Written by Thank you!
I start this post off but offering thanks, appreciation and gratitude to all members of Cohort21 who have helped me to get this far, to friends who have listened to me rant and to the readers who are about to hopefully read my full post! Thank you.
People say there’s nothing to lose, but is there? In all honesty, I sit here feeling vulnerable by what I am about to post; my Action Plan. I feel vulnerable because I am making my thinking visible, putting my deep rooted passion into words for whom ever wishes to read. But I feel excited, knowing this is the moment of truth where it all becomes real. It is no longer a thought in my head but a public post to which I am now going to be held accountable for and hopefully drive something truly beautiful to happen.
So here goes nothing… drum roll please
My Action Plan
Big Question: How can we best meet the social and emotional needs of our students?
Theory Behind It: Each and every person in life will experience times of strength, happiness and joy but we will also experience times of weakness, hardish or sadness where help is needed. So why isn’t help available when we need it? I speak on behalf of all the children out there who may have gotten into a fight with their best friend and does not know what to do. I speak on behalf of the child whose parents have just announced their divorce. I speak on behalf of the children who feel different and do not know where to turn.
How can it be that in the education system, we place so much of our focus on the educational/academic needs of students but are missing one of the biggest targets of all- their social and emotional needs? As teachers, we are expected to know what to do, to help students solve issues that they may be experiencing out on the playground or at home, but the reality is- we are not professionals in the practice of guidance, in mental health, in psychology. We are only teachers! Yes, many of us out there perhaps have better advice or strategies for handling situations we face on a daily basis but the truth is, we cannot best meet the social and emotional needs of our students, the way it should be done, the right way.
My Action Plan Timeline (regardless of time)
– Post my Action Plan as a Post SMASHED
– Meet with Head of Lower School and Learning Strategist to share and discuss my action plan
– Gather information on schools in Toronto which have a guidance counsellor
– Determine which of those schools have guidance counsellors who meet the social and emotional needs of students through 1-on-1 sessions, small groups, in class push in (specialist)
– Find examples of PSPE (personal, social, physical education) curriculums that schools world-wide use (focus on IB and other Canadian/international private schools)
– Survey teachers within my school as well as other schools to determine the “need/feeling” for a guidance counsellor and curriculum
– Interview/meet with guidance counsellors at schools in the Toronto region and via Skype (internationally) to determine their role in their schools and how they feel it best meets the social and emotional needs of students
– Survey students to determine the likelihood that they would be receptive to a guidance counsellor
– Draft a PSPE curriculum using the information gathered
– Have it reviewed by experts/people higher up
– Propose curriculum once I have a solid handle on it
– Take it from there…
So there you have it, my Action Plan in a nutshell. Okay, that wasn’t so bad now was it?! I guess I’ll have to wait and see.
Until then…
Hi Vanessa,
Thanks so much for putting yourself out there and sharing your action plan. Your plan to devote a lot of your action plan to research an speaking with guidance people is a great use of the empathize phase of human centered design. To go a step further, have you considered actually interviewing your students about their experience? I don’t know how well it would go over with elementary school students, but it might be worth some investigation.
Looking forward to Friday and to seeing where you take this!
Leslie
Hi Les! I had considered interviewing my students and I am not sure how I failed to include that. hahah I agree that seeing through the lens and perspective of the very people we are looking to support, is by far the most vital! I have received such incredible suggestions over the past week. I still am needing time to digest it all. I hope tomorrow will do the trick or at least power me on through 🙂
You have hit the ground running and I am eager to read about the journey. The scope of your action plan is really very impressive. Your research and community dialogue will not only benefit your current students, but they have the capacity to make real change at your school. An off branch to your proposed research: have you considered peer listeners? (Students receive specialized training and counseling to learn how to provide support and resources for peers.) Might be another facet to your research. We’ve been running the Peer Listener programme at Ridley for a number of years with success. I’d be more than happy to connect you with our Faculty Advisor, if interested.
