On our first Monday Morning Meeting of October I read a book called, Talk and Work it Out by Cheri Meiners. The book outlines how we solve problems peacefully. At school we have so many students at different developmental levels with a variety of needs, its important for us to discuss many social situations and skills as often as possible at school.The book talks about a 4-step process for solving problems:
We often think of school about an institution that focuses solely on math and literacy. Be clear, these things are vitally important to the success of our children. But equally, if not more important, is the basic understanding of social emotional wellbeing and needs. Social and emotional learning is the process through which children and adults acquire and effectively apply the knowledge, attitudes and skills necessary to understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions. These are the benchmarks of a successful human being and the hope we have for all our children so that they can find hope and joy in the world. We can not make assumptions that our students are getting these skills and needs met outside of school, because the reality is, many are not. As such, it behooves us to make it a priority in our schools and support families in addressing the needs in positive ways in the home.
So if you have any questions or want to see it in action stop by IAA, especially every Monday Morning, when we focus on a social emotional message for our entire community, then honor our students of the week that have exemplified these principles. If we remind students daily that this is important and acknowledge and recognize these actions in meaningful ways, it creates a whole school environment that is committed to social emotional learning, not only in school and not only during the school years, but in our communities and throughout life, for all students.
- Talk about the problem.
- Listen to understand.
- Think of ways to solve it.
- Choose the best plan.
- Is there someone you often get along with? Why do you enjoy being together?
- How do you feel when something really bothers you? Whose feelings are you thinking about? Why is a good idea to try and work things out?
- Taking a slow deep breath can help you calm down. What helps you calm down when you're upset by something or someone else?
- How do you work out problems?
- When you its hard to work out a problem what do you do?
We often think of school about an institution that focuses solely on math and literacy. Be clear, these things are vitally important to the success of our children. But equally, if not more important, is the basic understanding of social emotional wellbeing and needs. Social and emotional learning is the process through which children and adults acquire and effectively apply the knowledge, attitudes and skills necessary to understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions. These are the benchmarks of a successful human being and the hope we have for all our children so that they can find hope and joy in the world. We can not make assumptions that our students are getting these skills and needs met outside of school, because the reality is, many are not. As such, it behooves us to make it a priority in our schools and support families in addressing the needs in positive ways in the home.
So if you have any questions or want to see it in action stop by IAA, especially every Monday Morning, when we focus on a social emotional message for our entire community, then honor our students of the week that have exemplified these principles. If we remind students daily that this is important and acknowledge and recognize these actions in meaningful ways, it creates a whole school environment that is committed to social emotional learning, not only in school and not only during the school years, but in our communities and throughout life, for all students.
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