Looking for the right school
The question all parents should be asking!
As a therapist working in a school I get the pleasure of occasionally conducting school tours with parents and children. I enjoy it immensely, as it gives me a chance to think about what we can offer each prospective family and think about needs we may not be fulfilling. Parents ask a lot of questions (as they should) and on some occasions the students ask some questions too (which I love).
What do parents and students ask? and what is something they almost never ask (but really should)?
Parents ask:
What are the teacher to class size ratios?
What extra-curricular activities do you offer?
What is the school’s stance on bullying?
How does the school compare academically to other schools in the area?
These are all great questions but a question that never (or very rarely) gets asked is:
What do you offer students in the way of Social and Emotional Learning (SEL)?
What is SEL and why is this important?
SEL is essentially teaching students how to improve their social and emotional skills. This includes: how to understand, identify and manage emotions, how to build empathy, how to develop positive relationships, resilience, goal setting, how to problem solve (complicated life problems), how to build self-efficacy and persevere at tasks. The school that you send your child to should be able to detail how social and emotional learning occurs in the school. It’s not enough anymore to offer a health class or a wellbeing elective, SEL needs to be embedded in all aspects of the school from culture to curriculum. A school that does SEL well will be able to tell you how it looks in the classroom, how it looks in the staffroom and how it looks in the playground. A well devised SEL plan has been shown to improve attitudes and behaviours, increase motivation to learn and lower reported prevalence of depression, anxiety, stress and social withdrawal in schools. Good SEL plans also demonstrate an increase in academic performance. Why? Because when students learn how to handle difficult emotions, cultivate resilience and deal with conflict, their minds are freed up to focus on school work.
So next time you’re touring a school, or if you’re already at a school and are curious, ask about their SEL plan.