From “Buy-In” to Ownership of Social-Emotional Learning
Have you ever tried to convince someone to change their mind about something? Chances are, the harder you tried, the more that person dug their feet in. This response is normal because people tend to resist when they feel forced.
We hear this phrase all the time from educators: “Before we start doing social-emotional learning, we need to get staff buy-in.” But what does that really mean?
We have found that attempting to get "buy-in" is frustrating for everyone because:
It feels a lot more like convincing people to sign a petition than igniting a passion.
It feels like a temporary solution.
It usually involves sharing a need, which for most people, feels like hard work and hassle.
Do teachers need great SEL strategies? Yes! Do students need to develop these skills? Yes! Unfortunately, people usually do not follow need. They follow vision.
To know your vision for Social-Emotional Learning, ask yourself these three questions:
Why does this matter to me?
Why does this matter for students?
What does this matter for our staff/school/community?
Most often, educators are open to the idea of social-emotional learning. However, focusing on the need feels overwhelming and can be a turn off. But when we lead with vision, when we know why, and also believe it – it’s amazing what we can accomplish.
