By Valerie J. Colon
As corps members we pledge “to serve with an open heart and an open mind.” With social and emotional learning, we literally lived this statement every day. One of the first training sessions the corps received last year was on social and emotional learning (SEL). What I remembered most from this workshop was how important it is to reach students where they are at in their life’s journey.
Understanding this really helped me connect with one of my students. Nathaniel* was very distant from his peers. He did not talk much to other students and he generally preferred to be alone. Sometimes, when he was presented with even the slightest challenge, he automatically put his head down on the table or cover his ears and faced away from me.
One day, during the homework hour of our Starfish Extended Day program, Nathaniel was staring at his homework pages. I sat next to him asked him he was not trying to complete his homework.
“I don’t want to be in this classroom, and I don’t want to work with anyone,” he said.
At first, I took his statement personally, thinking that he just didn’t want to work with me. But, I kept trying. Instead I made him an offer: I suggested that we find a quiet spot somewhere outside of the classroom to work on his homework. After some hesitation, he accepted my invitation. Together, we walked down the hallway until he chose a corner that suited him.
I sat beside him while he worked. He rarely took his eyes off his paper, but he made no real progress toward completing his homework. With only 40 minutes left in homework hour, I decided to try shifting the dynamic in hopes it would ease Nathaniel into a more comfortable working space. We started conversing about his interests. Though my knowledge on Star Wars, Call of Duty, and Dragon Ball Z was limited, I listened as he explained all of them to me.
Occasionally, I paused our conversation and asked Nathaniel to do a few math problems before we continued talking. We were doing great, until he reached a challenging question and he started to give up.
“You wouldn’t give up when you’re 10 points away from beating your high score on a video game, so would you give up now that you’re so close to finishing your homework?” I asked.
“No!” He said as he put his pencil to the page and finished his assignment.
While, Nathaniel still does not always enjoy doing his homework, he has become more responsive to other corps members and teachers help and support.
Related Articles:
- “Can Emotional Intelligence Be Taught?” (New York Times)
- “How to Motivate Learning” (Edutopia)
- “Five Keys to Successful Social and Emotional Learning” (Edutopia)
- “More Social-Emotional Learning in Schools, Please, Poll Says” (Education Week)
About the author:
Valerie J. Colon was a 2012-2013 corps member serving at the John F. Kennedy Elementary School in Jamaica Plain.
*Student’s name changed to protect privacy
