Let me tell you a quick story about my journey with social emotional learning. I remember when I first started teaching {way back in 2006} and I thought I’d crush it in the behavior department. I imagined that my kids would sit, listen, raise their hands, and generally behave like angels. I’d have ... READ the POST
Mastering Social-Emotional Classroom Strategies: Unpacking CASEL’s 5 Competencies
Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) has a lot of components that are built into it. The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) is a group that has done a lot of work to explain these parts. Their information can seem complicated, so let's make it simple by looking at the five ... READ the POST
Get To Know Your New Students
Back to school is a busy and crazy time! There are so many things we have to do. I believe that getting to know our students is one of the most important things we have to do. But how do I fit it in?! Here are some simple tips to get to know your students. I Have So Many Students! You are ... READ the POST
The Importance of Student Identity and Validation
A student's identity is one of the most important things that we should value as teachers. Identity is something that can vastly improve the social and emotional health of our kids. Validating those emotions and identities is just as important! What Does Identity Mean? Our identity is who we ... READ the POST
Heading Back to School With Social-Emotional Learning
The kids are coming back to school soon, and we need to be ready for them. Bringing social-emotional learning into our back to school routines is more important than ever! What is SEL? The short answer is that SEL (Social-Emotional Learning) is the practice of teaching our kids how to handle all ... READ the POST
Morning Work: Should Educators Assign It?
When I started teaching, and for the next 10 years following, my students always came into my classroom and did the same thing every single day: they'd take off their coats and bookbags and put them in their lockers, they'd check in for lunch, and then they'd immediately get started on some sort of ... READ the POST
