The Wiese Foundation created the series “Strengthening Socioemotional Skills” through which different actual situations that teachers and managers go through in their daily work are addressed.
As part of the series, we present the chapter “To learn you have to be well”, which talks about how important it is to take care of the well-being of students to favor their learning.
How to create these friendly and sustainable welcoming moments for students?
In the current context, it is important to continue working on the creation of various moments that welcome all the experiences of the students and, thus, channel them in a positive way.
Because of this, the challenge for teachers is to be able to welcome the various emotions with which their students arrive, in a sensitive and empathetic way, so that they are comfortable in expressing what they feel.
Group listening moments generate relief, comfort, security and confidence, all necessary ingredients to be calm and enjoy, aside from learning. To organize these moments, it is essential to include:
- Playful aspects.
- Experiential aspects.
- Encourage their expression through the arts and the symbolic.
Apply the “Our Community” strategy
The strategy consists in recognizing the resources and strengths that students possess, as a group, to overcome difficulties. Follow these steps:
- Form a circle where everyone can look at and hear each other. Mention how important it is to listen to each other with respect and affection.
- Invite students to anonymously write down the experiences that they have had before returning to school and collect them in a box.
- Review each situation with the class and ask them to indicate how they felt or what helped them feel better.
- Synthesize the responses and help them identify what strategies they can replicate to feel better.
Remember, it is important to recognize that, first, we must favor the well-being of the students if we want them to achieve the expected learning. We invite now you to watch the full chapter here: “To learn you have to be well“
