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Healing From Toxic Stress with Dr. Nadine Burke Harris

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"When you think of harm in our community, your life, what comes to your mind first?" Staci Harrison, a white second grade teacher, asked. As her students-the majority of whom are Black children and have experienced harm because of racism and economic deprivation-shared their responses, the conversation became more specific.

"Jail," a student stated resolutely. "That's the scariest one," another child agreed. "I hate jail," a third commented. And a low hum of "uh-huh" and "yes" grew among the children.

"OK, do others have a connection to that?" Staci asked, looking around at nodding students.

" My dad went to jail, so I feel unsafe. Jail feels unsafe because there are bad cops and good cops," one student shared.

"What does that mean?" Staci asked.

"Bad cops are, like, when they help robbers and ... they used to take sides with white people," the child continued. "Police violence against Black peoples," another student added.

"Good cops do their job; they don't stand up for white people. They don't take money from banks, and when robbers try to rob, they arrest them. Good cops take sides with Black people and white people," a student explained.

"Ever since my dad was in jail, even though he got out early, that still made me feel unsafe. Ever since he was out ... that let me spend time with him," a child shared.

"You can't even get privacy when you're using the bathroom in jail. You don't even get to heat up your food!" retorted a student.

In Staci's classroom, like others across the nation made up of Black and Brown children, the concerns are clear: Many students do not view police as keeping them safe. The institution of policing often causes harm as part of a system contributing to the dehumanization of families and communities. Staci, recognizing the importance of emotional safety, acknowledged that "feeling safe" is contextual.

Partnering With Community Organizers

Honoring students' social and emotional needs, Staci invited the children in her classroom toward what educators Patrick Camangian and Stephanie Cariaga argue is a key element of humanization: Solidarity. A critical process that educators must embrace to reimagine emotional safety, solidarity-defined by scholars Eve Tuck and K. Wayne Yang as an "uneasy, reserved and unsettled matter that neither reconciles present grievances nor forecloses future conflict"-can be built by supporting students' understandings of how structural power and oppression limit communities from living full, whole lives.

Staci recognized the need to partner with community organizers who had wisdom, expertise and lived experience to guide students based on lineages of social movements for community safety and restoration. She connected with three local organizers-Imani, from a Black women-led mutual aid fund, and Nova and Jada, from a Black liberation organization.

In the initial meetings, Staci offered examples of structural violence Black children in the class shared, particularly about the prison system. Imani offered to visit the class to emphasize mutual aid- communities caring for one another and meeting needs without relying on unjust systems that rarely deliver adequate resources-as solidarity, while Jada and Nova planned to facilitate learning about restorative justice as solidarity in conflict.

Models of Solidarity as Community Safety: Mutual Aid and Restorative Justice

Imani's lesson invited students to engage in a seed dispersal activity. Children combined wildflower seeds and wet construction paper mulch into balls, which were left to dry and then taken into their communities to beautify their spaces and give back to the pollinators taking care of our Earth. Students also repurposed donated T-shirts into tote bags for guests to use visiting the mutual aid fund's community fridge or pantry. Imani differentiated between charity and mutual aid: Mutual aid is solidarity. We can ask for what we need and give what we have. Students offered what they had access to-wildflower seeds and tote bags-knowing that when they needed community care, the mutual aid fund also supported them. Thus, students built new social relations grounded in community capacity.

Jada and Nova introduced restorative justice as a means of repairing harm instead of contributing to it. They role-played scenarios, modeling interpersonal conflicts, some that were deeply racialized and others that were not. They asked students to recognize the differences-which the children quickly did-then held dialogue and follow-up role-plays to illustrate how students might respond in solidarity, offering nuance to forgiveness and apology in action. For example, Nova described how she might move forward from harm she caused that demonstrated a change in behavior. She described what her role-play character learned from causing harm to her friend, Jada, and what she'd do to avoid causing future harm.

Finally, Jada and Nova modeled a breathing strategy of coming back to your body, being present with yourself. They invited students to express gratitude to their legs for carrying them, thank their backs for supporting them and imagine the ancestral lineage of people in their lives who are connected to their being, all while breathing in community. The act of being in your body can invite liberation as children slow down and collectively breathe.

With Imani, Jada and Nova sharing their expertise, students learned models of community safety-mutual aid and restorative justice-that contended with and countered the systems of punishment and disposability. By offering what they have and asking for what they need, the children and Staci continued to explore what it might mean to practice mutual aid as safety.

