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Social and Emotional Learning | The Westview School
Supporting the Whole Child
The Importance of Social and Emotional Learning
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In the past ten years, there has been growing recognition supported by an extensive body of research that social and emotional curriculum is not only as important as the core curriculum but also an essential contributor to high academic engagement and success. With that recognition comes the understanding that the time given to teaching the social and emotional curriculum is a critical component of a high-quality education.
Every school has a mission statement that includes a statement of its intention to prepare students for citizenship and success in their everyday life.
Social and emotional competence is vital for students to imagine and pursue a bright future for themselves and their community. This competence develops when students are provided the time to learn and practice developmentally appropriate skills that prepare them for citizenship and future success in everyday life.
Social learning focuses primarily on oneself in relationship to others, including demonstrating responsible citizenship and acting in ethical ways for the benefit of not just oneself but also for society.
Emotional learning focuses primarily on one's relationship with oneself, specifically one's responses to emotions, and includes learning to recognize and manage those emotions to stay on a trajectory that leads to the best and most desirable outcome.
Social and emotional competence prepares students to learn, play, work, and form friendships and relationships in school with people who are different from them and to learn to manage change more effectively. It enables students to be more cooperative and responsible, increasingly control their own behavior, and make good choices and decisions for themselves.
The Westview School uses the Fly Five Social Emotional Learning Curriculum to support students in Kindergarten through Grade 8 in their acquisition of academic, social, emotional, and behavioral skills.
The C.A.R.E.S. Standards of Fly Five are based on the five social and emotional competencies that were identified through research conducted by the Center for Responsive Schools in 1985. The C.A.R.E.S. acronym comprises the traits of cooperation, assertiveness, responsibility, empathy, and self-control.
As students prepare to go beyond the school walls, they will face the push and pull of societal dilemmas. We hope that acquiring these skills will prepare them to be respectful, empathetic, and assertive. Mastering these social and emotional competencies will also enable them to be empowered citizens who exhibit prosocial behaviors and demonstrate respect for self, others, and property. Finally, our students will be prepared to manage adversity and meet challenges and difficult circumstances with hope, resilience, and a greater sense of efficacy to solve problems or successfully resolve conflicts.
