Linda Darling-Hammond is a Stafford University education professor. She was interviewed on her ideas of creating a collaborative classroom and man would I love to teach at one of the schools she was describing. Throughout the video Linda describes the importance of integrating social, emotional and intelligence into the classroom. Yes, there must be social and emotional teaching in order to support kids with basic skills such as making friends, sharing, and problem solving, but Linda’s point of view is so much more than that. Integrating social and emotional learning into schools means creating a safe school environment where students have strong relationships amongst each other and their teachers, as well as teachers having strong relationships with fellow teachers. A healthy learning environment occurs where there are smaller environments where students and teachers can collaborate. Unfortunately, the Harford County Public School System is moving in the opposite direction due to budget cuts. Class sizes are increasing which means teachers will not be as successful building those special connections with their students.
Linda also mentioned that social and emotional learning is created through a lot of project-based collaboration amongst students. When students are working on a real-life task within a group, they need social skills, emotional skills, and intelligence in order to divide and conquer, problem solve when a dead end arrives, organize a task, and have self-discipline. I try to incorporate as much collaboration work amongst my students because I truly believe this is how they discover social and emotional skills best. Inquiry based lessons engage students and allow them to work together in order to solve the task at hand. Arguments may arise amongst groups, but this is a great moment for them to learn how to problem solve in a safe environment where they can get guidance if need be. The last powerful part of Linda’s interview was her description of Debbie Myer and her impact on education. Debbie Myer created elementary and secondary schooling where teachers and students stay together for two years straight. This promotes relationship building, maintaining that safe school environment, and gives teachers the ability to learn and help their students best. I am a firm believer that students are intellectually available when they are socially and emotionally available. My first and foremost goal for each of my classes is to build strong, trustworthy and reliable relationships with my students. Debbie Myer created a school model where she has proved this has worked; with higher graduation rates, students feeling more connected to school and students taking on more leadership roles. This interview truly spoke to me as an educator because not all teachers take into consideration social and emotional needs when thinking about how to reach students intellectually. This interview is a great resource in supporting how connected social, emotional, and intellectual learning truly is.
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