Ongoing Practice and Engagement in the School Community

One day, a student shared that they were being bullied in their after-school program. Staci gathered the class around him. She asked the child what he needed, and he shared: "to feel safe." Staci then invited students to give of what they had to offer: some students listened, others laid a comforting hand on him, while others offered to walk with him after school, stay near and stand with him as he (or they together) told an after-school volunteer about the bullying. Staci also affirmed she would follow up with the after-school program coordinators. In this moment, while the rest of the class gave what they had to offer, a child who stated a need to feel safe was met with safety in the form of solidarity.

The class further engaged with restorative justice, crafting and practicing freedom through community care agreements to work through conflict. One morning, two students refused to come inside after recess. Staci, who'd kept a watchful eye on them while they were outside, noticed they seemed upset when they returned to the classroom and asked them to express their emotions. The two children said they were sad they hadn't been picked to be a specific character in a game. Other students nodded, seeming to understand and empathize with the emotions, and brainstormed ways for every student in their class who desired to play the role to have the opportunity.

Students led the dialogue. Staci scribed their ideas on the whiteboard and later asked: "Would it have been helpful if I had punished Malcolm and Sarai for not returning right back into the classroom, and told them they lost the next recess? Would that have helped us figure out how to play together in ways that get everyone's needs met?" Students responded enthusiastically that punishment would have only caused more harm. By dialoguing in community, the class practiced a world they longed to live in, centering restorative justice to transform the conflict into an opportunity to build solidarity.

Building Solidarity: Educators and Community Organizers in Reciprocal Relationships

Importantly, Staci recognized the time and energy Imani, Jada and Nova extended, and sought resources to compensate the community organizers. Staci also demonstrated reciprocity by attending the mutual aid fund's community events. She gave of her time and energy to plan follow-up events with a subgroup of organizers focused on educational justice.

Solidarity as safety was an approach Staci used in collaboration with Imani, Jada and Nova to honor the experiences of students familiar with and vulnerable to structural harm. By listening to children's lived experiences, Staci recognized a fear of policing and punishment. Rather than dismissing students' fears or silencing and "regulating" emotions through a decontextualized calming technique, Staci sought community wisdom in efforts to transform the source of the harm.

Community organizers like Imani, Jada and Nova often have rich historical and local knowledge as part of social movements meeting community needs and challenging systems. Like Staci, educators can build reciprocal relationships with organizers, practice mutual aid by learning about the vision and mission of local community organizations, show up to community events, and-as appropriate-shoulder an equitable load of the labor required to sustain community organizing.

In relationship with organizers for justice, educators can co-create radically different experiences for students to feel and be whole in their classrooms. By partnering with justice-centered community organizers to build students' solidarity, educators can co-plan lessons and units, center community knowledge and ways of being and offer students opportunities to learn from and build collective capacity with community sustenance experts. These partnerships can attend to the social and emotional learning students deserve: Solidarity.

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Solidarity as Social and Emotional Safety

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This model of social and emotional learning emphasizes mutual aid, restorative justice and safety by design.

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Ask, Acknowledge and Adapt Strategy from NAEYC

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Ask, Acknowledge and Adapt Strategy from NAEYC

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This article is excerpted from Leading Anti-Bias Early Childhood Programs: A Guide for Change (2015), by Louise Derman-Sparks, Debbie LeeKeenan, and John Nimmo, published jointly by Teachers College Press and NAEYC. The book provides a framework and detailed practical strategies for the leader's role in working strategically with staff, families, and the community to implement an anti-bias approach. www.naeyc.org/store ​

An anti-bias early childhood care and education (ECCE) program puts diversity and equity goals at the center of all aspects of its organization and daily life. It involves much more than adding new materials and activities into the already existing learning environment. Rather, broad systemic changes are necessary. The learning environment and curriculum, as well as program policies, structures, procedures, and processes, all come into play. Change also includes the attitudes of the individuals who serve the children and families. In sum, it is "a process, not an event" (Kugelmass 2004, 6).

While the urgency to implement anti-bias education is great from the perspective of the children's needs, the process of change happens over time; an anti-bias education leader must plan for the long haul. Successful anti-bias education change needs an intentional and thoughtful strategic approach.

Building an anti-bias ECCE program requires shifting the dominant-culture core of a program's thinking, organizational structures, and practice. It means intentionally moving to a many-cultures anti-bias approach. Shifting the culture of a program brings groups at the margin of early childhood theory and practice into the center of all that happens. Shifting the culture also requires adjustment to the dominant and traditional approaches to ECCE to incorporate other ways of thinking and doing (Anderson & Collins 2001).

Anti-bias leadership builds on the core principles and best leadership practices of the early childhood care and education field. These include relationships of mutual caring and respect; sharing knowledge; reflective, intentional teaching; and collaboration among the staff and between staff and the program leader (Morgan 2000).

