#Social Emotional Learning

[writingprompts]

Self-Confidence Scale

[A scale from 0 to 5 with 0 labeled “No self-confidence at all. Easily embarrassed, fears failure, lack of healthy boundaries, lots of self-doubt and negative thinking” and 5 labeled “Too overly self-confident, full of themselves, arrogant, entitled, feeling like they deserve special treatment or attention.”]

Where do you think you are on the self-confidence scale? Where do you imagine others perceive you on this scale? Where do you think most people are? Where do you think the ideal spot on the scale is? Where do you want to be? How do you think you can get there? If someone else was trying to have better, healthier self confidence, what advice would you share with them? Could you give that same advice to yourself? What does the scale over simplify or not account for? Share your thoughts on the self-confidence scale.

This writing prompt is from unicornwriting.com 

Applicable Common Core Writing Standards: CCRA.W.1, CCRA.W.2, CCRA.W.3, CCRA.W.4, CCRA.W.5, CCRA.W.6, CCRA.W.10 

🦄✏️ Check out unicornwriting.com for more creative writing prompts and education resources including the FREE Writing Prompts Starter Pack. Or follow along with unicornwriting on Instagram. 🦄✏️

[am-i-a-boy-or-a-crybaby]

WHOLESOME KIDS SONG FOR ELECTION SEASON BLUES !!!!

(Sorry for no poem lol)

My siblings and I had a cd from a local kid’s band that had a song that I think was so important to my social-emotional development as a kid. A while back I showed it to one of my friends and he cried about how he wished he had something like this as a kid to show him that being different was something that shouldn’t have to be an issue. It’s not perfect, but it’s incredibly cute and has dinosaurs so it gets extra points from me. Felt like sharing :)

Love, Grayson 🤍

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Christopher Wiggins at The Advocate:

Recently revealed training videos from Project 2025, obtained and published by ProPublica, shed light on a comprehensive effort to overhaul federal policies concerning inclusivity and LGBTQ+ rights. Project 2025, a more than 900-page Republican strategy document, aims to institutionalize Trumpism within the federal government by dismantling diversity programs, placing Trump loyalists in critical positions, and rejecting progressive ideologies.

[...]

In one of the videos, former Trump officials Bethany Kozma and Katie Sullivan focus on reshaping federal policies around gender and inclusive language. Sullivan begins by mocking inclusive terminology, saying, “Hi, I’m Katie Sullivan and just a normal American woman, but to the left that makes me a cisgendered, ethno-imperialist birthing person with pronouns she/her” She adds that these words “are quite a mouthful, and it’s one America needs to spit out before we choke on it.”

Kozma and Sullivan specifically target terms and concepts such as gender, sex assigned at birth, and gender-affirming care. They reject the term gender, arguing that it is “completely toxic” and should be replaced with “biological sex” to maintain clarity. Kozma claims, “It’s no longer being used to mean male or female, but now how people identify, which is where we get this idea of gender identity.” She adds, “We should never use the word gender as conservatives.” The pair also criticize the phrase “sex assigned at birth,” with Kozma describing it as “the left’s attempt to change biological fact and to try to normalize their belief that biological sex can change.” She advises, “If you see the term sex assigned at birth, delete it and replace it with biological sex.” Sullivan and Kozma are equally dismissive of pronoun use, warning political appointees against adopting practices that respect individuals’ gender identities. Sullivan states, “Don’t use them in email signature blocks, on LinkedIn, and absolutely do not ask people what their pronouns are on your first day on the job.” Kozma adds, “We are not here to discuss pronouns,” emphasizing a refusal to engage with gender-inclusive practices.

The two also belittled social-emotional learning, a framework widely used in education to help students develop self-awareness, self-control, and interpersonal skills. Kozma referred to SEL as “the new buzzword for CRT or critical race theory,” dismissing it as just another tool of the left to infiltrate conservative spaces to “indoctrinate” kids into adopting a more open worldview. Sullivan encouraged political appointees to scrutinize any references to SEL, arguing that such terms are part of a broader effort by the left to change culture through language. These efforts are part of a broader conservative push to delegitimize LGBTQ+ people and roll back rights through legislative actions across the country. 

