002: SEL: It's who you are and what you do with Dr. Krista Leh

EPISODE 002 HIGHLIGHTS:Defining SEL and deconstructing some myths around SELSEL is not a program and more than a lesson plan: It is who you are and what you do every day.Modeling SEL ourselves and leveraging that to change the power dynamics in learning spacesExamining our connections with students so they can show up as their authentic selvesTaking a collective, strengths-based approach to SEL that involves self, staff, students, and familiesEPISODE 002 RESOURCES:Follow Krista Leh on social media: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Resonance Ed websitePASCD 3-part webinar series: Cultivating an SEL System for Student and Staff Synergy AcademyEPISODE 002 TRANSCRIPT:Krista: Welcome everyone to this episode 2 of SEL in EDU. Hi Craig!Craig: <Laugh> Hey, Krista how's it going?Krista: It is good. It's a Saturday morning. I think you and I have a ton of energy that is not really contained in any one direction.Craig: <Laugh> that would be true. That would be true. Krista: But I think we had talked about the first couple of episodes were just them getting used to us and who we are. But we're excited to bring on some guests to dig in and really talk about where SEL shows up in education and in all the different ways that it can show up.Craig: Yeah. And so today I'm excited because I have the opportunity to interview you so that the world can learn, just get a couple of glimpses into who Krista is to the world that we have here. And so pretty excited.Krista: I'm excited as well. So I know that we had, we often talk about, do we come up with some questions or do we just kind of wing it? And you're like, well, what if I just ask you some questions? And so I'm off for that. So let's just see where this goes.Craig: Awesome. Well, let's go there's a great quote by one of our education leaders who I regard highly. He's the author of many things and he just released the children's book. You know, how to think and like a coder and he has this quote, “All you need is one person to believe in you and the world is yours.” Just one. And so I'm curious, who's that one person, and I know that it’s probably many people, but as early as you can think about it…Who is one person who lit that fire ignited that fire in you that has driven you to be who you are today?Krista: Wow. Wow. Like, do I go back to elementary school?Craig: I'm leaving it open-ended.Krista: Dang. You may have silenced me because I have all of these different people come in. And so here's how I'm going to answer that. All right. I truly believe that there are different people who come into your life at different points and provide opportunities and entries for you that you may not have ever thought about before. And so, as I'm talking about that, I am going to share that one of the biggest “AHAs” of my life was when I had a principal named Chris Shafer who came to me one time when I was seven years in teaching. He said the state of Pennsylvania has a grant that allows for people to get involved in what they're calling “Classrooms for the Future,” where you become an instructional technology coach. And we're going to apply for this grant. Krista: We're one of the schools that is kind of behind in it; there are other schools that are ahead. Would you be interested in this position? And up until that point, I never thought I was going to have a life outside of the classroom because I loved being with the students so much. It wa