Fostering reflective anti-bias educators

Anti-bias education cannot be mastered in a one-time workshop or by reading a book. Most teachers largely learn how to do anti-bias education on the job, in specific settings with specific children and families. Anti-bias leaders provide the necessary time, space, resources, support, and facilitation for teachers and other staff to be part of the process of change. They build a community of learners that enables everyone to explore and grapple with anti-bias issues. A collaborative style of leadership, the preferred early childhood education model, empowers staff members to first begin and then take ownership of their anti-bias work. Anti-bias work grows best in an environment where collegial, mutually respectful relationships among staff and between staff and the program leader are the norm and where a culture exists that fosters open conversation and dialogue, reflection, and risk taking.

All early childhood programs have a staff with a range of awareness, interests, and experiences with diversity and anti-bias education. As the program leader, your charge is to find ways to provide a variety of learning opportunities for all of the staff. You should scaffold the anti-bias education growth of the individual staff members, as well as the movement of the group as a whole.

Managing and negotiating disequilibrium and conflict

Anti-bias work does generate disagreements and dissonance. These dynamics are inevitable as teachers, families, and administrators act on their deeply held and diverse values regarding childrearing and education. Broader contested grounds in ECCE, such as whether schools should have a role in achieving social justice, also fuel these conflicts. Emotional and cognitive disequilibrium often occur in conflict situations, accompanied by a range of feelings such as anger, frustration, and discomfort.

A collaborative style of leadership empowers staff members to first begin and then take ownership of their anti-bias work.

From a constructivist framework, conflict is a productive part of the learning process. The disequilibrium created by conflict is a prelude to problem solving and sharing information, creating opportunities for people to expand and shift their perspectives and behaviors. With this in mind, anti-bias education leaders embrace conflict as a healthy dynamic in the pursuit of change.

Conflicts in anti-bias endeavors occur when there is dissonance between two or more perspectives on a specific equity, diversity, or bias issue. As program leader, you have significant influence over the course of anti-bias conflict situations at your program and the potential for positive learning and behavioral outcomes. These efforts do not begin when an angry parent or staff member storms into the office. The program climate you create affects which issues become conflicts, as well as the possibility for productive change through conflict. Uncovering and examining one's own fears about the potential for conflict is [another] important step. As part of being strategic, it is necessary to think realistically about the possible reactions to anti-bias change from the various stakeholders and broader community. At the same time, you do not want fears about those real reactions to rule what you do or don't do. You have to do a mental assessment and determine if your fears stem from a perceived or a real problem.

Conflict among stakeholders about anti-bias work is not, in principle, about winners and losers. Finding win-win solutions to specific conflicts is always the first strategy. However, reality is likely to be more complex.

We have found that working from the concept of conflict maintenance (Olatunji 1998) is particularly useful. From this perspective, you manage conflict in a way that moves the program forward to greater equity and inclusion, rather than simply seeking a quick end to the conflict. Managing conflict productively requires dealing with each situation in its real-life context. You would listen closely to stakeholders, support the respectful sharing of perspectives, and reflect on decisions in the context of multiple views. This requires perseverance and the ability to accept the uncertainly of not knowing the outcome immediately. It also calls on all involved to be open to changing their thinking and to trying out new ways of acting.

Finding the third space

We view the third space as a place where people in conflict, through a distinct process of communication, reach agreement that goes beyond their initial positions. A third-space solution is particularly desirable because it draws on the creativity and openness of both parties to arrive at a new alternative that does not favor either position. This is both an intellectual and emotional experience in which the participants create fresh understandings and solutions. Engaging in it requires that people are willing to enter into dialogue with respect for each other and a willingness to learn (Freire 1970). When possible, the leader models this process in conflicts with stakeholders and facilitates these discussions between teachers and families.

The following steps of acknowledge, ask, and adapt constitute a useful third-space strategy for responding to conflicts, particularly those involving differences in cultural perspectives (adapted from Derman-Sparks 2013).

Step 1: Acknowledge

Acknowledge that a culture or values clash exists

Recognize the feelings for yourself and those involved

Clearly communicate that a problem exists and needs attending

Avoid becoming defensive or rushing to judgment

Step 2: Ask

Collect information that contributes to understanding the underlying issues

Find out what the issue means to the family, what the family would do or has done in the past

Clarify the priorities and the values involved

Examine your own fears and limitations

Be open to the need to learn

Hasten slowly-attend to relationships

Step 3: Adapt

Seek common ground

Think creatively about alternative approaches

Consider ways to adapt program policies and practices

Consider the needs of the child as well as your responsibilities to other children and families

Be honest about nonnegotiable social justice values

Affirm nonnegotiable values

Conflict discussions and the resulting outcomes highlight the complexity of anti-bias work. A basic premise is that the anti-bias approach does not mean that all beliefs and values are acceptable. Rather, the four core goals of anti-bias education create a framework within which discussions take place (Derman-Sparks & Edwards 2010). In a given situation, one or more anti-bias principles may clash. Since these are not abstract discussions, but attempts to reach behavioral decisions, one principle may have more weight than another in any given outcome.

