Pouring from an Empty Cup Part 3

Pouring from an Empty Cup Part 3: Let it Overflow

Welcome back to the third and final part of our blog series. Part 1 explored the realities of teacher stress, Part 2 focused on ways to leverage professional development to create a more positive school culture, and now we will tie all together by addressing our ultimate focus – the students. 

All educators know that modeling is one of the most important and effective instructional strategies.  Unfortunately, when teachers are stressed out and overwhelmed, it becomes very difficult to model emotional wellbeing and students feel the impact. 

As we explored earlier in this series, most teachers will leave their struggles outside the class and do their best to maintain a positive presence, but it really is impossible to pour from an empty cup.  Teachers can’t give students something they don’t have themselves, so it becomes crucial for teachers to adopt self-care practices and explore mindset and other avenues of personal development.  The good news is that there are many strategies and they are all easy ways to refill the cup.  Once it is full, the students benefit tremendously – especially in the area of social and emotional learning (SEL).

Social and Emotional Learning, or SEL, is not a new concept and I contend that most good teachers employ SEL practices regularly and organically, but the overall concept and implementation really does need to be highlighted.  In this current climate of accountability and standardization, the academic focus has taken a lot of time and energy that would normally be devoted to character development or SEL.  That means that many school programs no longer educate the whole child and all eductors need to work together to counteract the effects of that shift.  SEL is one of the best antidotes for standardization because it emphasizes important life skills like risk taking, collaboration, resilience, and connection as educators create safe communities in their classrooms and schools.

As Aristotle said, “Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all” and that is a cornerstone of SEL practices and programs.  Unfortunately, the idea of educating the heart is often stigmatized as some sort of “fluff” that is either deemed unimportant or blamed for the current epidemic of young people who are labeled as apathetic, needy, and/or entitled.  The reality of the situation is that we need to find ways to shift that perception because teaching needs to support learning academically, socially, and emotionally if we are going to truly prepare students for the globalized 21st century world.

Dr. Sheldon Berman, one of Edutopia’s SEL experts debunks the “fluff” stereotype in a very powerful way.  He explains, "[SEL] isn’t touchy-feely stuff. It’s core social skills that give students the experience and the knowledge and talent to work effectively with others. This isn’t about being nice. This is serious work. It’s serious work to create a sense of community. It’s serious work to resolve conflicts. It’s serious work to create a positive environment in a classroom. And it’s serious work, on the student’s part, to be able to manage themselves in a way that is constructive."

This serious work needs to be facilitated by teachers who understand all the facets, take them seriously, and embody the benefits.  Once teachers manage their own stress and (ideally) get some support in that realm from their administration in the form of professional development, it is much easier to model key concepts like gratitude, empathy, resiliency, authenticity, compassion, and connection.

However, teachers are more than capable of creating a positive shift even if they aren’t completely stress free and even if their district isn’t supporting this trend with a formal initiative and professional devleopment.  Teachers can choose to “be the change” so that others will see the merit and start adopting an SEL mindset, and, in this case, that is relatively easy to do.  Three easy-to-integrate SEL practices for teachers and students are,

1. Daily Gratitude Journal – a daily gratitude practice helps people of all ages to shift their perspective by looking for the good.  Gratitude also allows the “fight or flight” part of our brains, our amygdala, to disengage so we can calm ourselves – this is why some experts love to point out that we can’t feel stressed and blessed at the same time.  Gratitude journals are quick, easy, and incredibly useful for both teachers and students.  At the end of each day (or class period), teachers and students can create a lifelong habit of gratitude by writing down something that they are grateful for in order to end the experience on a positive note.  I have seen tremendous growth from this technique in my own life and in the lives of my students and their families so I really encourage you to try it for a few weeks and let me know if you feel any shifts.

2. Intentional Breathing – Slow, deep, intentional breathing is a stress-management tool that also serves a social and emotional purpose.  By slowing down to focus on breathing, we are able to bring ourselves into the present moment where we can find a place to pause if we need to redirect.  Everyone knows that we can choose how we react to our circumstances, but if we don’t slow down long enough to breathe, we definitely don’t slow down long enough to pause and make conscious, positive choices about challenging situations.  Last but not least, breathing is physically good for our bodies and minds.  I would say that I’m surprised by the number of teachers and students who are not breathing deeply (or sometimes at all), but I was one of those teachers, so I definitely get it.  Thankfully someone shared this lesson with me and ultimately shifted and improved my experience in and out of the classroom.

3. “I Am” Statements – Anotehr great practice is to allow students to explore their strengths and affirm them by writing “I am” statements like, “I am fun.”, “I am sporty.”, “I am kind”, etc. This practice suggestion was inspired by my work with the global Everyone Matters movement because their viral “I am” selfies with celebrities and students around the world always inspire so many people.  When we encourage students to look at and define themselves in positive ways or with positive characteristics, we can foster confidence, compassion, and connection in our classes and schools.

Obviously, there are infinite ways to leverage SEL at every grade level, but these are a few of my favorite.  If you’re looking for more tools or resources, please check out the pilot program for The Choose Love Enrichment Program and visit CASEL’s site for the most extensive explanations, research, and resources.

Last but not least, share this, leave a comment, and let me know how you emphasize SEL in your classes.