"Although you may have a good education, there are those other things that come along with it in order for you to be able to navigate."

- Valerie Fields

Valerie Fields, Chairman of the Board at Felton Laboratory Charter School, talks to me about the changes in education in South Carolina and the reasons that she has seen that support the need for SEL in schools. She also addresses and dispels some common myths regarding charter schools and tells us why she chose to work with one at this stage of her career.

04:55 - Balancing emphasis: SEL is just as important as standardized testing

07:35 - SEL is necessary in order to be able to teach students beyond the textbook

10:10 - What makes Felton stand out among other SC schools?

13:20 - The ability to read gives students the ability to learn everything else

14:45 - Making sure that the STEAM school lives up to it's name

17:15 - The real deal about the charter school model

19:25 - A good education involves more than just the curriculum

"There's only one thing that stops innovation in the classroom: the EGO - of the adult. The adult has to get out of the way and let the kids innovate."

How do SEL and robotics work together? When you think of robotics, the words "scripted" and "predictable" come to mind, but Robert Walker knows that in the real world, things are often unscripted and unpredictable - even in fields that may seem otherwise. Robert put his students in real-world situations and gave them projects that develop SEL and character, preparing them for adult life in the workforce. Recently retired, Robert has written one book, Quad D Robotics Innovative Inventions Curriculum, and is working on his second.

"Developing SEL skills is a process that both students and adults go through to understand and manage emotions, to empathize, to maintain positive relationships, and also make responsible decisions."

-Tre Gammage

This school year will not be like any other year before it. We're returning to school following a pandemic that has changed the world, and our instruction practices need to follow suit. The pandemic has had a profound effect on the social and emotional health of our students and it's time to shift the focus from content to SEL. In this episode I cover 3 restorative practices that you can use in your classroom when we return to school to make the transition easier for you and your students.

02:20 - The five core skills of SEL and a definition of restorative justice

05:30 - How to build SEL skills in your students

07:35 - You teach who you are- how you show up to your classroom matters

08:45 - A deeper explanation of the different cycles of SEL

12:00 - SEL skills are built over time

12:50 - Restorative Practice 1: Relationships Priming Plan

15:05 - Restorative Practice 2: Make Reflection A Daily Habit

17:20 - Restorative Practice 3: Restorative Circles

21:00 - Where to learn more about SEL and Tre Gammage

"We have a mental health crisis in our school systems and we have a stress crisis for our educators and all of the learning is happening within those relationships. So if we disrupt that process and create healthier adults, we can create healthier students, and, ultimately, healthier communities."

- Joshua Hendrickson

Joshua Hendrickson is committed to improving mental health in our schools to ultimately better mental health in our country, overall. He uses a variety of techniques to work with teachers to improve their mental health and integrate the practices into their own classrooms to strengthen the relationships between teachers and themselves, their students, and their colleagues.

You can find out more about Joshua's work at [ficrli.com](http://ficrli.com)

02:00 - The social and emotional effect of a pandemic

05:30 - A strong support system makes a big difference

08:45 - Mental health and SEL in public education

11:35 - How does Joshua work with schools to improve SEL and mental health?

15:00 - Where did you learn about compassion? Are you compassionate with yourself?

17:45 - Nutrition, Mental Health, and SEL are all important for personal development

20:40 - Teacher training can overlook the value of therapeutic relationships with their students

22:00 - Be present in your relationships - it matters

"Indigenous knowledge is socially collaborative. It involves culture, as well, so we can say that indigenous knowledge is situated in a cultural tradition and within a historical and political context. Therefore when you look at the nature of science you can say that it is also socially and culturally constructed."

- Principal Chaks

Principal Chaks is the Head of Department at the Thandulwazi Maths and Science Academy in South Africa. Motivated by the education he received growing up, Principal Chaks has made it his mission to integrate indigenous knowledge with the curriculum taught in schools, making Science more understandable and approachable for his students.

You can find more about Principal Chaks at sciemax.online

02:20 - Learning without technology and improvising

06:00 - What indigenous knowledge means and the effects it has on students

10:08 - How you can acknowledge what students learn from home and teach with that in mind

13:25 - Factors that limit parental involvement, the difficulties of students, how they're working to overcome the challenges

21:45 - Let's make science less threatening and more approachable for students

"We need to be exemplary. A teacher should be a special person that practices what they preach."

- Thabiso Mathipa

Thabiso Mahipa has been teaching since 2015, starting as a pioneer teacher at a rural school and moving to the city in Limpopo after 3 years. He won the National Teacher of the Year Award and has some wonderful classroom management tips, especially since one of his classes has 48 students and the school population consists of students who speak one of 3 different languages. We discuss challenges in the South African school system, how they mirror the challenges faced by the education system in the USA, and his future plans.