Looking forward to connecting on Friday.
Shelley
Peer Listeners!? WHAT! This sounds incredible! I would love to be connected and to hear how it began, how it works and how it has benefit students and their needs! Lets chat tomorrow. Thank you
Here’s a description of the programme:
“Peer Listeners serve as role models, companions, educators, advocates and leaders to our community. The purpose of such a programme is to offer another place and an alternative person, on campus, where a student can go and find support. Peer Listeners provide free and confidential listening services to Ridley students. Although not professional counselors, Peer Listeners will be trained in basic counseling skills and are committed to on- going education and personal growth. Peer Listeners help other students explore their problem-solving options given their available resources. Peer Listener candidates will apply in writing to the Chaplain and the Director of Residential Life, Candidates will be interviewed and appointed. There is a maximum of 16 students. Sign-up is subject to the approval of the activity leader.”
Hi Vanessa,
Social and Emotional well-being is so pivotal when working with students! This is a great action plan, very detailed and HUGE… I like the (regardless of time) piece! Have you seen this video put out by Edutopia? http://www.edutopia.org/keys-social-emotional-learning-video
In your last post I think I suggested you @dneville and @aharding from last year but I will also share your contact info with a colleague of mine who is doing just this at Lakefield College – her name is Kirsten Johnston – she’s working with a small group and is working with a mindfulness app. I’ll share the name soon as it’s escaping me at the moment.
Looking forward to hearing about your progress in the next few months and years to come!
Yes, yes and yes! I will set aside some time over the next week or so to go through the suggestions you have given me. Everyone keeps suggesting I take a look at Danny’s which I love! I taught with Danny last year- we were teaching partners 🙂 I have been looking at his and will continue to. Others have suggested I also look at Allison’s as well. Lots of reading to catch up on and I appreciate the suggestions.
Speaking to your college would be vital and I am sure inspiring. I look forward to talking to you tomorrow. Thank you again Derek
Hi Vanessa,
I think this is a terrific action plan! The social and emotional needs of students is something I consider constantly and I work with a fantastic Guidance team and Social Worker at UTS (University of Toronto Schools). I’m guessing from the pictures in your post that you teach at the elementary level. UTS is a middle and high school but I would be happy to share our “School Support Model” which was recently redeveloped. We have also delivered a Strength Based Resilience Program to our Grade 7 students that was developed by the Canadian Positive Psychology Association. Wellness is part of our school’s strategic goals and we have a very robust student run Wellness Team that delivers a variety of supportive programming and events. Lots to talk about! See you Friday!
Oh Robin, amazing! I would love to touch base with you and have some great discussion around this tomorrow! I do much better in face to face these days. I am finding it hard to balance with so much needing to be done digitally! Thank you for your assistance and support. I think that regardless of the age, gathering information and seeing how social and emotional needs are being targeted across the board is imperative to developing a solid and successful curriculum.
WOW!
Your to-do list has me envious! it is great.
Creating a to-do list is now on my to-do list.
I’d love to touch base with you on this. I think that the work you are trying to do is so important. Our schools have such an easy time adding new academic programs to the roster while the social/emotional programs are easy for teachers and administrators to dismiss.
I am looking at helping Middle school students develop autonomy, mastery and purpose for my action plan. One of the activities I am trying out is a monthly mentor meeting (Middle Mentors we call them). We use this time to work with groups of 6-8 students across the middle grades on topics like empathy, risk taking, leadership and identity. It is working well but has highlighted how much more time we could use working in groups on topics like this. It has also highlighted how nice it is to mix up the grade levels and allow the students to mentor and guide one- another.
I will look forward to hearing how your action plan goes.
My school didn’t have a guidance counsellor in the secondary school when I started there, and I found myself calling the school psychologist from my former school to get advice on working with some troubled students. I think counsellors play a crucial role for both students and teachers, and I am grateful that we now have a full-time person dedicated to the social/emotional well-being of our students. Your students are lucky to have you looking out for them!