I have found that programs can be a good start, but SEL programs must be infused within every aspect of the school community (classroom, hallways, lunchroom, recess, etc…).  Administration and teachers modeling the behaviors and attending PD that focus on improving their competence in this area is a key.  As a middle school teacher, a great deal of the “teachable moments” are during the transitions from class to class. As small as this may seem, being present in the hallways and speaking with the students while passing or entering your class does create positive relationships and makes students feel welcome.  Within the classroom, it is important for students to create the “norms” or “rules.”   Once these are established and understood, holding them accountable and capitalizing on the teachable moments is crucial.  When students make comments that are unkind (in any capacity), they need to be addressed immediately.  Making sure the classroom environment is inclusive of all!  

Another area where teachers can infuse character education into the curriculum is through the types of questions being presented as well as during collaboration. In the beginning of the year, my students and I practiced using sentence starters to help enhance the dialogue while communicating in small groups and/or in a class discussion. I have a bulletin board with examples (in different languages) that foster deeper discussions and support the development of each student.  Having students collaborate with others, not just their friends is important as it allows students to develop empathy, kindness, social skills, and effective communication skills.   

My co-teacher and I try to implement SEL into all subject areas because taking care of how they are feeling is not something that is only done during certain parts of the day, but skills that should be readily available to them at all times. We also try to lead by example, we use language to express how we are feeling. We talk things through with the class and we try to make personal connections to all of the students in order to read them on their level.

    I relate to each of these skills on many levels in my adolescent life skills classroom. Working with students with disabilities requires building and sustaining social skills to help them thrive in relationships with peers, friends, coworkers and family members. Our students in the High School go to jobs both in the building and out to job sites. That being said, its imperative that they gain the skills necessary to problem solve and navigate through social situations independently. For instance, before specific events or affairs we will often role-play the anticipated situation and model appropriateness for students. 

The article provides a variety of strategies on both the building and the school levels to promote SEL. Being a home provider as well, I look forward to creating opportunities for social skills groups  in the community and the homes to enhance social connections and emotional development.

In my lessons, I address the main tenets of SEL by conducting community circles and mindful Monday activities. Community circles allow students a safe place to discuss how they are feeling and promote self reflection. Questions may be simplistic like "how are you feeling today" to something more deep like "How do you respond in a time of crisis"

Currently, I am in an autistic 6:1:2 classroom where we try to incorporate these skills on a daily basis, yet much more simplistically. We work on knowing all the students/teachers names, sharing, giving items to classmates and saying please/thank you when someone helps us. The 5 key skills mentioned in the article are all delayed with my students so regulation of emotions, etc. has a lot to do with the student/teacher/TA relationship. My staff and I try to know the students before we push more difficult academics on them. We never yell, unless there is something extremely serious taking place which is not often. We are also constantly on the same page. If "mom" says no, you can't ask "dad" in my classroom. The students pick up on this fact and trust us when we say something. This decreases emotional distress when they know the outcomes don't change by the day. We have to be a team, for this to effectively work!

In my classroom, I hope to incorporate more activities where students can turn and talk to one another about the material we just learned to build new relationships and conversation skills.

One way I incorporate character education and SEL into my classroom is by explicitly teaching about a character trait. Each month, we read stories and watch videos about the character trait. We then have students reflect on the trait and share ways they can demonstrate this character trait in and out of the classroom. Every morning, I greet students at their door. Students have the choice of waving, fist pumping, high fiving, hugging, or dancing to greet their teacher. With this greeting, students feel welcomed and safe. I have one student who told me they do not like hugs, but ever since I have developed this warm and safe environment every day, this child gives me a hug almost every morning. It is a great feeling knowing that this child has adapted and feels safe in my classroom. I am still looking forward to learning more about incorporating character education into my classroom. 

In my classroom, I believe I do teach some of these skills but not on the level I would like to. I hope to incorporate more character building throughout my lessons with the right resources.

This article serves as a nice reminder because some days I am more confident of taking the time where others I am not. On those days I don't feel confident in taking the time or that my efforts are not working, I remind myself that my students love coming to school and they love sharing with the class or with me.

