The Friendship Issue
After 16 months of an educational experience marked by screens, masks, and social distance, what students have missed most can be summed up in one word: friendship. Learning to make and keep friends is a crucial social skill for all students. In this issue, we focus on helping students build and maintain healthy friendships and navigate social ups and downs. We’ll also consider how the developmental and social implications of the pandemic impact friendships and what we can do to help.
Articles in this Issue
Friendships: Why Are They So Important?
Miriam Cohen’s Will I Have a Friend? is one of my favorite children’s books. In the story, little Jim is ready to start kindergarten, and as his father walks him…
Teacher Tweets @CRSLearn
Last month, we asked our social media followers to share their tips for helping students with friendships. Here are some of the best responses, along with resources to help you…
Let’s Be Friends: Initiating and Maintaining Friendships
Our earliest friendships can elicit powerful emotions and memories. Think back to a childhood friend, and ask yourself, what did I learn from them? Are your memories positive or negative?…
Sowing the Seeds of Friendship: Ten Ways to Nurture a Friendship-Ready Classroom
In your classroom, students should feel a sense of significance, belonging, and fun—three crucial components for their success in and out of school. Teachers spend a lot of time readying…
Making and Keeping Friends
Can you think of a time when you’ve met someone and you felt instantly familiar with them? You sensed a connection and quickly became fast friends. While those rare moments…
From Our SEL Field Notebook: Friendship and Prejudice, A Conversation With Dr. Angela Bahns
Learn how to support students in building healthy, inclusive friendships from Dr. Angela Bahns, Associate Professor of Psychology at Wellesley College. Dr. Bahns’ research on friendship selection strategies and the…