One of the Project 2025’s Presidential Administration Academy training videos exposed by ProPublica featuring former Trump Administration staffers Bethany Kozma and Katie Sullivan contained opposition to gender identity concepts, gender-neutral language, and gender-affirming care.

[picturebookshelf]

Mr. Nobody (1985)

Story and Art: Roger Hargreaves

[nothorses]

Do you have any more info on social-emotional learning?

I can only find versions for kids that include "follow the rules" in a million different words which uhh seems antithetical to the concept of SEL

I don't have as much relevant info as someone who's been formally trained/educated in SEL specifically, but it's definitely a big part of the philosophy of education in my program. My understanding of SEL is that it's about teaching kids to identify, process, and self-regulate their emotions, and to be in community with others.

A lot of the work I see around SEL is very intentionally informed by culturally-responsive education, which is, in a nutshell, about valuing students' individual cultures ("culture" meaning, like, everything from the general understanding of the word, to stuff like family culture and communities students are a part of- like the queer community- to neurodivergence and disability). That manifests as a way of teaching students that directly involves and welcomes their cultures (ex: having students teach each other, inviting community members to teach students, etc.), valuing the unique knowledge that students of different cultures bring to the classroom, helping students develop a positive sense of identity, and teaching students to value the cultures of other students.

This is also why it's under attack from conservatives; SEL necessitates discussions around justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion.

There are a lot of ways this shows up, but tbh, I would avoid SEL resources that emphasize academic performance or adherence to rules/"good behavior". The purpose of SEL is not to serve educators; a happy and healthy student is going to have an easier time in the classroom, but that's for the students, not the educator. Students should also be learning, like, autonomy, confidence, and self-advocacy. And educators should be making an effort to meet students where they are with their needs; we don't demand attention and punish students when they struggle to give it to us, we seek to understand why students struggle with our methods, and adjust them to meet their needs.

I've seen some decent resources floating around, and I think one of the best keywords to look out for is "culturally-responsive"; if you're just seeing resources that stress following rules, maybe try adding that onto your search!

I'm personally just a little hesitant to recommend anything without having time to comb through it more thoroughly first, and a lot of the SEL-related content I've learned through has not actually named SEL itself. 🤷‍♂️ If yall are interested in some readings around cultural responsiveness & supporting student health and happiness, though, I'm happy to provide!

[neworkimprov]

Laughter: The Best Medicine You're Not Taking (Enough Of)

We all know the feeling: a belly laugh that leaves you breathless and your cheeks hurting. But beyond the immediate joy, laughter offers a surprising amount of benefits for our mental and physical well-being. Here’s why you should prescribe yourself a daily dose of humor: Stress Slayer: Feeling overwhelmed? Laughter can be a powerful antidote. By lowering stress hormones like cortisol, a good…

[omgneptunee]

no bc why tf in my sel (social emotional learning) class we watched a video about social awareness and all of a sudden it started talking about Undertale, Toontown, Fortnite, Roblox, and Among Us

[openstorygames]

Journaling RPGs

TL;DR Journal games provide an escape that brings you back to reality through reflection and creativity. Kids' journal games look very different from adult ones, but both can achieve similar goals. When I started writing games (months before I was brave enough to hit "publish"), I stumbled across journaling RPGs.

Playtesting

I playtested a few games for other creators, and I realized that the process of journaling in character was perfect for me! A limited project with defined rules that helped guide my thinking to a conclusion.

As a writer, I've always struggled to bring things from the middle to an ending. It's the hardest part of the process for me.

Journaling games aid that process by forcing an end. You draw a certain card; you run out of a limited resource; if you're lucky, you achieve your goal. Suddenly, your adventure has come to an end.

The game gives you the scenes along the way, but it's your job to put them in character and connect the dots. The ending exists, but how do you get there?

First Writing

After playing a few journaling games, I was intrigued. I wanted to write my own!

