CONNECTICUT, USA — It’s a byproduct of the COVID-19 pandemic: stress. It seems everyone is feeling it.
“I think the reality is, our nation’s educators, like most people, are experiencing a tremendous amount of stress, “ said Marc Brackett, Founder and Director of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence. “For kids, what we found in our research, is they’re frustrated, they’re anxious, they’re bored and lonely and they’re sad, and so, we need to do something about it.”
That’s where a new course from the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence comes in. It’s available for all Connecticut school staff. The 10-hour virtual program involves a bit of theory, science, and practical applications on how teachers can build a safe and supportive classroom environment for their students.
“We definitely know as educators, if our students don’t have the coping strategies to deal with their emotional trauma, they will not be available for academic learning in the classrooms, so that’s going to be our focus is getting everybody back on track. So we can address the academic that we missed, but also meet the needs of our kids who have been so greatly impacted,” said Erin Daly, a third-grade teacher for Danbury Public Schools and President of Danbury CEA.
The program for Connecticut school staff is funded by Dalio Education, which wanted to see the program go widespread to bring social-emotional learning to more schools.
“To give them tools to the teachers so they manage their emotions and then transmit it to the kids,” said Barbara Dalio, Founder, and Director of Dalio Education.
Governor Ned Lamont said during this pandemic Connecticut has seen children reach out through the State’s 211 hotline, dealing with their own feelings of isolation and concern. He says this type of social-emotional learning will hopefully change the way we teach Connecticut’s children.
“How we think about the whole kid. How we think about talking to the whole child in a way that inspires him or her, how they’re going to learn,” said Governor Lamont.
Connecticut school staff can pre-register for the course at https://www.ycei.org/selcourse.