Creating Connections: SEL in the Classroom Reflection

 The importance of social and emotional learning in the classroom is one that cannot be emphasized enough. The benefits of implementing social and emotional learning skills into the classroom at a young age are long-lasting and imperative to ensure that students, as well as people in general, are equipped with the necessary skills to cultivate healthy minds and healthy bodies.

It is important to first have a working understanding of what social emotional learning (SEL) is and what it is driven by. A major component of SEL is emotional intelligence, which is “the ability to perceive emotions, to access and generate emotions so as to assist thought, to understand emotions and emotional knowledge, and to reflectively regulate emotions so as to promote emotional and intellectual growth” (Freedman, 2007). There are direct links between strong emotional intelligence and high performance in the classroom, which is one of the main reasons why teachers and other professionals should support SEL in the classroom.

An important idea within emotional intelligence is the accurate appraisal of emotion, which is when someone can “identify and name emotions as well as self-regulate feelings when feelings and thoughts are working together” (Freedman, 2007). This skill of maintaining a healthy emotional literacy is important in the classroom because it helps improve classroom relationships and academic performance.

Emotional intelligence is “a critical factor for sustaining high achievement, retention, and positive behavior as well as improving life success” (Freedman, 2007). Additionally, “increased emotional intelligence helps teenagers make more complex, sophisticated, and pro-social decisions” which are all big contributors to overall success both academically and in life generally (Freedman, 2007). It is also viable to say that SEL, when promoting self-esteem, confidence, and resiliency, could potentially have an impact on negative behaviors such as substance abuse, fostering unhealthy relationships, and making poor decisions, and therefore have lasting health benefits.

Some of the skills that SEL and emotional intelligence help children and young people to develop are: empathy, accountability, respect, the identification/interpretation/management/expression of emotions, problem solving in social situations, impulse control, and self-regulation, which are all necessary skills for successful learning in the classroom. The interaction with anyone- especially with peers at a young age- necessitates communication skills so that one may create and sustain relationships. SEL also teaches people about resiliency and how to maintain it which is beneficial to all students, especially those who have experienced trauma in their lives (Freedman, 2007). Resiliency “refers to children’s ability to adapt and thrive in the face of adversity” and is a common thread among all strategies that teachers can give their students to promote emotional intelligence (Stearns, 2020, September, 10). Resiliency is vital for children and young people to acknowledge and reflect upon, and learn and grow from traumatic experiences as well as cultivate emotional intelligence about themselves and other people. The freedom and lack of stress that is often derived in trauma and other adversity allows students to focus on learning and succeeding in the classroom environment.

There are also a plethora of activities that teachers and other professionals can partake in with students of all ages in order to implement social emotional learning in the classroom. A “personality pie” can be easily adjusted for students of all ages and is designed to promote self-awareness (Stearns, 2020, September, 17). Self-awareness and SEL are strongly linked in that understanding of oneself, and the emotions, feelings, thoughts, and perceptions that come with knowing oneself, promote high levels of emotional intelligence both inwardly and outwardly. In this activity, students are invited to reflect on parts of their personality into a series of pie charts according to how they view themselves, how they think others view them, and how they act as a friend, as a student, and at home. This is a tangible way of talking about perceptions and behaviors that increases the understanding of oneself. Another activity which also can easily be modified for all ages of students is a quick disposition check that simply asks students to relay what “their weather” is each day. The symbolism of students connecting their emotions - positive, negative, or something in between - to weather patterns creates a strong visual tie for students to begin to name and understand their specific feelings. Students at a younger age can draw out their weather and focus on coloring (which is a strong mindfulness activity) or students of an older age can “whip” around the room and give a quick descriptor of their weather. Regardless of the format which the teacher has the student reflect on their weather, students are mentally digesting their emotions and processing those various implications. A “sunny” temperature in comparison to a “stormy” temperature can be very telling for a teacher, and necessary actions can be taken accordingly after the weather report has come in for the entire class.

The implications of SEL and integrating emotional intelligence into the classroom for myself as a rising educator are seemingly endless. One of my strongest motivators to enter the field of education is to ensure that my students are well-equipped to make positive change in the world, and that cannot happen without my students first knowing themselves. There are so many communities that my future students will become a part of, and in order to recognize the power of those communities I need to help my students understand the power of their classroom community and the importance of each member within that community. Additionally, I know that throughout my life, regardless of what career path I am on, I know that I will be a strong advocate for the funding of school systems to include SEL more commonly. The SEL workshops and education that are available which cannot make it into schools due to lack of funding is unacceptable, which is just one reason why it is necessary for adults to work toward the adequate funding of SEL in schools.

Finally, it would be impertinent to leave the current pandemic and the effects of this climate on students unaddressed. Students are simply not receiving the proper support that they need, both in terms of academics as well as social and emotional growth. The pressure that teachers everywhere are under to ensure that academic rigor is still a proponent in education is insurmountable at a time where I would argue the prevalence of trauma is at an all-time high. Promoting the social and emotional well being of students now, during the uncertainties of a world-wide pandemic, is of crucial importance.

Reference List

Freedman, J. (2007). A case for emotional intelligence in our schools. Six Seconds: The 

Emotional Intelligence Network, 2-22. 

Stearns, Jenny. (2020, September, 10). ED 350: Trauma-informed educational practice session 4 

[Class lecture]. Virtual lecture, Colchester, VT, United States.

Stearns, Jenny. (2020, September, 17). Ed 350: Trauma-informed educational practice session 6 

[Class lecture]. Virtual lecture, Colchester, VT, United States.