Strategic leadership requires you to step back from the fray in order to see what is going on. Both teachers and families can lock into a particular viewpoint about what is best for the child. At times, cultural practices will come into conflict with anti-bias values, and you will need to tread carefully, show sensitivity, and be understanding of how change can be difficult. You have to try to balance the several values of anti-bias education and create movement toward the program's mission. The hope is that ultimately groups in a conflict come together and create a workable solution. Nevertheless, while it is important not to be dogmatic and inflexible about goals, you also do not want to abandon the nonnegotiable values of the program's anti-bias mission.

Sometimes respecting the desires of families on the one hand, and of practicing nonprejudice and nondiscrimination on the other hand, may be in contradiction. Consider these possibilities: A parent tells the teacher that he does not want a child with a disability in his son's class because the child will take up too much of the teacher's time. Another parent informs the teacher she does not want her daughter sitting next to a child whose mother is incarcerated. She is afraid that the child will be a bad influence or hurt her own child. Finally, a parent asks the teacher to keep his child out of the dramatic play area because playing there undermines cultural values about the role of men.

How can you balance the principles of respect for a family's beliefs and of nonprejudice and discrimination in these situations? Finding a resolution begins with communicating:

I understand that you are uncomfortable with your child learning about this aspect of diversity. Here at the center we believe strongly that we have to be inclusive of every family. That makes it tough for us to resolve your concern. Tell me more about why you feel so strongly. What might make it more comfortable for you, even though we cannot do what you are asking because it discriminates against other children?

Fortunately, most conflict situations that rest on cultural differences in childrearing practices have reachable solutions. All parties usually have to accept some changes from what they had wanted. Sometimes the balance tips in favor of the family's needs, at other times in favor of the program. In some cases, you would need to make a final decision, especially when the issue concerns what happens at the program or affects the community rather than a single family or staff member. If it is about a practice at the center, you may need to say, "Well, this is the best we can do," and the parent may respond, "Okay, we can live with that." If it is a practice in the home, ultimately the parents have the right to make that decision if it does not affect what happens in the program.

You will also have times when you have to let go of a desired outcome, at least for the time being, in order to build deeper relationships of trust in the program. We have found that even when a third-space outcome is not possible, staff, families, and administrators still learn from the exploration of the multiple perspectives about the specific conflict. Deeper and more authentic relationships often result.

Concluding thoughts: Documenting the shift toward anti-bias change

Program leaders have an ethical responsibility to hold themselves accountable to move forward in their anti-bias mission. Documenting change in a program's culture, staff, and leadership throughout the year guides the forward movement of anti-bias work. You can identify accomplishments, what more needs doing, and the patterns of change in your program at the individual, classroom, and program levels. Revisions in practice and policy; transformations in beliefs, assumptions, and attitudes; and shifts in the relationships among community members are all part of what gets documented and analyzed.

One of the key challenges for you is capturing the changes in a staff's consciousness as well as the quality of adult-child and adult-adult interactions and relationships. The authenticity and effectiveness of an anti-bias program is as much a function of these elements as it is a result of changes in the curriculum and learning materials. Although documenting changes in consciousness and interactions is delicate, it is important to try.

On a more personal level, we see [the documentation] process as an important opportunity to celebrate your own and the community's efforts and successes along the way. Change is a long-term undertaking and program leaders do not always see the fruits of their commitment to an anti-bias vision. A clear picture of where you have been and where you are now in the journey helps sustain you.

Copyright © 2015 by Teachers College, Columbia University.

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Building Anti-Bias Early Childhood Programs: The Role of the Leader

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An anti-bias early childhood care and education (ECCE) program puts diversity and equity goals at the center of all aspects of its organization and daily life.

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We are an interdisciplinary research center focused on producing pioneering research on the structures and processes that impact daily life for children and families in a rapidly evolving world.

