Good morning. Is this great? I'm having so much fun already.
Recently, a good friend of mine told me about his 89 year old father's wish for his grandchildren. My friend asked his dad ‘what do you want for your grand-kids?’ You might think his response was good health, a great education, a successful career, maybe even riches but no, his response was ‘I want them to be able to when they fall’. Able to get back up when they fall, isn't that what we want for all our children, the , the skills for , a warm . Sadly, many of today's children . Some are so they bully their , and still many seem paralyzed by their fear, and consequently stand by, indifferent to . Why is that?

I have taught students and educators for over 14 years, and in these classrooms children were provided with the usual academic nourishment, reading writing and arithmetic, but there was something missing. Students weren't taught the skills to be or , they weren't taught to their emotions. They don't possess the to other people. Each time you turn on the TV or at comments left on internet postings, it is horrifically obvious that we have a generation of people feeling and angry. Some so disconnected and so angry, they turn to violence, violence against their community and often themselves.

77% of our nation's young people in grades 6 through 10 reported experiencing from a peer last year alone. 80 percent reported experiencing abuse through or other forms of technology such as emails, or texting. It's obvious, we need to teach more than reading writing and arithmetic. We need to reach the whole child. We need to provide our children with social and emotional learning, the skills for an effective life. Teach of self and of others, how to connect with other people, to engage in , even with those that disagree with them, to make responsible decisions and with those decisions.follow through with those decisions.

In recent years psychologists and other professionals have warned us that we are in danger of creating a nation of victims by imposing rules. So what? To our students from saying things to one another? Instead children need to be taught social and emotional skills so that they have the and the to end the bullying cycle. There is strength in . Social and emotional learning is a movement spreading across our nation, in our elementary schools to our universities it's even found in our world. As a case in point, in our school district my colleagues and I worked with Mrs Biggs a third grade teacher to social and emotional learning or SEL. We began with a in which we asked the children to sit in a circle. To me, they would talk about what they did last night, what they , academic accomplishments, even thoughts on their mind. It was like at the dinner table. Once the children practiced and understood the behind these meetings, Mrs. Biggs was able to use this structure when the children experienced academic stress or struggles with their peers. As you can imagine, this was an extremely powerful process. Eight and nine year-olds learning and practicing how to work together to solve social problems or academic struggles, learning and practicing to express empathy and with one another.

You know, I don't know about you, but I think there are plenty of adults that need to learn how to do this too.
I want to tell you about one little boy, Ian, in Mrs. Biggs's class. Ian stood out and you might say for all the wrong reasons. At first, he refused to participate in our meetings and turned his entirely, but after a couple months he turned and faced his peers, he still wouldn't speak though but over the course of the year, he learned new skills and he these skills across campus. He now had the ability to manage and identify the of emotions that come with the of performing academically and socially. Ian was at school more often, his grades went up and he reported having more friends. SEL works, and not just for in for students all across the country.
Studies have found that social and emotional learning improves mental health and behavior, it boosts children's and it creates more . All good things. But the real surprise came when the researchers at Loyola University in Chicago did an analysis of 213 studies looking at SEL implementation. They found that students who received direct SEL instruction gained an average of 11% TALA (Texas Adolescent Literacy Academy) points on their standardized academic compared to peers who didn't take part. Let me repeat that: students who received direct SEL instruction gained an average of 11% TALA points on their standardized academic achievement tests.

This is . before SEL, we as educators were to see a four to six percent increase, and , these schools reported reduced and children with emotional distress. Their students were to experience depression, engage in or even contemplate suicide.
One of the most important skills taught through social and emotional learning is the ability to connect with other people. Let's be honest: you work harder for those to whom you , you are more likely to show up to school or to work and do your best when you feel connected to the people who are there. Studies have found that cite one of the major reasons they leave is they didn't feel they had a with anyone in their building. We are losing up to 7,000 students a day, and I don't know about you, but when I think back on my schooling and my childhood, my memories are not filled with visions of lessons on how to convert fractions to decimals. They're people, to social connections like the time Tommy stuck a huge of gum in my hair and so sweetly but so unsuccessfully tried to help me get it out. That is one haircut I will never forget, I assure you. But my point is, I bet your memories of your schooling at any age are tied to social connections and they should be. Schools should be social places and learning should be a social process. We need to provide our children with social , not just academic . And through SEL, we are creating socially and emotionally stronger students who , not just in academics but in communication, perseverance, grit, empathy and caring.

I want to go back to the wonderful grandpa at the beginning. His priority for his grandkids wasn't a great education or a . It wasn't even good health. His wish for his grandkids is that they would have the strength to get back up each and every time they fall. We now can give every child that ability. Social and emotional learning can provide every person with the skills to flourish and fulfill their life's . Please help me make our schools and our world better. Thank you.