Character Education and Social-Emotional Learning (SEL): The heartbeat of the classroom

Character education and SEL should be the foundation of any classroom. For students to thrive today, they need more than just traditional academic learning. They need to be well versed in social-emotional skills like collaboration, communication, and problem-solving.  

As students return to school this fall, the focus should be on connecting and making students feel safe and secure before they get to traditional academics. As a result of the pandemic, virtual learning has taken a significant toll on many adolescents’ emotional well-being. Published reports suggest that the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has harmed children’s mental health. 

So, where do we go from here? Community. Connections. Relationships.

The focus should be on relationship skills, how to be kind to each other, and how to be good classroom citizens. Prioritizing SEL, character education, and overall mental health is the absolute best thing to do for students after a long year of isolation. It’s important to remember that so many students have and are still experiencing trauma that the pandemic has only amplified. 

Our schools need to have a stronger social-emotional and character focus than ever. It will require patience in helping students recover emotionally, socially, and academically. We know that actual achievement on our students’ part – success in life – requires integrating character education and social facets of learning. No child ever came into a school and put their backpack in their cubby and also put their emotions in their cubby. Their emotions are always with them, and therefore, from the minute they walk into their school, there needs to be a positive character-building climate, where kids feel welcome, supported, and valued. 

“Children are the living message we send to a time we will not see.” -John W. Whitehead.

How we can lend a helping hand:

We know that educators lack time in the day for traditional academics, let alone SEL and character development. So that’s why we’ve designed an affordable product that requires limited prep and its flexibility allows you to implement character education like never before.  

1. Review Classroom Citizenship: Our classroom citizenship episodes (included as part of our kindergarten series or on their own in our classroom citizenship bundle) would be a great place to start as students return to school this fall. Let’s be honest; classroom citizenship skills need to be reviewed every year but especially this year! These episodes cover everything from classroom manners, classroom tidiness, and calm down strategies (an especially important episode as students are still learning to manage and verbalize their emotions and trauma).

1. Character Education for Kindergarteners or Beginners: Our kindergarten episodes are a great introduction to character traits. We cover the basics of kindness, empathy, teamwork, respect, perseverance, and honesty. Then we discuss how those character traits are exemplified in school, in the community, and by other kids (We are especially proud of our episodes that highlight real-life people who made a difference at a young age). You can learn more and sign-up for a kindergarten subscription trial here!

1. Character Education for First and Second Graders: Our 1st/2nd-grade subscription is slightly more advanced and combines character education with social studies – a great way to integrate character education with your lesson plans. This subscription includes 36 episodes + 36 sets of printable activities and teacher’s guides. You can learn more and sign-up for a 1st/2nd-grade subscription trial here!