Can Educators Enhance the Benefits of the SEL Program MindUp by First Creating a Community of Care Within the Classroom?

Abstract

Central to the success of any newly implemented program is the educator’s ‘buy-in;’ his or her belief that the program is practical to their overall learning outcomes and that it can produce optimal results for the time it may take away from teaching other curriculum areas. As our society has increased its pressure and expectations on the education system, not only with a child’s academics but also with a child’s social and emotional wellbeing, educators are feeling the pressure to find programs to address students’ stress and anxieties and inevitably educate a child so that he/she could learn to self-regulate without teacher prompting. Devoted researchers have created many programs to assist in teaching students about their brains, how we become stressed and tools to help fix ‘problems.’ As this is done in the classroom setting, it seems essential that students feel safe and connected to their peers and educators so that they may open up and fully embark on the lessons found within programs, such as MindUp, to profoundly enhance their social-emotional well-being.