YOUR MINUTES || PRACTICAL TIPS FOR SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING
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Welcome to another Your Minutes post that features YOU! Here you will see educators sharing how they spend their minutes doing what they do best.
Today I have the honor of introducing one of my dearest friends and an educator I have the greatest respect for, Jill Mansfield. I met Jill almost twenty years ago, and suffice it to say it is hard to find a more talented presenter than Jill; if you ever have the pleasure of attending one of her workshops, you are in for a treat! Jill has been presenting on the topic of Social Emotional Learning quite frequently as of late, so I asked her to share her wisdom with you today. As we head back to the classroom either virtually or face-to-face, I think you will find SEL needs to be a major consideration.
SEL. Social Emotion Learning. If you have not already heard about it, you definitely will now. CASEL (The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning) defines SEL as the process through which children and adults understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions.
When I read this definition, I realize that we all need help in this area more than ever during these stressful days of being an educator, student, or parent.
The 5 (SEL) Social-Emotional Competencies are:
Self Awareness
Self Management
Social Awareness
Relationship Management
Responsible Decision Making
As you look at these 5 competencies, think of what you already do well and which ones are a challenge for you. Congratulate yourself on what you are doing well, and choose ONE to improve on.
What are some additional ways you can help your students during this tumultuous time by incorporating some SEL into your lessons? Here are a few suggestions:
*Allow 5 minutes at the beginning of class for students to share their feelings. This can happen virtually by having them choose an emoji that represents their feelings, or even typing in the chat room on a zoom lesson. It is more important than ever that we do not jump right in to a lesson before making that personal check in with our students.
*Consider having extra “office hours” for students to meet with you one-on-one. I have noticed that students are much more hesitant to ask for help during a virtual lesson than they were in person. This might also be a good time for you to check in with students you are particularly concerned about.
* Model. Model. Model. This means doing some breathing and calming exercises with your students and sharing your feelings with them as well. Examples might be, “I am feeling __________ and I need some feedback from you all to help me.” “I am sorry I was in such a rush this morning. I think we will take some time at the end of class to check in with everyone.” “I was feeling a little stressed before our zoom class today, so I played some great calming music and gave myself time to breathe and calm my thoughts. It really helped.”
*Extend GRACE. Grace to your students. Grace to parents. Grace to your colleagues. And most importantly, grace to YOU.
Are these tough times for teachers? Absolutely! But we can get through this. We are educators. Educators always manage to rise to meet challenges. Even the challenge of teaching in the midst of a pandemic. And in case you have not heard it recently, YOU ARE APPRECIATED!
P.S. I hope you enjoyed as much as I did! I also wanted to remind you in case you weren’t aware, the Teachers Pay Teachers sale is August 4th and 5th. I would love for you to check out my shop!
:) Brandy
MEET JILL
Jill Mansfield has been described as “energetic, excited, motivating and enthusiastic” by her participants. She has been involved for many years in the field of education as both a classroom teacher and consultant. Her experience covers all grade levels from elementary through high school. As an independent consultant and speaker,Jill has spoken to teachers throughout the state of Texas, nationwide and even worldwide with her work with the Department of Defense, training teachers on our US bases in Europe. Believing that every child deserves a chance and every teacher has the opportunity to touch lives, she brings passion and fun to her interactive workshops. Each session is filled with both sound research and practical ideas for teachers to “take back and use tomorrow.” Jill, a native Texan, and graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, resides in Fort Worth Texas, where she lives with her husband and menagerie of animals in what is now an “empty nest”. They are the parents of two grown and married daughters and one precious granddaughter named Emilia and a new grandson named Jude.