That first experiment gave me the rough draft of Dolorine. It wasn't anything special, at first. I had some growing to do before my deity of affliction would reach her full potential.

Lil Gremlins

I tried my hand at some other types of narrative TTRPGs, and I've enjoyed each project. But that journaling game just kept brewing in the back of my mind.

Still not ready to go back and face the (possible) mess of Dolorine, I shifted my focus to a kid-friendly journaling game.

That's a whole different experiment!

Kids don't have the stamina or hand strength to write long, extensive passages. They don't do well with dense text explaining complicated rules.

I knew I'd need to have simple rules and a journal template for Lil Gremlins to have a chance.

So I set to work, creating a game about your friend/pet monster, who gets into mischief quite a bit.

The great thing about journaling games is that they give you the opportunity to reflect on yourself and your own thoughts, feelings, and actions.

The tough thing about making that a game for kids is that kids don't have much practice with that. And their brains aren't fully developed yet. They've got a lot to learn!

Cover art by Mary Bransom

I intentionally wrote Lil Gremlins to be customizable and to grow with kids who play it. I designed it to handle big social-emotional learning topics in manageable chunks.

This game was for kids to take some power back. For them to wield the word NO! in a safe context. For them to be in control of what was allowed. For them to reflect on why certain things might be considered troublesome.

Lil Gremlins is a journaling game, but it's not meant to be played solo. It can be, of course, but it's written to encourage you to share your story! A younger player might want some help writing; a bigger kid might ask for their completed journal to be displayed.

And in doing all of that work, I created a game that helped me learn to write journaling RPGs for other audiences.

Back to Dolorine

With that first experience under my belt, I was ready to tackle the mess of Dolorine again.

A game that is very much not for children, Dolorine comes with a host of content warnings and a much darker theme.

After all, when the character you're playing is a deity who chooses to accept suffering for the purposes of transforming that suffering into power, things can get pretty grim.

During the months that passed between Dolorine's first draft and editing, I discovered the wonder of SRDs. I didn't have to build my game from the ground up. I didn't need to struggle to convert my Lil Gremlins skills to an entirely different context.

I used the Aspire SRD and the Caltrop Core SRD to give my dark fantasy vibe some structure.

With those building blocks, the game settled into its final form.

Dolorine is a solo journey through what it means to be afflicted. But it gives the player power, though in a very different way than in Lil Gremlins.

When I started my first draft, I wanted a game that gave pain purpose.

In a world so full of suffering, we can easily be overwhelmed by the senselessness of it all.

But for the Dolorine, deity of affliction, all pain has a purpose. She lives in a world where her suffering is never lost in the void.

There's a fantasy to that. A chance to use our pain for something worthwhile.

There's a danger in that. An opportunity to become the cruelty we seek to eliminate.

Either way, Dolorine has you reflecting on some tough themes as you channel affliction into the ability to rid others of their power to harm the vulnerable.

Very different game from Lil Gremlins, to be sure.

Comparison

Lil Gremlins is set in a world of peace and lightheartedness. There is no trouble so large that it can't be solved with a hug or a good book.

Dolorine wanders through a realm of agony. Nowhere can she turn that she doesn't find trouble.

But both games offer the player some hope against the powerlessness that we all feel at times.

And both give you the opportunity to reflect on your own role. You may be the responsible one in Lil Gremlins but the mischief-maker in your life. You might feel powerless in Dolorine but discover that you can change things even without deific abilities.

You might learn some uncomfortable things about yourself. Or you might just tell a good story. Either way, journaling games are an excellent way to grow as a writer, creative, and person.

Quick Promo

If you're interested in either of the journaling games I mentioned above, be sure to check them out at the links below!

Lil Gremlins is on sale for another week. Don't miss your chance to pick it up at a discount!

Dolorine is PWYW for a limited time! Try it out, and consider leaving a rating so I know how you like it!

