How Brain Focused Strategies for Social Emotional Learning
Takeaway #1:
Social Emotional Health can greatly affects a child's learning. It is important for kids to be able to understand and communicate how they feel with their peers. The younger we start implementing Social Emotional Health in our classroom, the sooner our students can improve in this area in life and can have better outcomes. If children are not taught how to communicate correctly with others at a young age then this will have a great negative effect on how they work with their fellow peers in the classroom.
Takeaway #2: Trauma
Childhood experiences can affect a child's development mentally, socially, and emotionally. Families who are impoverished can experience a level of stress or pressure that is toxic and rewires their brains. Parents can be used as a buffer for this toxic stress, but when children don't have this buffer, their stress continues and can harm the child's development. When a child is facing stress at home, they are more than likely bring this stress into our classroom environment. It is important for educators be aware that it is a possibility for this stress to be a reason why a certain student is acting out, shutting down, or not working well with their peers. Abuse and neglect can changes a child's brain and causes a child's brain not to be as active as it is suppose to be. It only takes one safe adult in their life that has a healthy relationship with them to redirect their brains development and how they handle stress.
Takeaway #3: Different kinds of attachments in a classroom
When a child is acting out in the classroom, think about their behavior as a coping crisis they are having. These students don't know how to cope with what they are feeling and how to respond to them in a safe way. A child's relationship with a trust adult greatly impacts their behavior. This webinar explains how often when the students have a positive relationship with the teacher, they are more content and calm in the classroom. However a student can have a avoidant attachment, which means that student will come off as quiet or withdrawn, Often this student has vocalized a need but it was never met, so they don't see the point of asking for help because when they do nothing happens. There are also students with ambivalent attachment, and this manifests itself in a behavior that is anxious or insecure. With these students, sometimes their needs are met but sometimes they are not. These students will receive help but will worry that once a problem a rises again they won't receive help. Finally. there is a student who is experiencing disorganized attachment. With students who are experiencing disorganized attachment, these students are usually angry, don't listen or follow direction, and have trouble making friends. These students are usually living in a environment where they are constantly scared and under extreme stress. It is important as teachers to be aware of our own attachment history and how this may play a role in how we respond to our students behavior.