Teachers Helping Teachers Blog - The Business & Passion of Teaching

Social and Emotional Learning: SEL for Short!

SEL teaches children from a young age how to properly problem solve, how to self manage, how to be aware of their surroundings socially, and how to build and keep meaningful relationships. Other topics that can be covered through SEL are positive responses, handling emotional distress, time management and focus, empathy for others, understanding why people do what they do, and how to properly handle conflict in the classroom, with friends, or in the workplace.

While most teachers have a solid collection of lessons to teach from — either those they have created or those their district has provided — there comes a time in every teacher’s life where they want to add just a little more. Maybe their students need extra work with the water life cycle or their creative 6th hour would enjoy an extra day writing poetry. Whatever the reason, at some point most teachers find themselves Googling “lesson plans on ______” and crossing their fingers as they hit the search button.

Preparing for a new school year can be a whirlwind of excitement and nerves. You want your classroom to be a welcoming place for students and their families — a place where they feel inspired to share in the learning community. You also want it designed right — you’re going to be doing a lot of really important work in this room along with 25 little people (or not so little, depending on the age you teach) and you don’t have room for clutter. So how do you prepare your ideal classroom? Consider some of my favorite suggestions from fellow teachers to create a welcoming space for your learners and their families.

Most teachers I know wish they had more time — more time to plan, more time to connect with students, more time to do all the important work they must accomplish each day. While it isn’t possible to add more hours, it is possible to use the hours we have more effectively and make a few minor changes that can have a big impact on how we feel about our work-life balance. If you are looking for a few new ways to make the most of every moment in your teaching day, consider these three tips to take back your time and have more energy for the things you love.