The Word Around the Water Cooler: SEL and Bullying Prevention | By: Committee for Children The Program Development and Research Department here at Committee for Children is (as always) hard at work, and their current focus is the relationship between social-emotional learning (SEL) and bullying. It’s a concept that fascinates us, so we asked some of our colleagues and friends about the relationship from their unique perspectives. Here’s what they had to say. The Research Scientist “We know that bullying and disruptive behaviors are manifested very early on. Many teachers are seeing the genesis of this earlier and earlier. It's important to establish foundational academic and social and emotional learning skills early on, given their interdependence.” Sabina Low, Ph.D., Assistant Research Professor School of Social and Family Dynamics Arizona State University The School Counselor “Teaching and practicing skills like assertiveness, empathy, and problem solving in grades K-3 really prepare students for appropriately responding to bullying situations. All the terms and skills are familiar to them when I start to teach bullying prevention with Steps to Respect in fourth through sixth grades. Just today I taught the Steps to Respect lesson on being assertive in a fourth-grade class, and the students knew exactly what I was talking about after learning about assertiveness in the Second Step third-grade curriculum. I was able to focus on being assertive in relation to bullying situations.” Jill Ramsey, School Counselor Midway Elementary School Des Moines, WA The Program Developer “Social-emotional learning provides a solid foundation for a school's bullying prevention initiative. Skills like making friends, assertively standing up for one's self and others, solving problems, managing strong emotions, and developing empathy not only help children refuse and resist bullying, but they contribute to the development of a positive school climate.” Mia Doces, Senior Programs and Media Specialist Committee for Children The Parent “When my son was being bullied in elementary school, four of his classmates went to his teacher together to report it, and it stopped. I realize now that if those kids hadn’t had the SEL skills of empathy, assertiveness, and problem solving, they may never have put themselves in my son’s shoes and banded together to help him.” Sally Vilardi, Director of Marketing and Client Relations (and Parent to Jack) Committee for Children The Teacher “I strongly believe that by teaching students good social-emotional skills, we are giving them the tools they will need to be able to manage both their emotions and behaviors. We will also be giving them the tools to solve problems and learn to communicate with others—and all these skills can help prevent bullying, too. By teaching them these social-emotional skills we are helping to prepare them for life.” Chloe Engelbrecht, Preschool Teacher St. Edward School Seattle, WA