Readings: “Reading, ‘Riting, ‘Rithmetic and Relationships: Considering the Social Side of Education”- Hymel, Shonert- Reichl, & Miller

Outside family, schools are one of the more pervasive socializing contexts that helps children to acquire appropriate behaviours and values needed to become acceptable members of society.

• Personal Note: What does it mean to become an “acceptable member of society”? What would I consider an “acceptable member” acceptable by nature seems to denote that it is not perfect or great but merely acceptable. What would it take to become an extraordinary member of society?

There is more to intelligence than academics; it should also involve relationships

• Research has shown the importance of social and emotional aspects on learning and intelligence.
  >Humans are “Wired to connect”
  >Belonging in a fundamental motivation

 Personal Note: This makes complete sense to me. If you are not mentally and emotionally stable and in a safe place you will not be able to concentrate on what you are trying to learn. Examples of this can be seen when stress and anxiety hamper our ability to learn.

Children learn behaviours such as:

• Relationships
• Empathy towards others
• Sense of right and wrong
  >Turns from externally controlled to being controlled by internal
  standards and principles.

A large number of students experience serious social and emotional problems that interfere with their interpersonal relationships, school performance and their potential to become competent adults and productive citizens

• Children who did not have good interpersonal skills from a young age tended to drop out of school and end up in jail more than their peers.

Mental health problems, in particular stress and anxiety issues, are becoming increasingly recognized as a significant part of overall health and well being.

• Children who are caught and treated at a young age tend to respond better to psychological interventions
• Children who are not treated can grow up to have a variety of mental health issues.
  >Schools are often the first place where mental health difficulties can
  be identified.
• Personal Note: This is scary as teachers typically have very little background and training in this area. I think that as a teacher it is very important to be in-tune with all of your students and to really get to know them. This will help you to understand where they are coming from and to help you spot potential issues early on. School teachers should have to take mandated coursework that provides training in identifying mental health issues and early prevention techniques.

A focus on social and emotional issues has become a practical concern as teachers struggle to address social and behavioural concerns that interfere with academic learning and instruction

• Teachers are faced with larger class sizes and more diverse classrooms which include students with social and emotional issues that can disrupt learning.
  >About ½ of students with Learning disorders also display SEL issues.

• Teachers hold the key to fixing this by creating a safe and educational environment. Teacher warmth and support has been found to have the power to help children achieve and thrive, even high risk children.

The ultimate goal of education is to create good citizens, not just good learners

• Personal Note: I find it interesting and wonderful that BC is one of the only provinces to target SEL and citizenship as goals of education. This is so important for ensuring that children grow up to not only be good adults, but to be better adults than we are; to push our world and knowledge to places we never knew possible.

Social and Emotional learning is fundamental for academic learning and life success

• There is an inextricable link between SEL and children’s learning in schools.
• Social and emotional development is not only a valued outcome in its own right, it is also instrumental in the acquisition of knowledge and the development of cognitive abilities.

Studies show that students who participated in SEL:

• Ranked higher on achievement tests than peers who did not participate
• Had better attendance records
• Had more constructive and less disruptive classroom behaviour
• Had better grade point averages
• Were less likely to need disciplining
• Children’s engagement or disengagement  in school depends largely on whether their fundamental needs for belonging, autonomy and competence are being fulfilled

Personal Note: I would like to know more about autonomy and its connection to Self Regulation.

CASEL’s 5 SEL Competency Areas:

• Self awareness: recognizing own emotions, strengths and limitations
• Social awareness: empathy towards others
• Self management: managing emotions and behaviours to achieve a goal. Personal note: similar to self regulation

• Relationship skills: forming and maintaining positive relationships
• Responsible decision making: assessing risk and making good choices, respecting others, taking personal responsibility for own decisions.

Schools already impact student social and emotional learning through the “hidden curriculum”

The hidden curriculum is the pervasive moral atmosphere that characterizes school. This atmosphere includes:

• School and classroom rules
• Attitudes towards academics and extracurricular activities
• The moral orientation of teachers and school administrators
• Text materials
• Personal Note: should it not include social relationships with peers, teachers, administrators?

 Personal note: Going forward I think that there is a huge need in inquiring about SEL programs and initiatives and how SEL can be implemented into schools world wide.