99
Volume:
2021
,
February

Tools Every Teacher Can Use

Submitted By:
Mary-Patricia Moynihan, Ed.M. Candidate, Klingenstein Center, New York, NY

SEL From the Start: Building Skills in K-5 by Sara E. Rimm-Kaufman
W. W. Norton & Company, November 24, 2020

SEL From the Start is a gem of a resource for teachers new to Social and Emotional Learning, as well as for those educators looking to deepen their current practices. Written for elementary school teachers, Rimm-Kaufman’s book provides practical advice, resources, and insights into what current research has to say. The book’s upbeat, conversational tone makes it an easy read for busy faculty members, and it provides a roadmap for how to start out the school year. Rimm-Kaufman lays out her advice for helping students to develop prosocial and productive behaviors by sequencing the skill-building in SEL, starting with creating classroom norms and progressing through all the skills needed for more complex social tasks like resolving conflict.  She uses refreshingly direct language about racial and social inequality, connecting DEI work to the skills SEL brings to the table. Interspersed throughout the book are many concrete ideas for building social awareness in all students. “My goal has been to raise your expectations about what is possible in your classroom,” (p. 158) Rimm-Kaufman reveals at the end of the book, and she has met that goal in providing tools every teacher can use.

Categories
Social-Emotional Learning
Teaching Practice