[thestarlightforge]

One of my favorite Directing Techniques exercises my professor ever taught, both when I was a student and a teaching assistant:

People watch, choose a person, observe them for 10 mins (in a non-creepy way). Then, take 10 more minutes and write them a backstory with a simple prompt: “That is a person who someone loves, fully and deeply.” Doesn’t specify a context for the love—platonic, romantic, familial—or how many people they matter to. Just that that person is someone who is, or was, loved. Then, present these decisions, definitively and confidently, to the class.

It’s an excellent exercise in character and world building, observation and detail, and bringing collaborators into the world of your show—all important director skills. But most importantly, it’s an exercise in empathy and compassion.

Sometimes, I practice it on the street. Take a few minutes where each person I pass, I take a few beats to think of who they are as a person who is loved, even if I know nothing about them. It takes emotional energy of course, but I’ve actually noticed it’s really helpful and beautiful. ❤️

[motivationalspeakers]

Inspire and Engage Your Students with Top School Speakers

Students think that the best thing about getting to go to school assemblies is GETTING OUT OF CLASS! Yes, they are mandatory, sort of, and are for the large student body. But when students get close to the gym or auditorium and they hear the type of music they like, they start to wonder if they might just like it this time!

I don’t mean to sound partial, but our SCHOOL SPEAKERS truly are the very best in the nation! They are relevant, exciting and interactive. But it’s so much more than that.

Those who do not have oral disabilities use oral language to communicate ideas and feelings to other people. In general, they use the language to converse at home or in the office, but on occasions they must speak formally before a certain audience, often without having the necessary fluency to do it well; An example of this is when students have to make a presentation in the classroom. In this article we explain what public speaking is, what it is for and what a high school public speaking course is about.

Even if it is a small intervention in the class, it is always necessary to have a training that allows the development of the necessary skills to express each word fluently, this provides security and strengthens self-esteem at a stage of life when we are full of insecurities and complexes. For this reason, it is important that Language teachers develop public speaking activities and dynamics for secondary schools as part of their teaching process.

In fact, public speaking for secondary school is part of the contents of this signature; but we really know what oratory is and what is its importance.

What is oratory?

According to the Spanish Royal Academy, the word oratory is a Latin term that refers to the "art of speaking eloquently", it refers to the ability to express the message that you want to convey in the correct way, clearly and fluently before others. people, whether family or not. Clarifying this is the first thing that is explained in the texts on public speaking for high school youth , which are used by Language teachers.

It is worth noting that public speaking as an area of ​​language is not a new subject, since it was Socrates, the Greek philosopher, who created one of the first schools of public speaking for his young students in Athens, where being an orator was considered essential for everything . educated citizen. Thus arises the need to generate experiences to teach this art to adolescents.

The importance of studying public speaking in high school

People live in a world where communication is part of all our activities , for this reason, during the performance of daily life and work, there are always spaces where people must present their ideas. In the workplace, speaking is part of our day to day, since at some point we have to present a report, attend a conference, present a project or address a group of clients.

In this case, we must show serenity and security, speak appropriately, accentuate the words that are worth highlighting, look into the eyes of the listeners and apply the techniques of a good speaker to make the best impression.

For this reason, it is important to study public speaking and a good time to do so is through group dynamics planned by teachers in secondary public speaking courses . This is an activity that is very relevant if we consider that high school graduates are being trained to practice a profession where they will have to present their ideas or opinions when presenting a project or discussing a business idea.

Just to give examples of how important it is to teach high school public speaking , we will refer to the professions in which it is required to speak properly.

[picturebookshelf]

I'll Share With You (1986)

Story: Linda Apolzon -- Art: Kathy Wilburn

[openstorygames]

Don't miss your chance on this sale! Grab a game or two, or save any more by picking up all 5! This won't last long, so catch it now!

Educational Games

Whither & Whence is a mapmaking game to help kids practice their measuring skills without even realizing it. Play in the classroom or at home to strengthen beginning math skills with kids in K-2nd. Encode is a ELA language-building game for kids who want to be spies. There's a certain amount of spelling and phonics that will make this game easier, but 3rd graders playing in teams had a blast playtesting! Older kids will love creating their own secret code, but the secret's on them: they're practicing language skills as they play! Intended for 4th-8th grade. Lil Gremlins is a journaling game for any age! Focus on emotional reactions and build those SEL skills, or use the fill-in-the-blank journal pages for kids who are working on handwriting. Use this game to help students learn to write stories and build a narrative with just a few minutes a day.

