Core Social-Emotional Needs When Returning to School: Relationships, Rhythm, Relaxation
Core Social-Emotional Needs When Returning to School: Relationships, Rhythm, Relaxation
As our students return to face-to-face learning, they will have to cope with many different emotions: anxiety, disappointment, worry and excitement…
These feelings overlap with what our teachers and we adults feel too. Especially during this period, our teachers will not only be coping with their own emotional state but will also be by our students’ side as compassionate leaders guiding them to a safe place where they can learn together.
During this period, our teachers will play a major role in our children’s emotional health. So how can we support them?
As parents and education leaders, we need to relax our expectations about learning a little and turn our focus to emotional needs first. Teachers educate individuals, not subjects. When they support well-being first, a better foundation for learning is laid.
At British Language Schools, we are focusing on three key elements that build the social-emotional foundations of children’s return to school during this period:
1. Relationship
The most important thing our students need from us is… us. They need to know that we are present in their lives and feel that they matter to us. This is less about the words we say and more about how we make them feel when we are with them: it is very important that they feel invited, accepted and valued.
In this emotionally turbulent period, we should make conscious invitations to our students that strengthen our relationships. This could mean holding a special welcome ritual every day or doing fun activities together with them. Bonding practices like these can reduce students’ anxiety by helping them feel safer and more at ease.
2. Rhythm
Children love rhythm and need it.
Constantly repeated routines, rituals and structures give children a sense of security. This rhythm offers a structure they can lean on and feel safe with in difficult moments. But right now, most children are experiencing the exact opposite. They have no idea what “normal” will be in the new term. We must quickly create new routines so that our students can regain their sense of security. These rhythms bring order to their days and provide a degree of predictability in these unpredictable times.
3. Release
Our students’ emotions will fluctuate when they return to school, and these intense emotions need an outlet so they can be expressed in a healthy way. Being able to channel students’ emotional energy in advance can prevent aggressive outbursts that might otherwise occur later. Daily spaces for release allow students to let out their pent-up emotions and to express the complex feelings they are experiencing openly.
The beauty of this practice is that it does not require us to know specifically what the child is going through. It is enough to give them the opportunity to express their feelings in natural ways such as music, physical movement, storytelling, writing, poetry, drama, art or the outdoors. These tools help students get closer to their emotions and feel a sense of emotional release.
Going back to school during this period will not be easy. We will need to try unfamiliar approaches and develop skills we are not used to using. But the most important thing to remember is that this is a time for building a sense of security, not for focusing on achievement or performance. Once we have laid this emotional foundation, students will be ready to learn.
Let us be patient with our students and with ourselves during this process. We are all on this path together, and at British Language Schools we are happy to be by the side of each and every one of our students.
