Believe it or not, the term Social Emotional Learning has not always been widely accepted by the education system. Depending on where you are reading this, you may not actually find this surprising at all. Perhaps you have worked within a system that doesn’t quite place personal relationships with students on a very high pedestal. Districts nationwide often are blinded with the longing for higher test scores so much so that they place time and budgets everywhere EXCEPT within programs that address helping teachers create a thriving safe culture inside their classroom. In fact – this is largely left up to individual teachers to “figure out” on their own.
In this episode of the podcast, our friend, Monica Genta, stops by to give us an update on the pulse of SEL in districts across the country today, remind us of the importance now more than ever in building strong foundations with our students, and to share a little about her 180 Days of Awesome SEL Curriculum.
It is very clear that treating our students as humans with very human needs first and students of English, Match etc. second, will always yield stronger, more confident students at the end of the day. Monica will remind us of a few strategies to make your classroom a safe and engaged space as well as the value in investing your time in building relationships now, so that you do not have to spend your time managing poor behavior later.
It’s always awesome to spend our time with Monica Genta. We hope you’ll find encouragement and inspiration in listening today!
Tune in now to hear:
[01:00] Caitlin and Monica discuss why Social Emotional Learning is so vital this year in particular.
[03:00] Monica addresses the variety of feelings we have as teachers heading back to school and notes how SEL is a uniting factor across curriculums and grade levels.
[04:30] Monica describes her role as the core SEL teacher within her school and her experience consulting within multiple districts across the country.
[05:31] Caitlin acknowledges that the ELA classroom is a very open place to have conversations around students’ social-emotional needs.
[06:00] Monica provides a description of the current “pulse” on SEL within schools right now.
[07:35] Monica mentions that the sentiment and need for SEL is universally agreed upon, but the term SEL has gained controversy recently in different areas of the country.
[08:30] Monica notes that the trouble states are having is determining when SEL should be taught in comparison to core subjects.
[10:00] Monica notes the difference between “health” curriculum and “SEL” curriculum. She wonders if SEL almost needs a rebranding within the education space.
[11:30] Caitlin mentioned Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and how our students have SEL needs that need to be met in order for students to excel in other areas at school.
[13:00] Monica discusses the importance of deeply rooted relationships with our students by creating a safe place in your classroom by dedicating time and intention for relationship building.
[14:00] Monica reminds us that strong relationships will automatically reduce classroom management and engagement issues.
[16:00] Having the right mindset and resources can be game-changing.
[18:00] Monica recalls how she had the opportunity to create her SEL Curriculum to utilize in her classroom in place of what her admin wanted to purchase for her.
[19:00] Caitlin relates how the task of showing up for yourself will directly impact the work/lessons/relationships you produce.
[20:30] Monica explains her Motivation Mondays and various portions of her 180 Days of Awesome SEL Curriculum that is available to classroom teachers now.
[24:00] Caitlin and Monica giveaway the 180 Days of Awesome SEL to an EB Teacher!
[25:00] Monica wonders what would happen if you could get your school unified using the same SEL curriculum schoolwide? What impact would that have on your students?
[26:30] Monica shares the opportunity to hang out with her in the Awesome Academy to continue developing your SEL techniques inside your classroom.
Notes:
Join Monica in a fun, flexible, affordable, virtual PD series called the Awesome Academy: www.monicagenta.com/awesomeacademy
Bring your morning meeting, advisory, and SEL to new levels with this easy-to-implement curriculum: www.monicagenta.com/180SEL
Hang out with Monica on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Twitter: @MonicaGentaEd
That Teacher Life Podcast: https://monicagenta.com/feed/podcast/
Click here to watch on Youtube!
Subscribe & Review in iTunes
Are you subscribed to our podcast? If you’re not, we want to encourage you to do that today. We don’t want you to miss a single episode. We add a brand-new episode every week, and if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out on those. Click here to subscribe in iTunes!
Now if you’re feeling extra awesome today, we would be super grateful if you left us a review over on iTunes, too. Those reviews help other people find our podcast, and they’re also so much fun for us to go in and read. Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and let us know what your favorite part of the podcast is. Thank you!
