Best Practices

“My teaching has changed dramatically. There were lots of skills that I
expected my third graders to have— but I didn’t realize I needed to be
teaching those skills. I spent a lot of time policing, and it was taking
away from my teaching time. Now I try to be more proactive, teaching the
skills in the beginning, spending time talking about how we are going to
work as partners, how we are going to do recess, how we are going to
solve conflicts. When they first told me that third graders could resolve
conflicts among themselves without my help, I didn’t really believe them.
But it has been amazing to see how, if we teach children these skills, they
can use them and transfer them beyond school into the neighborhood.”
TEACHER
“If there is a problem at recess, one of the things we do is find a way to
make it fair for everyone. We include everyone who wants to play. Even if
some people are in a bad mood, they can still play.” STUDENT
“SEL brings sophistication to the children in terms of why they do what
they do, and gives them tools by which to manage their everyday lives.
Children have to understand how their feelings interact with their desires
and talents and abilities to make things happen in a positive way. SEL does
that, and I see much more thoughtful and appropriately introspective
children as a result.” SUPERINTENDENT
ENHANCING THE SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT — Caring Environment PAGE 11