Infusing character into my curriculum involves embedding SEL principles into various subjects and lessons. For example, during literature discussions, we explore characters' emotions and motivations, encouraging empathy and perspective-taking. In math or science, we emphasize teamwork and problem-solving, fostering collaboration and resilience. Additionally, dedicating specific time for SEL lessons or activities ensures that students have dedicated opportunities to develop these skills intentionally. Moving forward, I aim to continue prioritizing character education and SEL in my classroom by incorporating more interactive and experiential learning opportunities. Whether through role-playing scenarios, community service projects, or mindfulness exercises, I hope to create a supportive learning environment where students feel valued, respected, and empowered to thrive not just academically, but also socially and emotionally.

I've observed firsthand how SEL improves not just academic achievement, but also prosocial behaviors and overall student well-being. As the article notes, "Research shows that SEL not only improves achievement by an average of 11 percentile points, but it also increases prosocial behaviors (such as kindness, sharing, and empathy)."

To infuse character education and SEL into my curriculum, I use targeted read alouds and leverage teachable moments. For instance, I'll choose books that demonstrate key SEL skills like resilience or empathy, followed by discussions on how we can apply these skills in our own lives.

Teachable moments offer spontaneous opportunities to reinforce SEL concepts. When conflicts arise during group work, I guide students through understanding each other's perspectives and finding solutions together, promoting "Relationship Skills" and "Social Awareness" as highlighted in the article.

By integrating SEL into daily interactions, I create a classroom where students learn to "know and can manage themselves, understand the perspectives of others and relate effectively with them, make sound choices about personal and social decisions." This approach not only enhances academic achievement but also equips students with essential life skills.

Reading the list of short and long term outcomes from SEL programs is encouraging. In our ever increasingly anxious world, it is positive to know that these initiatives can and do make a difference.

In my classroom I use poignant pictures book such as Enemy Pie, Ruby Finds a Worry, and The Invisible Boy to cultivate a classroom language around Social Emotional learning. Students often see themselves in stories and find ways to problem solve by learning from characters.

In my district we do a lot of SEL throughout the year. Some is on the building level, others are specific to a certain grade level.  One in particular that I enjoy is how every month a new topic/ skill is introduced through a children's book. The whole school engages in reading the book and completeing corresponding activties and lessons. Each grade level can modify the lessons as needed and add to them when they feel necessary.  This is a great way to build community and a sense of SEL across the building.

Each year I look forward to focusing on SEL in a new way. It truly is a way to connect with my students and it helps to create a safe and respectful classroom enviornment. I usually take the first few days of school to focus on SEL activities and team building for it will set the tone for the rest of the school year!

Most of my teaching of the five components of SEL are explicit lessons with ample opportunities for student involvement and time to practice different skills. However, many picture books and social studies units lend themselves beautifully to embedding SEL topics within them. In the area of Self Awareness, students learn to identify their feelings and more importantly, what is creating those emotions. In the Self Management Tier, we have a "reset button" hanging on the wall. Children can tap this button and reset their behavior when needed. We always have a chance to learn and change anything that no longer suits us. I'm always amazed at how Social Awareness comes so naturally to some and how it needs to be explicitly taught to others. Teaching empathy, to truly feel what another person is feeling can take effort at this age but the benefits will be lifelong! Relationship Skills such as communicating, negotiating, cooperating and active listening are reinforced during partner work throughout the day. Children learn that we all have opinions and they don't have to be the same as one another. We learn the art of negotiating and agreeing to disagree peacefully. Finally, Responsible Decision Making is a skill that ensures we are making the best choices we can. When students deeply know who they are, understand the perspectives of others, and learn to make sound choices, they will go far in life.

My school district is rapidly becoming more diverse the many of the things highlighted in the article are crucial for us to implement in order to facilitate the new demographics of our district. One area is discipline, we need more restorative practices to meet students where they are and give them the support needed to reach their best educational outcomes.

Additionally, parent outreach is increasingly important. Many of these parents come from different cultures or may speak different languages, and we need to work harder to make them part of the process of learning and supporting the their children. As the article says-"Family and community partnerships can strengthen the impact of school approaches to extending learning into the home and neighborhood. Community members and organizations can support classroom and school efforts, especially by providing students with additional opportunities to refine and apply various SEL skills"

The next paragraph goes into research that was done about SEL and how things improve so much for students. My student from last year came into my class on a kindergarten level for both math and ela. After leaving my class he was on a late second grade 3rd grade level in math and late 1st early 2nd grade level in ELA. Working with him through his behaviors and things that made him upset and finding coping skills to teach him on his own how to get through how he is feeling allowed him to excel in the classroom. This students parent reported mid year he used to hate reading and never believed he would be able to read. Mom reported at the end of the year my student was using YouTube and searching up things to help him learn how to read. This student and his success is clear that without Social Emotional Learning last year he would not have shown the success he did.

