Adult SEL Matters
The school year has already started in many parts of the United States. Students, educators and parents are sharing feelings of excitement, hope, relief and maybe some worries about how this year will go.
Many schools are still struggling to fill job openings. In fact, we need about 300,000 more teachers and school staff according to the National Education Association President, Rebecca Pringle.
While this is not a new challenge in education, the conditions experienced by educators during the pandemic have caused 55% of teachers to think about leaving the profession earlier than they thought. This is a problem that we cannot ignore!
As school administrators and educators think about their priorities for the year, they must examine the reasons why educators have lost their sense of purpose or joy for a profession they loved, and the roadblocks that get in the way of teachers feeling their best at work.
Hoping that the summer break fixed all the issues won’t work!
We need to consider the social and emotional conditions that impact teacher burnout and attrition, in addition to supporting educators to build their resilience and HEART skills. Now, you have a wonderful resource, Growing your HEART skills, that can help your teachers develop the necessary tools to reclaim their joy. Don’t wait until more teachers leave your building!
This effort to support the SEL skills of the adults working with children is not an add-on to your SEL initiative. In Teaching with the HEART in Mind, I discuss the importance of seeing SEL as a vehicle to create positive conditions for teaching and learning:
“Educational systems need to invest in creating systemic and systematic SEL initiatives that include supporting the HEART skills of educators and staff working with children and youth. (…) Unless we support adults in growing their social and emotional capacity, students and the learning environment will be greatly impacted.”
In order to create better schools not only for students, but also for teachers, schools need to be relationship-driven, where educators’ social and emotional needs are acknowledged and supported through professional development and trauma-informed self-care tools. School administrators need to examine how the work conditions impact educators’ ability to do their best work, and support them in ways that are meaningful to them.
In addition, school administrators have the ability to create a working environment that is welcoming, respectful of individual differences, and committed to examine hurtful biases and practices that harm educators based on their race, ethnicity, gender, ability, sexual orientation, and family background, among others. When adults feel safe, supported and have a sense of belonging, they can bring their best self forward to help students grow and thrive.
If you are looking for ways to strengthen your SEL program and practices, or want to offer Growing your HEART skills to your educator community, get in touch.
I’d love to continue supporting your SEL efforts!
Growing Your HEART Skills
Growing Your HEART Skills is a 7-module online course that will teach you the HEART in Mind Model and help you develop your social and emotional capacity so that you can reclaim your joy for education, become a better educator, and live your entire life with more compassion, empathy, and peace.
As part of Growing Your HEART Skills, you’ll receive:
- 7 Learning Modules that will teach you the five HEART skills step-by-step
- 14 tools to help you dig deeper into what you’re learning in the course and implement it into your work and life, including a pre and post assessment of HEART skills
How does that sound? I am SO excited that this NEW online course is finally ready, and that you will be able to get the support you need to grow your HEART skills.
Learn all about my new course and get started today by clicking on this link. And if you are looking for bulk orders for your school or district, reach out with your details.
