Giving Compass' Take:

· Tamara Alston works at Hazel Wolf K-8 STEM in Seattle, a school approaching education in a new, innovative way. At Hazel Wolf, teachers use "whole body listening," a method designed for students to practice respectful and attentive listening skills as an approach social and emotional learning with their students. 

· How can schools create a positive learning environment for students? How are teacher-student relationships important in youth development? 

· Read more about social emotional learning and the future of education.

Tamara Alston expects her students to hold her accountable if she’s not being respectful and “solving problems in a way that works” for the community. And they do.

This is an element of “whole body listening,” a practice of respectful and attentive listening all students learn at the fifth grade teacher’s school, Hazel Wolf K-8 STEM in Seattle. “Whole body listening” is just one part of the school’s approach to and emphasis on social and emotional learning.

Alston says Hazel Wolf takes a top-down approach to SEL. The school has a Wolf Pack Pact, a set of five guidelines for the school community:

  1. We focus on learning
  2. We respect ourselves and others
  3. We take care of our school
  4. We solve problems
  5. We PERSEVERE!

Melissa Schlinger, the Vice President of Practice and Programs at CASEL, tells EdSurge that teachers holding themselves accountable, as Alston does in her classroom, is vital for building a positive, SEL-friendly school culture. She adds that creating that type of culture starts with stakeholders developing a shared vision for what they want the school to be like for both adults and kids.

Teaching is hard for teachers and it’s hard for kids,” Alston says. “And learning is difficult. But if you’ve established a way that we can figure this out together, then it helps you get through the hard parts.”

Read the full article about social-emotional learning by Tina Nazerian at EdSurge.