Counselors Revise SEL Instruction

As of this year, RULER classes have completely vanished. Instead of our monthly classes, students are being pulled from their classes and into the auditorium, where they listen to a guest speaker for the next hour or so. Accompanying this assembly is the introduction of “wellness panels” which students can sign up for to participate in workshops that focus on mental health management. According to School Counselor Jill Divilio, removing RULER was a district decision, and the only two people in charge of the program had resigned for positions outside of the Nutley district. In retrospect, this decision would not have affected the students that much, as the new SEL lessons improve upon the last. However, while the recent social-emotional learning initiatives are a considerable step-up from last year, it leaves room for some changes.

What makes the recent school initiatives a cut above from the former RULER program is that it discusses issues most relevant to students. While being in tune with one's emotional state is important for adolescents, the RULER program was held back by its rather rudimentary contents. A significant issue it had was that, as explained by Edweek.org, “They try to graft elementary-style SEL onto middle and high school learning.” Their method of teaching social-emotional learning was not adaptable to an older demographic, and did not properly reflect the needs of an average teen. This problem was solved by simply redirecting the program down to sixth-grade students, which is a more appropriate audience.

This is also one advantage the new initiatives have: its ability to be relevant to high-school students. This year’s recent assemblies have been about topics such as online safety and child exploitation, to name a few. These topics are fitting for an audience of teenagers because, as described by the American Psychological Association, “Unsupervised social media use is more likely to expose children to potentially harmful content and features of social media.” This is due to a variety of factors, such as the fact that not all content on the internet is catered to minors, and the existence of online predators who use methods to manipulate and exploit them. By implementing school assemblies about the risks posed to teenagers, high school students are given the opportunity to possibly identify these issues within their own lives and are encouraged to seek help from the staff or other professionals. 

The recent wellness panels are also a considerable improvement to SEL efforts. Its related workshops have now shifted its focus to stress and mental-health management, which are equally as relevant to teenagers who may be struggling with their grades or pressure from their friends and family. One notable feature of this program was the college students they invited, who gave their own advice: this was planned in their first wellness panel. This is a smart decision made by the faculty, as many students have plans to go to college and may be overwhelmed by the uncertainty of pursuing higher education. These initiatives show that the NHS SEL program has been making efforts to reach out to the Nutley community to help support students.

Students themselves should also start a discussion on how to further improve these efforts. The Google Forms sent out after most assemblies are a great way to counter-act this issue. It should be essential for students to give constructive feedback to the staff to make the SEL program better beyond just being relevant to students. It should also be upgraded to create a more comprehensive system of information and resources to really prepare students for the social and emotional obstacles they may face as they grow into young adults.

Works Cited

American Psychological Association . “Keeping Teens Safe on Social Media: What Parents Should Know to Protect Their Kids.” American Psychological Association, 9 May 2023, www.apa.org/topics/social-media-internet/social-media-parent-tips.

Prothero, Arianna. “Adolescents Need SEL That’s Designed for Them. Here’s What That Looks Like.” Education Week, 23 Feb. 2023, www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/adolescents-need-sel-thats-designed-for-them-heres-what-that-looks-like/2023/02.