Social Emotional Learning and Conscious Discipline

Social Emotional Learning is the concept of the teaching students what emotions are, how to regulate their emotions, and how to deal with the emotions of others in a healthy way. Social Emotional Learning is most effective when implemented and taught to children at an early age. Social Emotional Learning encourages children to manage their own emotions and solve problems which can lead to building/maintaining healthy relationships. Social Emotional Learning teaches students a four step process for when something is causing them emotional distress. First, they should stop. Stopping allows the students to distance themselves from whatever is causing them stress. Second, they should take a deep breath. Breathing allows students to get a clear mind and begin to destress. Third, they should think. Students should think about their situation. What kind of reaction does it deserve? Is this just a “sticks and stones” situation? Finally, the student should act on the situation in a healthy way.

 In the classroom, aspects of Social Emotional Learning can be seen by implementing daily check-ins, and morning greater boards. Daily check-ins provide students the opportunity to express any emotions, their highs/lows, or anything that they may have experienced during the week. This is a great way for teachers to build relationships with their students and create a sense of trust with them. Daily check-ins give teachers the chance to really know what is going on in their student’s lives. Morning Greeting Boards provide teachers the chance to personally greet each student at the door with a high-five, hug, fist bump, or smile. This seemingly simple activity provides a personal interaction with each students which shows them that they are valued and cared for.

Conscious Discipline ties in perfectly with Social Emotional Learning. Contradictory to its name, Conscious Discipline is not discipline at all. The goal of Conscious Discipline is to teach children to self-regulate their emotions. One of the central focuses of Conscious Discipline is keeping children safe, both physically and emotionally. The best way to keep children safe is to provide them with a plethora of strategies and tools that they know how to utilize for when they feel upset, scared, overwhelmed, or any other emotion that may provoke a negative outcome. A few examples of Conscious Discipline are empathy, choice, encouragement, assertiveness, and composure. We must keep in mind that it is import that children regulate their emotions in a healthy way that makes them feel comfortable. When we give students control over their actions it builds a sense of trust which may make them more likely to come to you when they need assistance.

One way to make students feel safe is to implement a designated safe space into your classroom. The safe space should be in an area away from peers. In the safe space students can decompress in a healthy, positive way. Your safe space can include things like stuffed animals, posters that illustrate breathing exercises, or coloring books. “I love you rituals” and breathing exercises are also great Conscious Discipline strategies to equip students with.

Social Emotional Learning and Conscious Discipline are amazing strategies to implement in any classroom. Teaching students how to gain control over their emotions allows for more positive interactions with others and promotes a greater sense of self-regulation. Students will be able to better handle confrontation because they will know problem-solving strategies. Social Emotional Learning and Conscious Discipline prepare students to become successful members of society by learning how to digest their and other’s emotions.