"SEL can also be fostered in many settings other than school. SEL begins in early childhood, so family and early childcare settings are important (Bierman & Motamedi, 2015)." This quote taken from the article made me sit and think about multiple students I had last year and others. A couple of my students have difficult home lives and those students struggle with their emotions and their outlook around school. What more can schools do to support these types of students? Where students are homeless and parents have to work day and night just to put food on the table, or where students have parents/ or a parent in and out of their lives with no home stability. The students that have these things going on in their life need as much support throughout our schools as possible. Social Emotional Learning is so important to teach all students, but especially to teach those students who don't always get that support else where besides school.

The article discusses that the five key components to successful and effective SEL are self awareness, self management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision making. After reading this and as I incorporate SEL in my curriculum I will make sure my lesson hits one of these components. I will also make sure by the end of the year I have hit all five components. The research has showed there are many positive outcomes to this. As a teacher I think it is important to teach lessons with SEL, but I have also found many teaching points when situations arise. As a resource room teacher, I have found that my students like to tell me things and if they are having problems they come to me. When I am talking to them about situations that happened it is a great learning time for them, even though they do not realize. Having the flexibility of a small group setting and the students loving to share different things I have found I am able to teach SEL through talking interactions with them. We have discussed how to go about friendships, stress and more. 

Another quote that stuck out to me was, “SEL can also be fostered in many settings other than school. SEL begins in early childhood, so family and early childcare settings are important (Bierman & Motamedi, 2015). Higher education settings also have the potential to promote SEL (Conley, 2015).”  As teachers everyday we are trying to incorporate SEL in the classroom, but it is still just as important outside the classroom. I begin to think about my students that come from hard home lives or do not have some of the same opportunities. How as teachers can we help these students so that this is continued in every aspect of their life? I find that the students that come in with harder home lives have a harder time navigating SEL lessons. How can we help these students outside of school? This quote discusses that these settings are just as important as school.  

For example, when working on collaborative projects, I incorporate lessons on teamwork and conflict resolution, teaching students how to navigate disagreements respectfully. Additionally, I integrate mindfulness exercises to help students manage stress and focus on their learning.

I plan to further weave character education into my curriculum by linking it to the academic content. For instance, We discuss historical figures and their decisions and moral dilemmas to highlight themes like integrity and compassion.

Additionally, we analyze historical events through the view of justice and leadership, encouraging students to reflect on the ethical implications of actions taken by individuals or groups.

One way I help promote these skills occurs when discussing a lesson as a class. I encourage students to share their thoughts and opinions without judgement, reminding everyone to be respectful of the speaker, put their hands down and look at the speaker. Kind, helpful comments about other's artwork are also stressed. We explore feelings when working on portraits; discussing how to show different emotions through facial expressions and how feelings are normal. I plan to spend more time on this and will encourage students to share emotions by posting a feelings chart.

The article mentions that effective social and emotional learning incorporates the family and community with the classroom. In my school we have many events such as a "Multi-Cultural Night" where families are encouraged to attend and be involved. Students can bring in a dish related to their cultural identity. Each class researches a different country and creates a display representing their country. "Parent Square" is an ap that my school uses to communicate with parents. It automatically translates whatever is posted and you can post a group or private message. I plan to use this more often to share class activities, discuss challenges students may be facing and encourage the school to home connection.

Honestly, this article brings about many valid points about social and emotional learning, and yet I am so disheartened by how often programs are implemented ineffectively within school districts. I have witnessed a number of programs come in and out of my building alone, all of which eventually dwindled and were forgotten. My building has had speakers, professional development meetings, and faculty meeting presentations regarding social and emotional learning; however, if there is no follow through with administration, or no “buy in” from the faculty, it doesn’t work effectively. In the article it states, “effective social and emotional learning programming involves coordinated classroom, schoolwide, family, and community practices” (/video/5-keys-successful-social-and-emotional-learning). This demonstrates how everyone must become involved for this to work.

