsafe, unethical behaviour;
• Seek help—identifying the need for and accessing appropriate assistance
and support in pursuit of needs and goals;
• Act ethically—guide decisions and actions by a set of principles
or standards derived from recognized legal/professional codes or moral or
faith-based systems of conduct.
Practical
applications
• Consider adopting a social-emotional skill-building programme
that has shown demonstrated effectiveness in populations and circumstances
similar to yours; listings and Internet links to listings are available at www.CASEL.org, www.NASPonline.org and in the ‘Resources’
section of this booklet.
• Use CASEL’s list of skills to help students prepare for academic
assignments, projects, homework and tests.
• Ask students when it is important in their lives to use each of
the skills. Then, help them build and use the skills when these situations
arise.
• Each week, try to incorporate building one skill on CASEL’s list
of skills into your usual instructional routine. Continue throughout the year,
reviewing and deepening what you do as you repeat each skill.
Suggested readings: Connell
et al., 1986; Elias et al., 1997; Elias, Tobias & Friedlander., 2000; Goleman,
1995; Topping & Bremner, 1998; Zins et al., 2003.
Link
Social-Emotional Instruction to other School Services - Application of social emotional skills to everyday life is
aided greatly by a consistent developmentally appropriate structure of
supportive services in the school.
Specific instruction is required on issues like smoking,
sexuality, drug use, alcohol, violence and bullying. Children will benefit from structured,
explicit, developmentally sensitive instruction in the prevention of issues affecting
young people.... Many more can be included in this list. Don’t wait until children show that they are
having difficulties in these areas.
Teach them the skills before they become involved in risky behaviour.
Practical
applications
• Provide time in the school curriculum each year for
instruction in appropriate health issues and problem behaviour prevention.
• Organize guidance and counselling services so that they help
build social-emotional skills of groups of children who are anticipating or
facing difficult situations.
• Allow planning time for staff to co-ordinate their efforts at
supporting academic and social-emotional learning.
Suggested readings: Adelman
& Taylor, 2000; Comer et al., 1999; Elias et al., 1997; Jessor, 1993; Perry
& Jessor, 1985.