After-Bedtime Games

These games are for grownups once the kids are in bed. Whether you're a busy parent, a worn-out teacher, or any adult looking for a good game, these are for you! The Elders is a GMless roleplay-heavy game for 3-6 players. Retire a party of adventurers as they choose the next generation of heroes. Dolorine is a solo journaling game where you play as a deity who undergoes suffering to store up power. The Dolorine seeks to destroy the Bringer of Death and free mortals from their curse.

[geekysciencemom]

To the parents who are against Social Emotional Learning (SEL):

Apparently, you do not understand that SEL even is. Social Emotional Learning is about the whole child. A child can not learn when they are struggling with anxiety, depression, and trauma. A child can not learn if they are dealing with bullying. A child can not learn if they are hungry. A child can not learn if they are responsible for making sure their you get siblings are taken care of.

When you say you are against SEL, you are saying you are against meeting all the needs of a child.

You do not have the right to deny the needs of children. You do not have the right to dictate what other people's children learn.

[thestarlightforge]

My first two stuffed animals were bears, sewn together—a big one and a small one. Probably meant to be Mama and Baby Bear.

In one of my first acts of rebellion in life, I cut them apart. They still snuggled every night, but that baby bear needed room to become his own person, okay? (Also, it’s not a Mama and Baby Bear, no—it’s Papa Bear and Curly Bear, because Curly Bear is a young man deserving of independence and men can be loving, emotionally present parents, too.)

Next, naturally, I sewed Curly Bear Christmas pajamas and found him a Go Diego Go! safari jacket—befitting his Indiana Jones-style adventures. And in a barber shop game, I cut Papa Bear’s fur short; he wanted to try a new look, a close shave. The shave was a little ~too close~ lol and he nicked his face, but it gives him character. Grizzle, you might say. (NB: I did this in elementary school; got him as an infant. So I don’t actually remember what his fur used to be like.)

Throughout my childhood, Papa and Curly Bear (Bear being both a last and nickname) were the stars of many a stuffed animal-themed imagination game. Papa Bear was the ruler of my “Kingdom”—a black cat stuffed animal named Claudia (after our childhood cat) the Queen of my sister’s stuffed domain—and Curly was his adventurous son and an apprentice in Queen Claudia’s security force, run by my sister’s super nice Bowser plushie.

Curly was reckless, a real Han Solo type—everything I wanted to be.

When I went to college, I thought about leaving a lot of stuffed animals behind—but never them. (I am 23, Toy Story is a lie.) Papa Bear’s eye got cracked in one of my many moves to and from school, and it has been many years since we played a proper “game” (of this sort) together. But it’s no wonder I’m in theatre now, and when I look at them, I appreciate where I came from and the fiery person I’ve always been, and I still draw inspiration and comfort from them both.

A pic from today, 1/18/23.

😊🧸🕵️

How many people’s most beloved childhood stuffed animals are actually teddy bears, like I feel like that’s a thing someone made up. Reblog this and put what your longest owned and/or favorite stuffed animal as a child was in the tags, inquiring minds want to know

[mauiminds]

I spy... a lot of textbooks that are super out of date.

I wonder... what can we do with the old textbooks?

How might we... turn old knowledge into new tools?

Join me in the Unschool of Generativity at Maui Mind Academy

[iridescentalchemyst]

"Rules for Civil Conversation" from the School of Thought

As election day grows closer, and tensions continue to rise, I thought these Rules of Civil Conversation from the School of Thought would be good for all of us to review!

The School of Thought International is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting critical thinking, reason, and understanding. They have developed an entire line of tools that are free for use, shared under the Creative Commons license! They also have a shop where you can purchase their products to help support the cause, including: card decks, posters, and links to interactive…