What if young people could learn how to address stress and hardship and had coping skills that could help them solve seemingly unsurmountable problems?
They can. Schools should teach those skills starting in pre-school or Kindergarten and continuing in each grade all the way through 12th grade. They are part of social-emotional learning (SEL). Children learn how to manage their emotions, understand their own and other people’s feelings, face challenging situations, and cope with adversity - all skills that build resilience.
Defining Social and Emotional Learning
Core skills
Self-awareness, self-regulation, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making all contribute to building resilience by allowing children to identify and manage their emotions, adapt to changing situations, and build positive relationships.
Coping mechanisms
SEL helps children learn healthy coping mechanisms to deal with stress, setbacks, and challenges, which is crucial for building resilience.
Positive impact on mental health
Research shows that SEL programs can positively impact mental health by reducing anxiety and depression symptoms, further enhancing resilience.
Lifelong benefits
Developing SEL skills early in life can have lasting positive effects, enabling individuals to bounce back from challenges and achieve success throughout their lives.
Social and emotional learning promotes academic achievement, well-being, and positive life outcomes, not only for children but also for adults. SEL helps teachers manage stress and handle classroom discipline in more positive and effective ways. It can be a powerful tool for prevention and resilience when embedded in curriculum and instruction. SEL helps create and maintain a positive school climate.
How to teach resilience throughout a child’s education
SEL should be a part of every child’s education, starting from the first day they set foot in a classroom. Building on those skills every year develops a strong foundation, allowing children to learn and practice skills that will not only set them up for academic success, but also strengthen coping skills used in dealing with situations that cause stress and anxiety.
Children experience their worlds differently when they are five, ten, fifteen, and twenty, so they need different skills. They need to learn how to build positive relationships not only with others but also with themselves. Without SEL, a child expresses frustration through emotional outbursts. With the ability to identify their own emotions, they can choose to communicate their feelings and address them in productive ways.
Social and emotional skills play a role in creating a safe learning environment. When children apply what they have learned about positive relationships, their self-confidence contributes to a sense of belonging. They learn to reflect on what has caused their feelings and consider options to overcome their problems. Because they understand that mental health is as important as physical health, those skills are tools children can use to assess their mental health and decide to take action rather than sinking into despair or acting out in anger. They know they will benefit by reaching out to others if they are struggling with negative thoughts.
Resilience is Mental Health
Social and emotional learning combined with a well-designed mental wellness plan are key components of a strong educational foundation. Training everyone who is part of the school community—administrators, school counselors, social workers, nurses, other mental health professionals, teachers, SROs, bus drivers, maintenance personnel, food service staff, resource officers, and other school community members, to recognize warning signs is part of a safe, supportive learning environment that every school creates.
In today’s world, that list has grown to include :
Youth mental health
Suicide prevention
Substance abuse
Teen dating violence
Child sexual abuse prevention
Sex trafficking prevention
Promote Mental Health in Schools
(From the CDC Mental Health Action Guide)
Increase Students’ Mental Health Literacy
Increase youth mental health literacy and skills to reach out for support through in-school strategies.
Teaching mindfulness helps students with stress and helps them control their feelings and actions.
Promote Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Learning
Social, emotional, and behavioral learning develops skills to promote physical and mental health.
Enhance Connectedness Among Students, Staff, and Families
Schools can enhance connectedness among students, staff, and families—to improve mental health.
Provide Psychosocial Skills Training and Cognitive Behavioral Interventions
Schools can provide psychosocial skills training and cognitive behavioral interventions for students.
Support school staff mental health to prevent burn-out and promote a positive school climate.
Resilience is a Skill
With the right tools, young people can learn how to address the challenges they face every day in this changing world. They can practice using coping skills to solve problems. In a positive school environment where they feel safe and supported, children can learn to be resilient.
If you work in a school or have children that attend a Pre-K-12 school, find out what the school is doing to teach resilience. If it is not evident, you can be an advocate by talking to administrators about the importance of SEL in a safe, supportive school environment.
RESOURCES
Response and Resiliency https://safesupportivelearning.ed.gov/hot-topics/response-and-resiliency
Strategies for Promoting Mental Health in Schools https://www.cdc.gov/mental-health-action-guide/strategies/index.html
Resilience https://cms.childtrends.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Child_Trends-2013_11_01_AHH_Resilience.pdf
Fundamentals of SEL https://casel.org/fundamentals-of-sel/
Early childhood https://nau.edu/college-education/blog/unleashing-the-power-of-social-emotional-learning-in-early-childhood/
District-wide implementation https://www.dpi.nc.gov/districts-schools/districts-schools-support/nc-social-emotional-learning/defining-social-and-emotional-learning
School Mental Health Policy https://www.dpi.nc.gov/districts-schools/classroom-resources/academic-standards/programs-and-initiatives/nc-healthy-schools/school-mental-health-policy
A
Culture of Caring: A Suicide Prevention Guide for Schools (K-12) was
created as a resource for educators who want to know how to get started and
what steps to take to create a suicide prevention plan that will work for their
schools and districts. It is written from my perspective as a school principal
and survivor of suicide loss, not an expert in psychology or counseling. I hope
that any teacher, school counselor, psychologist, principal, or district
administrator can pick up this book, flip to a chapter, and easily find helpful
answers to the questions they are likely to have about what schools can do to
prevent suicide.
