In the latest issue of the International Journal of Emotional Education, editors Paul Cooper and Carmel Cefai highlight something that I have been saying for some time: the need to pay attention to the wellbeing of adults working in schools.

“It is becoming more evident than ever before, however, that educators cannot effectively support the social and wellbeing of students, unless their own social and emotional needs are addressed as well. As a result of the increasing evidence on the relationship between students’ and staff’s wellbeing, more attention is being given to the wellbeing of school staff as a prerequisite for quality education.”

As an educator, I know you feel this every time you go to school or when you get home after an exhausting day. When educators are stressed and anxious on a regular basis, the quality of their instruction, their classroom management and the relationships with students are impacted.

Imagine if we designed schools that considered the wellbeing of school staff a prerequisite for quality education, as Cooper and Cefai mentioned. Schools could become places where adults can feel joyful and supported to give their best effort. This is possible and something that many schools are doing.

In a 5-month SEL certification course that I teach for education leaders in Chile, participants shared in their final projects robust plans to support the wellbeing of their educators. Many leaders realized that there was no space at school for emotional connection among adults, and they became determined to make sure their teachers felt supported and cared for, despite difficult teaching circumstances.

This despertar, as one of my students called it, and realization that adult wellbeing is essential to have healthy schools is driving leaders to make different choices when it comes to the ways in which they lead, make decisions and work with educators. A different choice is possible.

Growing Your HEART Skills is a great resource to help educators and leaders do just that—to support the growth of adult social and emotional skills as an effective and proven pathway to resilience and wellbeing.

I hope you will join me in celebrating this season of adult SEL by taking steps to support yourself and/or your teachers to develop these essential social and emotional skills that are so needed today and into the future.

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 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.