Social Emotional Needs

An issue that I have continued to face–from preservice to inservice teaching–is if and how to show concern and compassion for my students. Specifically, I struggle navigating between prioritizing my curricular goals and caring for my students’ social and emotional well-being. I know I should find harmony between these ideas, but the classroom is a bit messier than that idealized view. It’s not as simple as I would like. For instance, I was facilitating a discussion with my high school geography students when I noticed a couple of students sleeping. These were some of my strongest students. I really wanted them to participate in the discussion, especially since they usually carried the class. I was afraid that the discussion would fail without them. But, at the same time, I was concerned for them. They are not usually asleep in my class. I was torn. On the one hand, as a teacher I believe it is important to hold my students accountable, engage them, and teach them. However, I also believe that I must be considerate of their physical, social, and emotional needs. This was a difficult moment as I was weighing my desire for them to actively participate in the discussion with my belief that as a teacher I am also a caregiver.