In his 2011 book, "Start with Why", Simon Sinek offers powerful advice for leaders: start any endeavor with “why.” Why are we trying something new? Why do we need to make changes? Why should we leave our comfort zone?
As an educational leader investing in teaching social emotional skills, you know your “why.” Perhaps you want to offer better support for staff and students while building a proactive system to improve students' life skills. Maybe you want to increase equity by starting crucial conversations. Whatever your reason, you must have a “why” that is pushing you to find a solution.
Regardless of which tool you use, the best first step for leaders is to build community commitment to systemic social emotional learning by sharing your why. As Sinek so aptly observes, “people don’t buy WHAT you do, they buy WHY you do it.”
To be successful, life skills-forward systems and practices must be nurtured across an organization. Without the backing of teachers, students, parents, and the community, skills programs are likely to fail. Take the time to inspire all stakeholders in the community prior to program roll-out by sharing your reasons for investing money, time, and staff bandwidth in social emotional skills learning.
As you tell the story of how the organization can be transformed by smart skills practices, keep your audience in mind. Here are some of the key benefits of teaching social emotional skills, as well as the groups of educational stakeholders most likely to be inspired to shift their practices to achieve these outcomes.
When school systems focus on teaching life skills, there are many positive outcomes that would speak to the board and community. These outcomes include:
In 2013, CASEL's national teacher survey revealed that 87% of teachers believe social emotional learning can help students prepare for life after high school, and 80% see it as a solution to school climate problems. Teachers are already invested in improving life skills outcomes because improved pro-social behaviors lead to improved conduct, lower absenteeism, and a stronger sense of community.
Unfortunately, teachers already feel overwhelmed by the demands on their time. The role of leadership is to find ways to infuse social emotional skills programs into school culture while minimizing the lift for teachers. Some districts and schools have supported teachers by dedicating PLC time to working on skills assessments, sharing no-prep lessons, and providing a scope and sequence for homeroom time.
Are your teachers wary of change and cynical about the potential benefits of social emotional skills learning? Here are some compelling reasons that will resonate with teachers.
The role of leadership is to find ways to infuse social emotional skills programs into school culture while minimizing the lift for teachers.
Communicating with parents about the benefits of social emotional skills programs is like preaching to the choir. Most parents are keenly aware of the disconnect between what students are taking away from school and the needs of employers and post-secondary education. Here are some facts that will drive this point home.
Regardless of how you share the message about the benefits of social and emotional learning, the key to building a successful social emotional skills program is making sure all stakeholders support the process. As leaders, it is our responsibility to communicate the benefits of social emotional skills programs in order to generate agency in teachers, parents, students, and the community.
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