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California Teaching Pyramid | California MAP to Inclusion & Belonging

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The California Collaborative on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning (California CSEFEL) is led by the CA CSEFEL Leadership Team (PDF) that includes many state agencies and their training partners. Leadership Team members work together to promote the Teaching Pyramid Framework (PD…

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Social Emotional Health and Development Multilingual Toolkit

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Social Emotional Health and Development Multilingual Toolkit

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2) How do I foster the social-emotional health and development of Multilingual Learners?
Social-emotional support is critical for all young learners, particularly for Multilingual Learners (MLs). Children who speak a language other than English may need additional support from teachers to make sure they feel comfortable and included in the classroom and to ensure they have meaningful access to all learning opportunities. Engaging with children and families in a friendly and accepting way helps foster self-confidence and family pride and conveys a message of caring and respect for the family and child.see 21 Inviting families to contribute to their children's education promotes social-emotional well-being. Additionally, using the home language and incorporating their culture in classroom activities is a positive message that gives social-emotional support for young ML children. In fact, research shows that teachers' use of the home language is related to social-emotional competence among young MLs.22 ML children should be encouraged to speak in their language of choice and educators can provide space for their full range of expression, whether this is verbal or non-verbal, and opportunities for ML children to share their own language with the class.23 Classrooms and schools should be responsive to the strengths, needs, and identities of MLs, and build upon their strengths to create a safe and affirming learning environment (EL Roadmap, Principle One), including drawing from anti-bias training and trauma-informed practices. Teachers should make it a point to become familiar with available culturally and linguistically responsive resources in order to assist families with health, mental health, and basic needs (e.g., nutrition, housing, legal resources). Such efforts increase awareness of and respect for different languages and cultures and foster an inclusive and diverse classroom culture that celebrates the strengths and differences of all children and families.

Sample Lesson Plan & Resource Walk

Access additional resources developed to introduce teachers to the work of supporting MLs' social-emotional health and development. These activities, a sample lesson plan and a resource walk, are designed to support learning about this instructional topic area through structured exploration of resources on the website. Click the buttons below to access these resources.

Strategies in action

Evidence-Based Strategies and Resources

2A) Engage individually with ML children in a warm and inclusive way. Take time to build trust, respect, and strong relationships with children and their families.

2B) Help ML children join fully in group learning settings by providing opportunities to have a role in small and large groups.

2C) Provide opportunities for ML children to build friendships and relationships and to meaningfully participate in peer social interactions.

2D) Provide opportunities for ML children who speak the same home language to serve as peer support for each other.

2E) Provide adequate time for informal learning and exploration to help develop relationships within the classroom.

Strategies are interrelated

Individual strategies across the different instructional topics are interconnected and should be implemented together, in a purposeful and connected manner throughout instruction, and not in isolation. Make sure to also consider your classroom or school's language model when implementing the strategies and adapt accordingly.

Visit how to use this site >

Alignment with Existing California Educator Guidance Documents & Resources

The Multilingual Learning strategies are closely aligned with existing guidance documents and resources for educators in California. Learn how Social-emotional Health and Development strategies align with these existing resources, or to see how the standards align across all strategies, visit the alignment reference guide page.

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Social-Emotional Health and Development * Multilingual Learning Toolkit

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Social-emotional support is critical for all young learners, particularly for Multilingual Learners (MLs). Multilingual Learners Toolkit

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Foster knowledge, skills, and attitudes across five areas of social and emotional competence;

Establish equitable learning environments and coordinate practices across four key settings that support students' social, emotional, and academic development.

Download more information on the framework (available in and Spanish).

Use our reflection protocol to facilitate a discussion on implementation efforts in your school, district, or other setting.

Read more about the 2020 update to our framework, which highlighted the potential of SEL in promoting educational equity and excellence.

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Communities

Communities. Community partners often provide safe and developmentally rich settings for learning and development, have deep understanding of community needs and assets, are seen as trusted partners by families and students, and have connections to additional supports and services that school and families need. Community programs also offer opportunities for young people to practice their social and emotional skills in settings that are both personally relevant and can open opportunities for their future. To integrate SEL efforts across the school day and out-of-school time, school staff and community partners should align on common language and coordinate strategies and communication around SEL-related efforts and initiatives.
Learn more: CASEL Guide to Schoolwide SEL - Community Partnerships

Families & Caregivers

Families & Caregivers. When schools and families form authentic partnerships, they can build strong connections that reinforce students' social and emotional development. Families and caregivers are children's first teachers, and bring deep expertise about their development, experiences, culture, and learning needs. These insights and perspectives are critical to informing, supporting, and sustaining SEL efforts. Research suggests that evidence-based SEL programs are more effective when they extend into the home, and families are far more likely to form partnerships with schools when their schools' norms, values, and cultural representations reflect their own experiences. Schools need inclusive decision-making processes that ensure that families-particularly those from historically marginalized groups-are part of planning, implementing, and continuously improving SEL.

