A Former Public School Teacher’s Insight on SEL
By: Gracie Ware
SEL or Social Emotional Learning seems to be a hot topic these days. Some parents are concerned that SEL is a gateway to bring Communist or Sexual Identity discussions into the classroom.
As a former public school teacher that left the profession back in 2012, I may not have direct experience with the current “SEL” movement, but I believe that I participated in social and emotional learning exercises with my classes without having it be a district-wide mandate.
As an elementary school teacher, it was very important to me to form a relationship with my students, to make them feel safe and secure when they walked into my classroom. To accomplish this, I would use the Morning Meeting method and other activities to allow students to get to know each other better and in the process I was able to learn a bit more about my students. I wasn’t prying. I wasn’t trying to determine which students may have come from “unfit” families. I wasn’t pushing an agenda. It was simply a “check-in”. Did it take away time from learning math, reading, science, etc.? No, actually I think quite the opposite. It provided more time for those things because it allowed us to create a sense of community within our classroom.
Here is an example of the way I structured “Morning Meeting”.
As students entered the classroom they would be greeted by me.
There would be a question on the board where they could vote and this allowed us to not only look at graphs and discuss similarities and differences among us, but it was a quick way for me to take attendance (big plus).
Questions were pretty basic: “Do you like Chocolate or Vanilla Ice Cream?”. Some students didn’t like either and they would put their name in the middle of the chart (I like when they didn’t conform to my question and thought outside the box).
Sometimes questions were based on a discussion we were having the previous day. For example: Do you think the bean plant will grow in iced tea?
We would then gather together on the floor to start our day. We would discuss the “check-in question” and then move on to a run-down of the schedule for that day.
We may do a quick math or science game while we were gathered together or perhaps start the day off with a book.
Did I allow students to talk about themselves? Of course! Did those discussions revolve around sexuality or politics? No!
Just like a manager makes a welcoming culture in a business, a teacher should make a welcoming environment in the classroom. How do you expect students to work together or want to learn, if their needs aren’t being met?
During my studies to become a certified teacher, we discussed Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. I was also a psychology minor and discussed this pyramid extensively when we were on the topic of child abuse/neglect.
Basically, the first four levels from the bottom are the needs that have to be met or the person will feel deprived. This can result in anxiety or other issues. These four needs also must be met before a person is motivated to move towards the next level. The first four levels are physical needs (food, water, shelter, clothing, etc.), safety needs (sense of security), friendship & love (a sense of belonging), and esteem (having the confidence to work towards personal accomplishments). Once these needs are met, the person can work towards their own self-fulfillment needs -working on their “dash” if you will. Participating in activities that provide enjoyment.
For a classroom teacher, if a child walks into my room and their basics needs of food and clothing haven’t been met, then I can’t expect them to sit through a lesson and be successful. Likewise, if a student is walking into my classroom feeling alone and doesn’t feel like they belong, that student will not be ready to engage in a lesson either.
The counselors at a school are there to help with the basic and safety needs. The classroom teacher then works on the need to belong. Hence, my use of team-building exercises and Morning Meeting.
I think parents have become scared of what they see on social media. Do I believe that some teachers are using their position as a teacher to push an agenda? Yes. Do I think that is the majority? Definitely not.
We need to focus on taking out the few bad apples, not taking away a teaching method that works for so many.
I believe that if you take the warmth and community from the classroom then you are setting teachers up to be even less successful than they already feel these days.
If you have concerns about SEL in your child’s classroom, discuss it with your child’s teacher. Don’t attack. Ask for a meeting to discuss how it is being implemented. You just might learn some tips that can translate into your own family and how you talk to your child.