Maui High’s Venture Into Distance Learning Kicks Off with SEL

For the first time in history schools across the country, like a great many things, are having to move online. Students everywhere are facing the transition to distance learning. From learning in classrooms alongside their peers to merely having a view of them on a screen, online learning is sure to have its toll on the interpersonal connections between students and teachers alike. To address stresses such as this ultimately caused by the coronavirus pandemic and to better benefit the learning of their students, Maui High School opened the school year with a school-wide focus on Social-Emotional Learning (SEL).

SEL is the process through which children and adults understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions. (https://casel.org/what-is-sel/)

When school began on August 17th, students and teachers alike were both experiencing something new. For a week, students and staff participated in SEL through lesson plans curated to provide students with support. It included staff introduction videos, self-reflection through journaling, and fun activities.

Offering insight into the lives of teachers in order to better connect with students, introducing healthy learning habits, and putting the wellbeing of students first, SEL within the scope of Maui High School created a welcoming atmosphere for all students in the sphere of their own home.

Behind the scenes, staff worked endlessly to ensure that Social-Emotional Learning would have a lasting effect on student performance while being limited to distance learning.

At the conclusion of the first week of school, an anonymous survey was sent out to gain insight into how teachers and students felt about the implementation of SEL. To many teachers, letting students know they care about them was their main reason for backing SEL. One teacher stated, “even though they may not realize it yet, this SEL curriculum will reinforce that they are cared for by MHS staff.”

Yet other teachers felt that the time they used for SEL could have been used for more meaningful class content. “The curriculum impedes teacher autonomy and obstructs the implementation of a highly trained teacher's instructional sequence,” stated another teacher in their feedback. Students who were not so impressed with SEL thought that the process of introduction was drawn out, some calling Social-Emotional Learning “boring”. This observation was not limited to the students, but the teachers as well. Citing a teacher’s response, “I’m starting to think SEL should have been spread out. Some students actually just wanted to ‘get on with it’.”

While some were understandably anxious to move quickly past the ‘welcome back’ phase, it is important to remember that Maui High, as a public school, serves a large and diverse population. Other students and teachers needed and appreciated the time to become more comfortable in this unorthodox distance learning environment and taking a slow transition into real class content rather than being thrown in the deep end. One student stated, “Each teacher was very welcoming and excited which had put me into a better mood since we are not face to face at the moment.”

Ensuring that each student had access to a digital device for online learning was another important element of transitioning to distance learning, along with ensuring that all students were able to login to their school Google and Infinite Campus accounts. Having light material, though perhaps boring for some, allowed time for school coordinators to work these necessary items out for a student body that surpasses 2,000 pupils.

The school body may be divided surrounding this topic and it is inevitable that many may feel uncomfortable with change, but taking measures to support the well-being of students during these unprecedented and uncertain times is undoubtedly an admirable effort on behalf of our school faculty. As we go along this school year of unscathed pathways, surely more challenges will arise, but thanks to opening first with SEL, Maui High students and faculty likely feel more prepared and united for this venture into the new world of distance learning.