Schools can also create other avenues for family partnership that may include creating ongoing two-way communication with families, helping caregivers understand child development, helping teachers understand family backgrounds and cultures, providing opportunities for families to volunteer in schools, extending learning activities and discussions into homes, and coordinating family services with community partners. These efforts should engage families in understanding, experiencing, informing, and supporting the social and emotional development of their students.
Learn more: CASEL Guide to Schoolwide SEL - Family Partnerships

Schools

Schools. Effectively integrating SEL schoolwide involves ongoing planning, implementation, evaluation, and continuous improvement by all members of the school community. SEL efforts both contribute to and depend upon a school climate where all students and adults feel respected, supported, and engaged.

Because the school setting includes many contexts-classrooms, hallways, cafeteria, playground, bus-fostering a healthy school climate and culture requires active engagement from all adults and students. A strong school culture is rooted in students' sense of belonging, with evidence that suggests that it plays a crucial role in students' engagement. SEL also offers an opportunity to enhance existing systems of student support by integrating SEL goals and practices with universal, targeted, and intensive academic and behavioral supports. By coordinating and building upon SEL practices and programs, schools can create an environment that infuses SEL into every part of students' educational experience and promotes positive social, emotional, and academic outcomes for all students.
Learn more: CASEL Guide to Schoolwide SEL

Classrooms

Classrooms. Research has shown that social and emotional competence can be enhanced using a variety of classroom-based approaches such as: (a) explicit instruction through which social and emotional skills and attitudes are taught and practiced in developmentally, contextually, and culturally responsive ways; (b) teaching practices such as cooperative learning and project-based learning; and (c) integration of SEL and academic curriculum such as language arts, math, science, social studies, health, and performing arts. High-quality SEL instruction has four elements represented by the acronym SAFE: Sequenced - following a coordinated set of training approaches to foster the development of competencies; Active - emphasizing active forms of learning to help students practice and master new skills; Focused - implementing curriculum that intentionally emphasizes the development of SEL competencies; and Explicit - defining and targeting specific skills, attitudes, and knowledge.

SEL instruction is carried out most effectively in nurturing, safe environments characterized by positive, caring relationships among students and teachers. To facilitate age-appropriate and culturally responsive instruction, adults must understand and appreciate the unique strengths and needs of each student and support students' identities. When adults incorporate students' personal experiences and cultural backgrounds and seek their input, they create an inclusive classroom environment where students are partners in the educational process, elevating their own agency. Strong relationships between adults and students can facilitate co-learning, foster student and adult growth, and generate collaborative solutions to shared concerns.
Learn more: CASEL Guide to Effective SEL Programs

Self-Awareness

Self-awareness: The abilities to understand one's own emotions, thoughts, and values and how they influence behavior across contexts. This includes capacities to recognize one's strengths and limitations with a well-grounded sense of confidence and purpose.

Such as:

Integrating personal and social identities

Identifying personal, cultural, and linguistic assets

Identifying one's emotions

Demonstrating honesty and integrity

Linking feelings, values, and thoughts

Examining prejudices and biases

Experiencing self-efficacy

Having a growth mindset

Developing interests and a sense of purpose

Check out this video from PBS Learning Media for more information.

Self-Management

Self-management: The abilities to manage one's emotions, thoughts, and behaviors effectively in different situations and to achieve goals and aspirations. This includes the capacities to delay gratification, manage stress, and feel motivation and agency to accomplish personal and collective goals.

Such as:

Managing one's emotions

Identifying and using stress management strategies

Exhibiting self-discipline and self-motivation

Setting personal and collective goals

Using planning and organizational skills

Showing the courage to take initiative

Demonstrating personal and collective agency

Check out this video from PBS Learning Media for more information.

Social Awareness

Social awareness: The abilities to understand the perspectives of and empathize with others, including those from diverse backgrounds, cultures, and contexts. This includes the capacities to feel compassion for others, understand broader historical and social norms for behavior in different settings, and recognize family, school, and community resources and supports.

Such as:

Taking others' perspectives

Recognizing strengths in others

Demonstrating empathy and compassion

Showing concern for the feelings of others

Understanding and expressing gratitude

Identifying diverse social norms, including unjust ones

Recognizing situational demands and opportunities

Understanding the influences of organizations and systems on behavior

Check out this video from PBS Learning Media for more information.

Responsible Decision-Making

Responsible decision-making: The abilities to make caring and constructive choices about personal behavior and social interactions across diverse situations. This includes the capacities to consider ethical standards and safety concerns, and to evaluate the benefits and consequences of various actions for personal, social, and collective well-being.