01:19 - What is Thabiso teaching?

03:05 - Differences between rural schools and city schools

05:00 - Thabiso's classroom management tips

08:35 - Some important classroom rules

10:40 - How do you make sure everyone understands each other when your students speak 3 different languages?

14:40 - Teaching is a calling

15:40 - Challenges in the South African education system

20:00 - Great successes and goals to work toward

"In my experience, kids are not "just bad". They're curious."

- Andrea McCormick

Andrea McCormick is a Founding Assistant Principal at Kipp Change Academy. Although she originally wanted to work in the justice system to help people who have been silenced, she now works as an educator to help people discover their voices before that happens. Andrea talks to me about how Kipp includes SEL for both students and teachers.

You can reach Andrea at [email protected] and learn more about Kipp schools at kipp.org.

01:10 - Feelings of home and community at Kipp

04:00 - Why teach at Kipp charter schools?

06:20 - How Kipp includes diversity, SEL, and equity in education

10:15 - Addressing behavioral issues with SEL for students and teachers

15:30 - Teaching is heart work and there is a lot to learn

"It's one thing to have skills, but you've got to know where you're going and you want to go to a good place."

- Maurice Elias

Maurice Elias started with SEL in 1975, so it's a super special treat to get to talk a pioneer of SEL and Character Development in education. We talk about the importance of the other side of the report card, how to bring out the best in every student, and how to help teachers develop character and SEL in their children.

https://www.secdlab.org/about-stat

https://selinschools.org/

https://sel4us.org/

01:35 - Combining character development and social emotional learning

07:00 - Every kid is going to be great- how teachers can recognize and ensure greatness in every child

09:45 - The other side of the report card is not just a checklist to complete

13:50 - Talking to the school board about criteria: what's really important?

18:05 - How does Social Studies fit into SEL and Character Development and what is STAT?

24:30 - Everybody is biased. It takes work to recognize it, accept it, and change it

30:00 - Best practices for SEL and the need to make time to develop trust and caring in relationships

36:20 - Addressing emotions lead to better learning

"You are ready for it; you're old enough for it; you're smart enough for it. Get out there and take the leap, take the smart risk, and just do it."

- Brandon SC Wallace

Brandon SC Wallace is an Associate Professor at Montgomery College, a Faculty Associate at Johns Hopkins University, and an Adjunct Professor at Prince George's Community College. If that weren't' enough, he's also a consultant, advocate, and activist in Upper Marlboro, Maryland. This episode focuses on relationships and communication, preventative vs reactive, and what practice is really about. Brandon is very good at explaining the mental shifts that need to take place in order for education to continue to improve and he offers plenty of alternative mindsets that we should be envisioning.

You can find Brandon @bscwallace on social media.

02:30 - Always think about the future

05:00 - Selective mutism, navigating college, and where to teach

08:55 - Relationships are everything: how to re-imagine what school should look like

12:58 - Tests are only a small measure of a student and education could stand to be more balanced

15:15 - Why Brandon isn't always as popular as he'd like, but he's always welcome where he goes

18:00 - Building relationships while distance learning

23:10 - The relationship goes both ways: you're both there to learn from each other

25:35 - We need to stop fixing it after it's broken and start to prevent it from breaking in the first place

29:05 - Practice isn't about perfection

"Mindfulness is a really great way to support students in developing these strategies that are going to allow them to manage their emotions and, in a healthy way, get through the ups and downs that just come with being human."

- Kailey Lefko

Kailey Lefko started her teaching journey as a science teacher and after becoming aware of how mindfulness helped students develop their SEL skills in the classroom, was inspired to create Educalme Inc to help other teachers use mindfulness techniques in their own classrooms. In addition to Educalme, Kailey has a podcast called The Balanced Educator that talks about mindfulness in education.

You can find out more about Kailey, her Educalme partner, the podcast, and teaching mindfulness in your own classroom at Educalme.com

02:10 - Using a mindset model in the classroom

07:30 - Standards for teaching in Canada and how mindfulness can be attached to the curriculum

10:30 - Many teachers in Canada are in favor of classroom practices that support mental health

12:30 - How Educalme was created and how Kailey keeps in touch with classroom

15:30 - Supporting diversity, equity, and inclusion: the atmosphere in Canada and how mindfulness helps students become more empathetic and resolve conflicts easier on their own

21:15 - Mindfulness is a tool for SEL

24:15 - Using Educalme - What happens when you sign up?