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Yes, for the past year the virus has changed everything as we know it. It has forced us out of our comfort zones into places where we are afraid.
However, one thing we apparently do like is the non-stop education “sky is falling” mentality.
A BRIGHT LINING IN A DARK TIME
I’m apparently one of the very few who feel the pandemic has actually been a real life (with emphasis on real life) learning lesson for kids. It has been as authentic as any classroom setting as can be. But, I have a 180-degree difference of opinion on this mess, which I will share in my next column.
We are constantly looking at grade books to determine the true level of education disaster. But it doesn’t stop there. Our obsession with believing that our kid’s “psyche is forever ruined” is out of control. The long-term harm conversation has as many legs as it does theories.
Covid is blamed for the decline of what many say is the key purpose of school – academic learning.
But it is another form of learning which is the foundation, soul and the heartbeat of the classroom – Social and Emotional Learning (SEL). Though it is the least sexy of the learning models, (besides Real Life Lessons) it is the most important.
Social emotional learning (SEL) is a methodology that helps students of all ages to better comprehend their emotions, to feel those emotions fully, and demonstrate empathy for others.
It’s about connecting everybody and making them feel safe and secure even before you get to the academics. The shift to full-time online learning in the wake of the pandemic has brought change and challenges to classrooms across the country – but hasn’t shaken SEL’s standing.
YES, YES, YES
Yes, this virus has stolen our kids’ school experience for the rest of the year potentially and we’re still not sure what comes next.
Yes, they miss their friends and their teachers.
And yes, they miss the feeling of being together and connected.
So we have to work on relationship skills and how to talk to each other the right way. It is desperately needed more than ever.
Many educators, however, are keenly and understandably focused on “getting the academics right” with online learning. With their classrooms, student relationships, and support systems upended by the school closures, social-emotional learning is just a priority.
It’s a daunting reality, no question, but the worst thing we can do for our teachers, students, and families is de-prioritize SEL during the pandemic. It is next-to-impossible to expect teaching and learning to occur in a crisis without attending to their emotions.
OPENING SCHOOLS WITH AN ASTERISK
Now, as we re-open schools, we must grapple with far more than debates over remote versus in-person learning or best practices for social distancing.
The classroom is just one of many places where school communities are also taking on the pandemic trauma brought on by a perfect storm of illness, isolation, unemployment, death, domestic woes and a mental health crisis.
A BIGGER PRIZE THAN STRAIGHT A’S
As we navigate the pandemic’s fallout among our children, we need more than ever to make Social Emotional Learning (SEL) a cornerstone of America’s education system.
SEL is a proven approach to teaching students how to identify and process emotions, build relationships, work in groups and resolve conflicts. They role-play, learn peer mediation skills and how to set personal goals — all of which help foster resilience.
SEL is not just for this moment. Post-pandemic and into adulthood, students will find social-emotional learning skills valuable for relationships, work, and life’s challenges.
We can and must teach those skills in the same way we teach reading, writing and arithmetic.
This column is by Ritchie Lucas, Founder of The Student Success Project and Think Factory Consulting. He can be reached at 305-788-4105 or email at ritchie@thinkfactory.com and on Facebook and You Tube as The Student Success Project. NOTE: Guest contributor Lori Moldovan, Registered Mental Health Counselor Intern, was unavailable for this column due to her extremely heavy caseload related to the pandemic.
