Education

In the 80’s I became an elementary educator, and earned a California Teaching Credential and a BA in Liberal Studies (Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, 1985). I discovered that teaching early elementary was my passion. I always knew I wanted to be a teacher. But little did I know that many of the methods and practices I applied in my first-grade classroom were social and emotionally based before the term was readily used in K-12 education.

During my methods courses at Cal Poly SLO, we learned about cooperative learning, grouping for instruction, building table teams, critical thinking and questioning strategies, brain-based learning, positive discipline, playing music, and morning meetings (for calendar, sharing, and for building the community).

Our school adopted many practices such as Tribes for developing a positive classroom. We carried this spirit to develop each child to be their best selves. We had school community-wide events: The Invention Convention, Little Theatre, Spring Choral Events, adopted environmental and causes, celebrated Earth Day and collected pennies for peace, and even helped Save the Rainforest. One year my classroom was transformed with gigantic leaves and vines, tree trunks made from paper bags, and other rainforest foliage, fauna, and forest creatures.

The students and I celebrated holidays from around the world, made Stone Soup, and listened to world music. We listened to symphonies from classic composers and practiced the Japanese art of fish printing (gyotaku prints), wrote Haiku’s, and learned to sing Sakura.

Our words were never hurtful, we got caught being good, and there were no “cold pricklies” allowed in class, only “warm fuzzies”. We practiced and wrote what we were thankful for (not just during Thanksgiving). We kept our hands and feet to ourselves unless we were all in a giant Hug Machine.(sorry Mr. Campbell, I coined this well before 2017). When someone was feeling bad, having a bad day (or even if I was in a “mood”) we listened to others as active, empathetic listeners.

Almost every read aloud had an SEL theme. Back then, we referred to this type of literature as “Bioblitherapeutic”.

We colored our emotions, studied Picasso’s “blue period” and listened to and shared how the music made us feel (Vivaldi’s Four Seasons was our favorite).

We played silly games like “I love you honey” and giggled and had FUN!

I didn’t know this was social and emotional learning, I didn’t know we were practicing strategies to develop emotional literacy. I didn’t know the science of emotional connection and how it improves academics. All I knew is that I taught from the heart and continue to do so.

SEL is every minute, every day, everywhere. It is in all we do, all we say, and how we live.