Such as:

Demonstrating curiosity and open-mindedness

Learning how to make a reasoned judgment after analyzing information, data, and facts

Identifying solutions for personal and social problems

Anticipating and evaluating the consequences of one's actions

Recognizing how critical thinking skills are useful both inside and outside of school

Reflecting on one's role to promote personal, family, and community well-being

Evaluating personal, interpersonal, community, and institutional impacts

Check out this video from PBS Learning Media for more information.

Relationship Skills

Relationship skills: The abilities to establish and maintain healthy and supportive relationships and to effectively navigate settings with diverse individuals and groups. This includes the capacities to communicate clearly, listen actively, cooperate, work collaboratively to problem solve and negotiate conflict constructively, navigate settings with differing social and cultural demands and opportunities, provide leadership, and seek or offer help when needed.

Such as:

Communicating effectively

Developing positive relationships

Demonstrating cultural competency

Practicing teamwork and collaborative problem-solving

Resolving conflicts constructively

Resisting negative social pressure

Showing leadership in groups

Seeking or offering support and help when needed

Standing up for the rights of others

Check out this video from PBS Learning Media for more information.

Social & Emotional Learning

Social and emotional learning (SEL) is an integral part of education and human development. SEL is the process through which all young people and adults acquire and apply the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to develop healthy identities, manage emotions and achieve personal and collective goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain supportive relationships, and make responsible and caring decisions.

SEL advances educational equity and excellence through authentic school-family-community partnerships to establish learning environments and experiences that feature trusting and collaborative relationships, rigorous and meaningful curriculum and instruction, and ongoing evaluation. SEL can help address various forms of inequity and empower young people and adults to co-create thriving schools and contribute to safe, healthy, and just communities.

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Our SEL framework, known to many as the "CASEL wheel," helps cultivate skills and environments that advance students' learning and development.

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At Home Learning: BEFORE our Profesional Learning, Please review the Sections of the Social Interaction Strand

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PCF Pg 62-77

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Learning Social Emotional Skills in Preschool

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Learning Social Emotional Skills in Preschool

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Learning Social and Emotional Skills in Pre-School

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NEED HELP? PERSONAL SHOPPER SERVICE

We're happy to offer advice on the best books to meet your needs. For customers who wish to save time ordering, check out our Bilingual Book Sets and our free Personal Shopper Service.

Top Selling Recommendations

You want the best for your young language learners. We offer only high quality, beautifully illustrated, professionally translated books, posters and audio products. Read our testimonials from language experts and customers.

SUPPORTING TEACHERS/PARENTS

Our aim is to help you meet the needs of language learners and diverse classrooms. Our BLOG is filled with articles that support the education of dual-language children and promote literacy. You can also download free multicultural lesson plans that teach all students to appreciate and understand the diversity in our communities.

INSPIRE LANGUAGE LEARNERS

PROMOTE MULTICULTURALISM

Language Lizard offers bilingual books, multicultural books and dual language audio books for kids and English language learners (ELL) of all ages. We work closely with schools and libraries to provide the best books for preschool, kindergarten and elementary language learners. Secondary school and adult English as a Second Language (ESL) students also use our bilingual stories (such as those in our popular World Folktales and Fables collection) to improve their reading and listening skills. Parents of very young children enjoy the bilingual board books and simple bilingual stories to help teach a second language to babies and toddlers in a fun and engaging way. All of our books are dual-language picture books with English and the foreign language (second language) on the page. We also offer multilingual posters that help educators create a welcoming environment in diverse classrooms.

In addition, we offer unique interactive bilingual audio books and book sets that use the Mantra Lingua PENpal Audio Recorder Pen to turn regular bilingual books into audio books. This revolutionary "talking pen" supports reading, writing, speaking and listening for ELL students and foreign language learners. Oral language skills are further enhanced with recordable labels, which allow teachers to personalize instruction to meet the needs of their diverse student populations.

Searching and ordering on our site is simple. You can search by language, age or product type using the list on the left side of our site (note: click on the white box on the top-left if you are on a mobile phone, iPad or small screen). If you click on "Spanish", you will find a robust selection of Spanish children's books, Spanish audio books, Spanish English Bilingual Book sets for kids, an illustrated English Spanish dictionary as well as multilingual posters and teaching cards that include Spanish, English and other languages. Similarly, you can click on "Arabic" and find Arabic children's books, Arabic audio books, Arabic English book sets, an English Arabic dictionary and more. If you click on "Chinese", you will find Chinese children's books, bilingual dictionaries, Chinese audiobooks that can be heard in Cantonese or Mandarin, etc.

