Essentials of Social Emotional Learning (SEL). Donna Lord Black

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СКАЧАТЬ with the pandemic’s upheaval on their lives, but for many, the effects of sheltering in place and social isolation left them with feelings of emotional despair. Parents and educators grappled with distance learning, and for some students, educational experiences were grossly inequitable. For many families, the economic devastation caused by the pandemic meant the loss of jobs and an accompanying loss of income, which worsened the distress caused by the situation. For those who were already without jobs and a source of income, or living at a poverty level, the impact was completely devastating.

      Though the COVID‐19 pandemic was felt by generations of people, history has shown that disasters typically have a greater psychological impact on children than they do on adults. However, the impact can vary by age, environmental conditions, exposure to the disaster, and levels of support from parents and other adults. If parents or adult caretakers of children also suffer from distress or a mental illness, the psychological impact is greater for these children (Fothergill, 2017). Indeed, studies have shown that parental distress is sometimes the strongest predictor of their children’s distress (Norris, Friedman, & Watson, 2002, p. 237). So, while there is a widespread assumption that children have great resiliency and will simply bounce back from a disaster, this is true only if they receive proper care and supports.

The children and youth of the COVID‐19 pandemic, like other children and youth who have experienced disasters, were trauma impacted. As they became more and more isolated from one another, they struggled to cope, both emotionally and behaviorally, and a corresponding need for supports grew. At the outset of the quarantine, there was an unprecedented demand for information on social and emotional development, and it was unlike anything SEL advocates had witnessed prior to the pandemic. A plethora of resources began to surface on the internet and through social media, and although most of these were made available to the general public at no cost, accessibility was a barrier for many. As the awareness and need for SEL grew and became more distinct, so did concerns and questions. School leaders and educators voiced growing concerns for how these trauma‐impacted children would be supported when they returned to schools. They began advocating for SEL as a viable approach, and discussions about how to effectively support these students became part of the critical debate on school re‐openings. In addition, it became increasingly clear that school staff would need training in trauma‐informed practices so they could better meet the needs of the children when they returned. More interestingly, school leaders were concerned with how staff would adjust to school re‐entry and what supports they might need, having been trauma impacted themselves.

      After several months of quarantine and in the weeks leading up to a lifting of the quarantine, communities began examining the re‐opening of schools. This became an enormous undertaking because there was still so much that was unknown about the virus (primarily because of a limited amount of scientific data). Consequently, plans had to include multiple options and various requirements, such as allowing physical distance among and between staff and students, equipping schools to maintain safe and sanitized environments, and equipping school health staff with appropriate healthcare supplies and personal protective equipment. As schools began exploring these options, they also recognized that there might be accompanying ripple effects. For example, the limitations of the physical‐distancing requirement might mean that not all students could return to a full school schedule, which might subsequently mean inequitable opportunities for some students. There were various consequences for each potential scenario, and each was of concern.

Despite these issues and given the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the virus (e.g., potential for a second outbreak), there remained a significant amount of doubt and hesitation regarding how and when students should return to school. One thing was certain, however: Whenever they returned, the need for staff and student supports would be immediate and intense. Concurrent concerns about academic growth were equally disturbing, and the debate over which would take precedence ensued, as illustrated in Rapid Reference 2.2.

      Influence of Exclusionary Discipline Practices on School Safety

Prior to the pandemic of 2020, school shootings, bullying, and other school safety issues had risen to the forefront of concerns by parents, educators, community members, and policy makers. With the onset of the pandemic and the subsequent closings of schools, concerns naturally shifted away from these issues. However, this shift was likely only temporary. This section will explore how school discipline practices influenced school safety and how this, in turn, led to an increased awareness of the need for SEL.

Rapid Reference 2.2

      The following blog was posted on May 7, 2020, as pandemic recovery efforts were just beginning. The blog provides an example of how fears for students’ academic regression might take precedence over their need for SEL supports when addressing policy and funding for schools. The fear that SEL might become the sacrificial lamb to the budget was a very real and pervasive concern.

      Social and Emotional Learning—Why We Must Act Now

      Since the beginning of the COVID‐19 pandemic, experts have predicted that the impact of the virus on human heath will reach far beyond that of physical safety. In the wake of social distancing and sheltering in place, the need for mental health services will rise sharply and swiftly, according to the experts. The healthcare landscape that has been embattled by efforts to keep infected people alive while keeping healthcare workers safe will quickly transform into a different type of battlefield—one beleaguered by the effects of mental illness.

      Unfortunately, if history has taught us anything, it has taught us that economic recovery efforts have always sacrificed mental health and social services first, accompanied by decreased funding to departments of education. If this historical trend continues, and there’s no reason to suspect it will not, the services that will be needed the most will once again become the sacrificial lambs of the economy.

      The impact of economic recovery efforts on mental health services no doubt will be distressing, but the impact it will have on education and on our young people’s social and emotional development will be even more devastating, unless we start now to prove the benefits of social and emotional learning (SEL) as a deterrent to mental illness. We must act now to advocate for the adoption of educational standards in social and emotional development in every state legislature and with every state department of education across America. Social and emotional development must take equal, if not greater, priority as children return to school in the wake of the pandemic.

      In homes across the country and indeed around the world, we are just beginning to witness the effects of social isolation and there is increasing concern for the long‐term impact this will have on our children. For months now, these children have been isolated from their peers and have been forced to continue their education in a virtual learning environment. Equitable access to educational opportunities and the developmental appropriateness for this type of learning format for some children have generated increasing concerns, along with a host of questions about how this will impact future educational decisions for these students.

      Consider, for example, the story of seven‐year‐old Kelsi. As a very young second‐grade student, her teacher describes her as eager to learn, willing to participate in school activities, and developmentally appropriate in her skill development. She enjoys coming to school and particularly enjoys learning alongside her peers. Like most children her age, she is intrigued by technology and is allowed by her parents to play a limited number of educational games or to watch a few children’s movies on their mobile devices. Kelsi’s interest in technology might be described as “typical” for her developmental age and her enthusiasm is like any typical seven‐year‐old’s, that is, until distance learning became a way of life. Now her parents describe Kelsi as having daily meltdowns and refusing СКАЧАТЬ