Something that stood out within the article was “SEL not only improves achievement by an average of 11 percentile points, but it also increases prosocial behaviors (such as kindness, sharing, and empathy)”. This statement is extremely important in the climate of education, motivating students, and engagement. I find that students are often “bored” or “off task”, which can be due to a number of factors, but this also can be detrimental to grades and behavior. Many students lack the initial foundation of kindness, sharing, or empathy. Can students learn these traits, of course, but it must be conducted thoroughly. I think that those traits are the true forefront to students being able to understand and utilize schooling successfully.

“Teachers can also naturally foster skills in students through their use of interpersonal and student-centered instructional interactions throughout the school day.” Some things that I utilize in my classroom already would be a weekly mood meter, my “Check-in” chart, and mindfulness music during classwork. Sometimes I even need to “Check-in” with myself and the students really enjoy being able to state whether they are “Great”, “Meh”, or “Struggling”.

I also usually try to choose supplemental videos, shorts, or excerpts to help express social emotional traits. Some 7th grade students have a difficult time finding characterization while reading books or short stories; these shorts and excerpts help engage their thinking in a shortened frame. Lately, I have been using “Bluey” episodes, as the kids actively engage with their thinking while watching, but understand the concepts quicker. The discussions that follow are usually eye-opening and uplifting. Lastly, I would like to start using “constructive feedback” within small groups and “role playing” to help engage their thinking while reading curriculum leveled text.

The article's emphasis on SEL aligns with my approach, as research supports the idea that fostering self-awareness and emotional regulation improves academic outcomes. Strategies like guided self-reflection, mindfulness exercises, and collaborative problem-solving can help frustrated students regain confidence. Research-backed techniques such as metacognitive questioning—where students think about their thinking—or peer tutoring could also be beneficial in building perseverance and problem-solving skills.

This article explains the 5 key skills of social emotional learning (SEL) - self awareness, self management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision making. It discusses the importance of teaching SEL to students in classrooms, schools, and within the community, and it provides examples on how to do so within each tier. The benefits of SEL mentioned in the article are as follows: improved academic success, reduced stress, reduced behavior issues both in school and out of school, builds positive relationships at school and at home, and leads to better mental health. These effects are both short term and long term.

The article mentions that teachers must model and explicitly teach SEL in their classrooms. I constantly model and teach SEL in my classroom in various ways, but I would like to become more intentional with this in my own classroom objectives. I would like to start adding specific SEL objectives to my lessons to supplement my content objectives. This will allow the students to know which SEL skills are being focused on and practiced in our lesson. Applying the appropriate SEL language to our practices will help the students implement these skills outside the classroom. I would also like to create assignments that the students can bring home with them to involve their families in order to improve the communication and involvement of their families in our SEL practices.

My district has several teams that consist of teachers, administrators, and students to address the SEL needs to students within our school. The article states that these teams are important to promote fair and equitable discipline policies. I like that our school includes the students on the team so it gives them a chance to participate in the decision making. My school also uses community circles - small groups of students that meet with their assigned teachers once a month to focus on self awareness, self management, conduct fun non-academic related activities, and building positive relationships. These practices help make my school a safe and positive climate where students can build positive relationships and practice their SEL skills in various settings.

As a social worker, I understand how critical it is for children to have their emotional needs met before they are able to learn. As a Tier 1 support, I push into classrooms to teach SEL skills. The lessons are relevant to the student's real life experiences, and the teachings support targeted interventions. For example, conversations about making responsible choices or showing self-control are reinforced during peer mediations, behavior consultations, post-discipline reflections, or social skills groups. It's important for SEL to be integrated throughout the multi-tiered systems of supports.

SEL is essential in today’s diverse educational landscape as it equips students with crucial skills leading to improved academic performance, positive behaviors, and better long-term outcomes in school and life. One area that I can improve is addressing building climate. Staff often feel burnt out, parents angry, and students frustrated. I plan to collaborate with the building administrators to create engaging opportunities and events for staff and families. These community partnerships are fundamental for successful implementation of SEL.

