I have to be honest with parents who have children in the public education system. Yes, academic success is important, but from my tenure in education, I can tell you that the social and emotional wellness of students is equally as important, if not more.
Especially while matriculating through school because it is early signs in behaviors; good, bad or indifferent, that show up in their adulthood.
I’m challenging parents across the state of Indiana and the nation to focus on ensuring the social and emotional wellness of your school-aged children.
According to the World Health Organization, youth and young adults between the ages of 12 and 29 are increasingly being engaged more in violence.
Parents, what many will say is that teasing and bullying are simply normal childhood things all children go through. However, we also know that teasing and bullying can cause huge gaps in the social and emotional wellness and development of our youth.
Don’t be shocked, but there are people who don’t view teasing and bullying as violence against another; but indeed, it is and does lead to violence. Teasing and bullying attack the social, emotional, mental and oftentimes physical wellness of children and youth.
Over the last few decades, the impact of the “sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me” belief has been a huge barrier in creating safe spaces for students who are being bullied or harmed.
Words indeed do and can hurt us! But we teach our children and youth to silence their voices, not to cry, not to “snitch” on someone when they are hurting you, doing harm or doing the wrong thing. Our words influence our actions which is why affirmations in schools are a great way to help change the culture of how students engage with one another in respectful ways.
Working with parents and families this past school year allowed me to see how what’s happening at home, in our communities, through social media common and top is what concerns all parents is the safety and well-being of their child.
Many teachers are on the frontlines of helping ease the fear of parents and families by working to ensure that learning spaces are safe physically, emotionally, socially and mentally for all children.
However, equity, resources and policies serve as barriers to ensuring this is done effectively for and with teacher leadership. This is why I’m urging parents to advocate for the well-being and safety of their children in public schools.
Safety has a lot to do with protecting the mental health, social development and well-being of our children as well as physically protecting them.
Data shows that more students are victims of suicide, mental health crisis, overdose, bullying, or peer pressure than of school shootings. Therefore, the media narrative is one sided driving fear in parents to place pressure on school boards to hire more police.
All the while, our schools continue to lack the needed resources for the social, emotional and mental health and wellness of our students. This includes having more counselors, graduation coaches, etc.
I believe we need more student support staff and educators who can efficiently provide the health and wellness needs of our students. Keeping students safe physically isn’t just protecting them with the presence of officers with guns. We need to be protecting the whole child which includes their health and wellness.
Pre-pandemic, we had a crisis on our hands in public schools with bullying. Not just bullying happening while students are in school but the continuation out of school through cyber bullying.
Too many of our schools have counselors focusing on getting students prepared for college and passing high-stakes tests when they should be helping students maintain sound emotional and social wellness so that they can do all those things and more.
But social emotional intelligence isn’t a primary focus of the curriculums and goals of schools. I always remind parents to look at not what is being said so much as what is being done. The facts still remain that students aren’t getting the social emotional support they need, school counselors are in a shortage, especially Black male counselors, and programming for things such as student activities and service learning projects are being cut or defunded.
I’m encouraging parents who are able to:
- join local organizations fighting for educational equity
- connect with social emotional learning centered coalitions, associations and organizations to gain research
- volunteer and collaborate with various communities in your area
- get students engaged in sharing their stories and advocating for themselves
Learn more about SEL and health literacy by registering for the upcoming National Parents Union town hall discussion on Social Emotional Learning and Health Literacy with practitioners, parents, policy makers and students, which will be held virtually on Tuesday, August, 29, 2023, 6:30 p.m. EST, using this link: https://streamyard.com/watch/PjeR427nmiZC.
Contact Indy Kids Winning reporter Jason B. Allen at jasona@indyrecorder.com . Follow him on Twitter ProfessorJBA.
Jason’s work is supported through a partnership between Indy Kids Winning and the Indianapolis Recorder. Visit indykidswinning.com to learn more.
Jason B. Allen is an educator and education reporter. He attended school in Atlanta, K-12, and is a graduate of the University of West Georgia and earned a B.A. in English and M.A. in special education.
