A recently released report from the Aspen Institute’s National Commission on Social, Emotional, and Academic Development provides a roadmap for putting relationships at the center of education. While the concept is widely accepted, the question is: Do we have the will to make a relationships-first approach real in every school across the country?
This approach is important for every student, and it is especially urgent for students facing the most adversity and instability. Brain science on childhood trauma increasingly shows that these experiences take away from learning and memory and can most effectively be addressed through positive relationships.
The solutions to take this from concept to reality range from reducing student-to-teacher ratios to providing help for professionals inside schools, such as school counselors and nurses. But first, we must expand our notion of what it means to keep students safe, and this must include relationships with caring adults. We have no time for the false choices of placing blame on home or school, or choosing between relationships and academic rigor. In order to meet the needs of today’s students and for America to thrive, we must do all of the above.
[For more on this story by REP. TIM RYAN (D-OHIO), REP. ANDRÉ CARSON (D-IND.), AND DAVID SHAPIRO, go to https://thehill.com/blogs/cong...ips-at-the-center-of]
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