I often express that "when you feel your best, you do your best," which holds true in the context of education and classroom dynamics. It is now well established that addressing the needs of the whole child and fostering a safe and inclusive environment are directly linked to academic success. I am glad to see that many school districts are recognizing this reality, leading to the integration of character education as an essential component of school communities.

In both my classroom and district, this philosophy is actively enforced through a dedicated 25-minute morning meeting block integrated into our daily schedule. During this time, we do not conduct pull-outs or related services, allowing us to concentrate on building our classroom community using the Responsive Classroom approach. I am committed to implementing Responsive Classroom principles consistently while engaging in ongoing conversations with my students throughout the day, reinforcing their importance and sense of belonging.

The way I would like to be able to incorporate this into my own lessons is exactly as that -- to be able to tie it into experiences in a genuine way, almost where students don't necessarily even realize that is what we are doing. There is some push-back when it comes to SEL, where other teachers sometimes view it as "corny" or "🤬 donkey." In those cases, the activities are not developed in a way that fluidly aligns into classroom tasks and experiences. I don't yet know how to do this because I haven't learned a lot of strategies, but that is my goal. I want student buy-in, and I want to be able to do it in a way where middle school students don't see it as something silly.

I thought it was very helpful and interesting that the article provided many great ways in which we as teachers can build SEL in our classroom, and also how schools in general can support it as well. I look forward to implementing SEL into my classroom using different strategies that I have learned, and I am excited to keep on gaining knowledge on how I can continue to do so.

One way I plan to do this is by starting the day with morning meetings. These will give students a chance to check in with how they are feeling, set personal goals, and share in a supportive space. It is a simple way to build self-awareness and social awareness while helping the class feel more connected.

I also want to bring character building into group work. Whenever students work on projects together, I will include activities and reflections that focus on listening, cooperating, and solving problems respectfully. After working together, students can think about what went well and what they would like to do better next time. This helps them practice real-life skills they will use everywhere.

Books are another great way to teach these lessons. When we read stories, we can talk about the choices characters make and what we might do in their place. These conversations encourage empathy and help students think about how their decisions affect others.

Finally, I know modeling is so important. I want my students to see what it looks like to stay calm and work through challenges. Whether it is taking a deep breath during a stressful moment or using positive self-talk, I plan to show them strategies for managing emotions.

I also believe strongly in the importance of self-management and teaching students' strategies to manage their emotions, behaviors, and responsibilities so they can be successful both in and out of the classroom.

This article confirmed much of what I strive to do on a daily basis as a special education teacher in a third-grade integrated co-teaching setting. It reminded me of the effort my co-teacher and I put into creating a caring and respectful classroom climate. This is critical to student learning and development.

In our classroom, social emotional learning and character education are woven into many aspects of our day. Our daily morning meetings build a predictable routine where students practice relationship skills, empathy, and active listening. They greet one another, share personal experiences, and learn to both express and respect different perspectives. These consistent routines provide a foundation for the development of interpersonal skills.

Our ticket jar, which highlights when students are “caught being kind,” has been one of our more powerful tools for recognizing and reinforcing positive and desired behavior. The purpose of this classroom incentive is to create a n environment in which kindness is visible and celebrated. Students begin to recognize that small actions, such as helping a classmate, offering a compliment, or resolving a conflict in a calm manner, can make a big difference in our classroom and across our school building. 

Books such as The Magical Yet, The Invisible Boy, and There’s Only One You provide opportunities for students to reflect on character traits, challenges, and emotions through the literature. These texts encourage conversations, writing responses, and goal-setting that tie directly to elements of social emotional learning which include self-awareness, social awareness, and responsible decision-making. Our “Hopes and Dreams” bulletin board, which is created at the start of the school year, serves as a reminder of students’ goals and promotes a growth mindset. 

Additionally, the Second Step program, facilitated by our school social worker, offers explicit instruction within the areas of emotion regulation, empathy, and problem-solving. It aligns with the SAFE approach described in the article and gives our students a shared language for navigating challenges or difficult moments. 

In the future, I hope to further integrate character education across subject areas and make interdisciplinary connections. This includes weaving social emotional learning objectives into content area lessons, such as practicing empathy during reader’s workshop or identifying moments where they persevered during a STEAM challenge. I would also like to plan more student-led reflection routines, where students are given the opportunity to self-assess their emotional responses and choices throughout the week.

