How To Make Social Emotional Learning Inclusive

One thing we know for sure is that educators want to know how to make social-emotional learning inclusive. One of our most popular posts of all time is about the many reasons social and emotional learning (SEL) — the process of developing personal and relational awareness, communication, and decision-making skills — is a priority as we navigate in-person learning, especially for girls. But the catch is that social and emotional learning is rarely included in teacher certification programs, and marginalized students often don’t relate to traditional SEL programs. To address this Girls Leadership developed both a curriculum and training that puts gender and racial equity at the foundation of social-emotional learning. The impact of this work is transforming classrooms from coast to coast.

We’re so thrilled to offer a free professional development webinar for educators. Through Creating Communities of Belonging  we will share how to examine your personal relationship with social-emotional skills, and how gender expectations and your identity might have influenced your relationship with feelings, conflict, and vulnerability.

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This work is critical given the power dynamic in the classroom, since most educators don’t share their identity with their students (the majority of students in the U.S. are students of color, and 80% of teachers identify as White). Effectively teaching the interpersonal skills of SEL to adolescents takes self-awareness, humility, and a strong community of support. That’s us. We are here for you.

Step one of showing up and connecting to our kids right now is creating a classroom where kids can heal: heal from the anxiety of living in a pandemic, from personal or collective trauma, or both. If you want to reflect on if your classroom is healing-centered, here are some questions you can ask yourself or your students. Giving students power to co-create the space in which they’re learning encourages agency and leadership, and will increase investment and engagement. This exercise is from our newly revised guide, Social-Emotional Check-ins for In-Person Learning, which also includes 26 check-in activities to do with students.

Download the Guide

Work with High School students?

5 Ways to Make Your Classroom Space Joyful and Healing

Need professional development training right now?

See all of Girls Leadership’s professional development workshops and trainings here.