So whether you are looking for bilingual children's books in more commonly taught languages such as French, German, Italian and Japanese, or bilingual books for kids in less commonly taught languages such as Hindi, Nepali, Russian and Somali, you can find it easily on our online bookstore. On our product pages you will find full descriptions, a choice of languages, story videos of many of the bilingual titles, and video descriptions of our interactive bilingual audio book sets. Also, be sure to check out our free resources page, sign up to receive our newsletter and free multicultural lesson plans, and read about any special promotions or giveaways on our " Discounts and Promotions" page.

If you need help making product selections, please do not hesitate to contact us. Educators that wish to save time ordering may request the services of our free Personal Shoppers who can place a "pre-order" (or quote). These quotes can be included on official school or library purchase orders.

VACCINES EXPLAINED: BRINGING SCIENCE TO STORY TIME

Throughout recent history, scientists have used vaccines to safeguard the human population from infectious diseases. In fact, due to the success of the smallpox vaccine, the last known outbreak of smallpox in the United States took place in 1949. Currently, the World Health Assembly considers smallpox to be eradicated....

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NEW MULTICULTURAL BOOK SERIES CELEBRATES DIVERSITY, KINDNESS, AND FRIENDSHIP

We are excited to announce the release of our new Language Lizard Living in Harmony Books. These books use colorful multicultural illustrations and simple text to explain concepts of diversity, kindness, and friendship....
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Bilingual Children's Products in Over 50 Languages

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NEED HELP? PERSONAL SHOPPER SERVICE We're happy to offer advice on the best books to meet your needs. For customers who wish to save time ordering, check out our Bilingual Book Sets and our free Personal Shopper Service. Top Selling Recommendations You want the best for your young language learners.

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All About Young Children: Information for Families on Children's Early Development

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All About Young Children: Information for Families on Children's Early Development

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Putting words to our feelings can be a struggle - especially when those words are exchanged with someone we care about on issues packed with emotional complexity.

Emotional complexity is what navigating relationships is all about, according to Erica Chidi in her book, We spied 'The Feeling Circle' in the pages of the new book - an invaluable tool for emotional communication across the board.

The Feelings Circle was originally developed by psychotherapist, Dr. Gloria Willcox to facilitate better verbalization of emotions by her clients. Erica is co-founder and CEO of LOOM, a well-being brand empowering women through sexual and reproductive health. Her book, is full of helpful emotional communication tools for us all.

How To Use The Feelings Circle

Using intellectual language - words that are not connected to your direct experience - can distance you from your emotions and make it more difficult to know what you are truly feeling.

To avoid this, try using simpler, more self-expressive words (emotional language) to explain what you feel. The circle provides some more emotional words you can say in place of intellectual ones.

Feeling the thing: When a feeling starts to arise, look at the wheel.

Get to the core feeling first: Start with the inner-most wheel and move outward, moving from the core feelings toward any associated feelings that might be coming up for you.

How do you feel? If a core emotion is not clear, you can move from the outside in, identifying the associated feeling first and then making your way toward the core emotion. Don't necessarily "hunt" for the right word. Rather, as you look, notice which words resonate with you.

compare feelings: Another way to use the chart is to compare how you're feeling today with how you felt earlier today or even yesterday. For example:

"I'm feeling _________ today, but yesterday I felt _______ and ________. "

Typically you might find that two or even four different emotions apply.

What are your techniques for effective emotional communication?
Learn more about Erica and LOOM here.

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The Feelings Wheel: A Genius Chart for Better Communication

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How are you feeling? Hard to say? Improve your emotional communication skills with this simple tool: The Feelings Circle for adults.

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Social Interaction pg. 62-77

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You've Got to Have Friends ( Friendship Strategies)

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You've Got to Have Friends ( Friendship Strategies)

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Family Partnerships And Culture Communication Strategies

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Family Partnerships And Culture Communication Strategies

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Some Starters for Giving Positive Feedback and Encouragement

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Some Starters for Giving Positive Feedback and Encouragement

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Social Emotional Development: Relationships and Social Interactions with Familiar Adults

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Social Emotional Development: Relationships and Social Interactions with Familiar Adults

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Session 2-Independent Work: SED Social Interactions

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Session 2-Independent Work: SED Social Interactions

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We discussed many strategies and your independent work between now and our final CoP is:

Try at least 3 new strategies to incorporate:

1.What did you try?

2.How did the children respond?

3.What will you do next time you try?

Document evidence of the strategies.

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Session 2 Reflection: SED Social Interaction Strand

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Session 2 Reflection: SED Social Interaction Strand

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Write down three changes or additions you are going to make:

How will you do it?

Which foundations will these changes support?

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Presentation slides. Download and take notes during session.

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Review

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Review

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Group Participation Integration of Social Emotional Foundations

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Group Participation Integration of Social Emotional Foundations