From Teach Better Blog: SEL for Educators

TL;DR:

Prioritizing social-emotional health in the classroom is crucial for teachers and students, with a focus on health over grades.
Teachers should take care of their own well-being to effectively support their students, as they cannot give what they haven’t mastered themselves.
Poor social-emotional health among teachers negatively affects student outcomes, emphasizing the need for schools to prioritize teacher well-being, leading to better staff retention and improved student outcomes.

SEL for Educators: Teachers are people, too.

Hot water being poured from a tea pot into a blue tea cup

In the practice of social-emotional health in the classroom, school leaders and teachers need to prioritize social-emotional health before learning. We have a saying at my school that a student is a person first, and our priority is always health over grades.

Teachers need to take care of their own social-emotional health before they can address that of their students. It is often said that you cannot pour from an empty cup, and you cannot give students skills that you have not been able to master and implement for yourself.

SEL, or social-emotional learning, is a hot-button topic in education today. One cannot throw a virtual stress ball without hitting an article on SEL for students. It is well established in research that students learn better when their social-emotional health is cared for.

Why I’m Not “Just” an Online Teacher: The Reality of Teaching in the Digital Age

Every now and then, someone refers to me as "just an online teacher." It might be said with curiosity, confusion, or even subtle dismissal. It’s a phrase that seems small, like my work is somehow less than what happens in a traditional classroom. But here’s the truth: I’m not just an online teacher. I am an ONLINE Teacher. I remember a quote about Ginger Rogers that says she "did everything Fred Astaire did, but backwards and in high heels." Online teachers do everything but on a computer and in a different location from their students. Online Teaching Is Real Teaching Let’s get this out of the way: online teaching isn’t easier, simpler, or less demanding than face-to-face teaching. It’s not an escape hatch from “real” education. In fact, it often requires more intentional planning, more data-driven decision-making, and more individualization to meet student needs. I don’t just post assignments and hope for the best. I analyze engagement data, craft personali...

Using AI? Student Facing Graphic

ChatGPT & Academic Integrity

The edu-sphere is abuzz with the potential of ChatGPT , both for good and for evil. How should teachers and schools react? If in the madness of teaching during the holiday season, you missed the coverage of the new chatbot that writes a variety of genres, including essays, lesson plans, and even computer code, you can read more here and here . I concur with Matt Miller and others that blocking access to one chatbot is an exercise in futility. For one, filters likely only work on campus networks. Moreover, more chatbot tools will likely emerge as the technology grows in popularity. It would be a waste of manpower to try to keep up with all of them. What can teachers do, then, but embrace the potential? Embrace, also, the responsibility to incorporate education and model best practices. For instance, MLA and other style guides provide guidelines for citing the outputs of chatbots and other AI tools. Did you use ChatGPT to generate that stellar parent-teache...

Unboxing Education

Search This Blog