By Carol Merna
There are days when we stumble upon an insight that shakes up what we thought was inherently true. Many of us were raised to believe that we learn skills that will allow us to get a good job when we grow up and experience financial success by using our minds — by learning what to do with the scholastic information we have been taught. Investing in the development of our emotional capabilities and how we relate to one another has not historically been viewed as a primary responsibility of those who educate young people.
By the same token, many of us, in our early years, may have been encouraged to leave our problems at the entrance to the school — that we were there to learn things of academic importance and that emotional issues had no place in the classroom.
Last year an innovative study from Columbia University, “The Economic Value of Social and Emotional Learning,” showed what many educators have known for decades, that emotions and relationships play a significant role in learning.
Kudos to Peoria Public Schools and the recent implementation of their new Office of Social and Emotional Learning (SEL). This is music to the ears of the team at The Center for Prevention of Abuse.
Superintendent Dr. Sharon Desmoulin-Kherat says the ultimate goal is to address the needs of children who are coming to school with trauma, inadequate nutrition, and health issues. Further, Superintendent Kherat says the objective of the program is to take pressure off of teachers and principals when handling the tough issues children face, and instead putting them in the hands of experts. The Center for Prevention of Abuse’s Prevention Education team is already playing a crucial part in the lives of young people of all ages, helping the youth in our community find the social and emotional balance they need to promote wellness in their lives.
Research conducted by the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning shows the need for SEL offices has risen due to students, particularly teens, feeling unsafe at school or having been threatened or even injured while at school. Nearly 30 percent of children they surveyed reported feeling so sad and hopeless they stopped doing usual activities and 13 percent reported making a plan to attempt suicide. Take heart in knowing that the SEL offices already in place do seem to be changing these statistics for the better. A recent study conducted at the University of Illinois shows teachers interviewed at other schools where SEL offices have been implemented say the office has created a positive and welcoming environment and made for a more peaceful school — shaping safe places to learn.
The Center for Prevention of Abuse is thrilled to be established as a long-time and active partner with Peoria Public Schools and others who want to help further change in the hallways of our educational institutions. Already, The Center’s prevention educators reach more than 30,000 students in over 100 schools each year about building healthy relationships, keeping their bodies safe, bullying prevention, and non-violent conflict resolution. We work to reach students with these life lessons to help make them feel safe while they are at school and, hopefully, at home as well. High-quality social and emotional learning is proven to increase academic achievement.
The Peoria Public School Board and Dr. Kherat should be congratulated for their forward-thinking approach, forming the SEL office. Social and emotional learning has a powerful combination of evidence and support. This ought to be enough to unleash a full-scale effort to make high-quality programming for social and emotional learning a central part of education from prekindergarten through high school and into college; a promising approach to promote basic academic proficiency, allowing for a lifetime of learning and promoting a lifetime of peace.
Carol Merna is the Executive Director of The Center for Prevention of Abuse. The Center serves a six-county area in Central Illinois with the mission of helping every woman, man, and child live free from violence and abuse. To learn more visit centerforpreventionofabuse.org or call 309-691-0551.