Another area I am looking forward to  growing is student leadership and ownership. Students currently have classroom responsibilities such as “Teacher Assistant” and “Messenger” but perhaps by introducing roles such as "Kindness Leader” students will take a more active role in shaping our learning community, giving them opportunities to model the positive character traits that we look for in our students on a daily basis. 

I also hope to strengthen the home-school connection around social emotional learning. My co-teacher and I currently have a weekly newsletter, in which we describe the work that we have done across subjects throughout the week and what we look forward to accomplishing in the week ahead. However, by sending home weekly prompts or sharing the social emotional learning vocabulary that is being used within the Second Step program in class, families can more easily support their children’s social-emotional growth at home, creating a strong home-school connection. 

The Edutopia article confirms that social emotional learning and character education are necessary for our students and not optional areas of instruction. As an educator, I have seen how character education can improve student behavior and lead to academic success. Through small moves in the classroom involving social emotional learning and character education, students feel seen and valued. I know that I will remain committed to continuing this work and finding new and creative ways to infuse character education into our classroom, ensuring that our students leave third grade as kinder, more confident and connected individuals.

This article just reaffirms all that we have done in our classroom to support our students' social-emotional learning.  Beginning each day with a morning meeting allows our students to build connections and relationships with their peers and focuses on developing key character skills, including empathy,  respect, and compassion.  This designated time in the morning helps to ensure students feel comfortable, safe, and valued in our classroom.  Another way we infuse social emotional learning into our classroom is through different activities.  Students participate in various team-building activities or STEAM challenges that require them to use important skills like communication, compromise, and problem-solving in order to be successful in the activity.  With each of these activities, there is always a portion where students reflect, both on themselves and on how they worked collectively as a group.  This ensures they are consistently thinking about how they can improve their social-emotional and character skills for the future.  Additionally, in our classroom, we infuse character education through our various read-alouds.  These read-alouds are both picture books that support a theme we are focusing on that week or our mentor texts for our reading and writing units.  Both of these types of read-alouds lead to meaningful discussions with our class about specific topics, including kindness, being unique, and achieving the goals we set out for ourselves. I’m eager to explore new ways to weave character development into all areas of our classroom and curriculum, ensuring students leave third grade with a strong foundation in these essential life skills.

This summer I have the opportunity to work with some students to help maintain their skills for the fall.  On the first day that I met them, I asked them questions about themselves to help me better connect with them and connect what we were doing with their interests. The difference from week one, where I just had a reading or math activity for them, to week two where I was able to make it themed to their interests was incredible.  They were so much more engaged, willing to do the work and share what they already knew about the topic as well. Due to the fact that they were more engaged, we had less behavior issues and more students focused on the task. I was fortunate that I have these students in groups of two or three so I can really tailor my teaching to their needs and their interests. I’m also able to let them make a choice in which work that they complete. In allowing them to make the decision, giving them some of the power (to still complete the necessary work), makes them feel good about what they are doing because they chose it. 

The article highlights five key SEL competencies: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making. Effective SEL programs help students develop all five of these essential skills. One that stands out most to me is relationship skills. In my experience, building strong relationships with students early in the year is the key to a successful classroom. Students need to feel loved, cared for, and supported in order to fully engage and succeed. Without that sense of connection and trust, it becomes much harder for them to thrive in other areas of development.

One way I build these relationships is by having students fill out a beginning-of-year questionnaire where they share their interests, favorite subjects, family life, and personal goals. This helps me get to know each child on a deeper level so I can better meet their individual needs.

I also appreciated learning about the SAFE acronym for effective SEL programs: sequenced, active, focused, and explicit. The word explicit stood out to me the most. Every student has unique needs and may require different tools to be successful. It is our job as educators to be intentional and thoughtful in how we deliver SEL, ensuring we are targeting specific social and emotional skills in meaningful ways.

In my classroom, one of the ways I support self-management is by having a calm-down corner. This space includes tools like fidgets, drawing supplies, tracing boards, and posters with strategies students can use to self-regulate. Students are free to use this space when they need a break, and it often helps them return to class with a clearer, calmer mindset. For some students who need additional support, I use a number scale. If they point to numbers 0 to 4, they are feeling confident. A score of 5 or 6 means they are feeling off-balance, and anything above 6 signals that they may need teacher support or strategies such as taking a walk, using the calm-down corner, or practicing breathing exercises.

