{"id":6854,"date":"2024-01-18T18:22:51","date_gmt":"2024-01-19T00:22:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.graduateprogram.org\/?p=6854"},"modified":"2024-01-23T11:02:46","modified_gmt":"2024-01-23T17:02:46","slug":"how-the-whole-child-approach-empowers-learners-for-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.graduateprogram.org\/blog\/how-the-whole-child-approach-empowers-learners-for-life\/","title":{"rendered":"How the Whole-Child Approach Empowers Learners for Life"},"content":{"rendered":"

As teachers<\/a>, we have so much more to do than teach reading, writing, math, etc. We have to help children grow in other areas that will help them develop lifelong skills to be successful. This is known as the whole-child approach, and the components are broken down below.<\/p>\n

Cultivating Curiosity and a Love of Learning<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

If students are not curious and do not enjoy learning, school is a struggle for them on a daily basis. The best way to captivate students\u2019 hearts is to engage them from the get-go. This has been a focus for our school this year, and we have seen a tremendous increase in students saying that they enjoy school. We do this by talking to kids about their level of engagement<\/a> during class and having them rank where they are.<\/p>\n

We use an engagement continuum, and this opens up a lot of conversation about why students may not be engaged and how we can support them. We also plan high-interest lessons and learning tasks to promote student engagement. We plan fun school events such as asking teacher cadets from our local high school to hold a book club with students and then having a celebration after reading the book. These types of plans take time but are well worth it!<\/p>\n

Building Social and Emotional Intelligence<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

This is done extremely well at the elementary<\/a> level but is sometimes seen as more of a challenge once students reach middle school. This age and high school<\/a> are just as critical for social-emotional learning<\/a> because kids are dealing with things they do not know how to do and have never had to do before. If we can equip them with skills that teach them how to enhance their emotional intelligence, we are arming them with tools to be successful in life.<\/p>\n

It is more difficult at those levels because students will often shut down or think it is lame\u2026but we have to embrace it and include it in the daily activities and interactions planned for school. We must not give in to the temptation of eliminating this due to our discomfort level. We have to persevere and show kids that we care about them and their future. Here are a few ways that teachers can foster social-emotional learning in the classroom:<\/p>\n