One of the most powerful outcomes of SEL is how it fosters more positive attitudes toward oneself, others, and school. Students develop confidence, persistence, empathy, self-efficacy, and a stronger connection to their learning environment. When they feel safe and supported, they are more likely to believe in themselves, form healthy peer relationships, and build a strong sense of purpose and belonging.

In addition to supporting emotional well-being, SEL plays a critical role in character education. When students practice self-awareness, empathy, and responsible decision-making, they are also developing core values such as respect, integrity, and perseverance. These everyday social and emotional experiences, whether it is resolving a conflict, showing kindness, or learning to self-regulate, help build strong character. SEL provides the foundation for students to grow into individuals who not only understand themselves but also care about others and contribute positively to their communities.

The article also touched on the importance of integrating SEL into MTSS. It emphasized that services provided by professionals such as counselors, social workers, and psychologists should align with the universal SEL efforts happening in classrooms and throughout the school. I am fortunate to work with a strong support team where we collaborate regularly to provide both whole-group and individualized services that meet the diverse needs of our students.

Lastly, consistent communication with families is essential. Sharing students’ needs, progress, and SEL goals with parents helps them stay informed and allows them to reinforce these skills at home. This home-school connection strengthens the overall impact of SEL and ensures students are supported in all areas of their lives.

Overall, I found this article to be both informative and encouraging. It reinforced the importance of making SEL a part of everyday classroom life and highlighted how thoughtful implementation can have a lasting impact on our students’ growth, both academically and personally.

One way I try to help students feel safe in the gym is by providing a routine. Using concepts from Responsive Classroom, I start all my classes off the same exact way. We start with the "Hello Board" that is my way of greeting my student and telling them what we will be doing that class. The gym can be an intimidating place for students and I believe telling them exactly what is going to happen and what to expect can help make them feel more comfortable in the environment. After the "Hello Board" we recite the class norms which are six rules students are expected to follow each class. This is another way students are made aware of what is expected of them. Lastly, I end class with a 1-4 self-reflection where students give themselves a 1, 2, 3, or 4 based on how they followed the norms. Students are encouraged to be honest and if they chose to give themselves a 1, I say 'no big deal, please try next time.' This way they know I appreciate their honestly in their score.

For example, in Social Studies, how could the colonists expressed their feelings assertively to Britain?

Important topics that focused on teaching students on how to respectfully express their feelings and talking to peers assertively. The circles gave sentence frames for students to use. I think I would set up a bulletin board where students can see sentence frames and use these to resolve conflicts with peers. It is important for us to give students tools to help them navigate their emotions in an appropriate way when possible. I feel next year with Enrichment, students will be given plenty of opportunities to make connections to the characters in the novel, Monster and think about how the main character might be feeling and ways he can  express his fears.

In being a physical education teacher, I feel that building positive relationships is one of the most important skills to have.  This is important because it builds a sense of trust, belonging, and respect with students.  When a student feels valued and supported by an adult they will more likely engage, participate and cooperate with others.  They will take more risks, trying new skills and not being afraid to make mistakes. 

  As far as school wide my school district has been doing monthly community circles within the classroom.  I find that in our school it creates a more positive school environment.   In our community circles we start out by introducing the focus for the month.  So, for example, the month of September we focused on respect.  In our small groups we start off with a definition of respect. The group will then go over the rules of our community circle.  We have a talking piece which is an object that shows who has a turn to speak, helping us listen carefully and respectfully to each person in the circle. The talking piece is passed from one person to the next.  We respect the talking piece which means everyone listens, everyone has a turn if they choose.  Some other rules are we speak from the heart it’s your truth, it’s your perspectives, your experience.  We as the community should be listening from the heart: and with respect, we need to honor each other’s privacy because we will be sharing things, we should bring our best selves and during our circle say just enough without feeling rushed, be concise and considerate of the time of others.  The community circle is a place where students feel safe sharing their feelings.  They learn to understand other people’s perspective on different topics.  They learn to listen attentively to their peers and teachers.  All the skills being taught in the community circles are beneficial for our students to be successful in the future.