STORY OF THE MONTH
CELEBRATING THE INTERNATIONAL SEL DAY - MARCH 10, 2023
Social & Emotional Learning – SEL, is the process through which all young people and adults acquire and apply the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to develop healthy identities, manage emotions and achieve personal and collective goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain supportive relationships, and make responsible and caring decisions. Today, let’s have a chat with SEL Officer at ChildFund Vietnam – Ms. Nguyen Thi Ha Lan to learn more about SEL!
Hello Ha Lan, I’m very happy to have the opportunity to chat with you on SEL day. First, can you share with everyone how your journey started in the field of social and emotional learning?
Hi! My interest in working with students began in university, where I wanted to help them live confidently, happily, and healthily. Therefore, I decided to pursue a career in psychology and education. When I was studying psychology, I determined that I wanted to follow the direction of preventive intervention rather than counseling therapy. Meanwhile, SEL is one of the ways to equip students with essential knowledge and skills to take care of themselves and live a healthy life. As soon as I discovered the importance of SEL, I felt that this was the path I wanted to pursue.
How do you think SEL skills contribute to a child’s wellbeing?
For me, SEL plays an important role in the comprehensive development of an individual in general, not just children. However, nowadays, we tend to prioritize academic development and overlook the emotional and social aspects, which have been emphasized in education since ancient times.
Ha Lan during a training session on social & emotional learning for children.
In addition to your profession and major, do you apply any SEL methods in your family life?
Ha Lan and her family.
I first practice SEL skills myself and exchange ideas with my partner to establish a foundation of shared understanding and behavior. Children learn by observation and imitation, so when parents model SEL skills, their children are more likely to develop them too. 😀
To close today’s conversation, can you share a memorable event or an experience of practicing SEL in your daily life or work?
I have a nephew who tends to scream and cry when he doesn’t get what he wants, possibly due to an unfavorable educational environment. During his playtime with my baby, he also has a tendency to snatch toys from my baby, which I don’t condone and usually leads to his screaming. To address this behavior, I modeled breathing techniques and encouraged him to express his feelings and desires in a more appropriate manner, which has required consistent reinforcement. Recently, during a play session with my baby, my nephew attempted to take a toy from her again, but this time, he paused and took a deep breath before saying “Can I borrow it?,” instead of resorting to his previous screaming behavior.
TIN TIN TICK & TALK
EDUCATION ADVISOR'S VISIT TO VIETNAM
On March 21 and 22, The Education Advisor from ChildFund Australia, Ms. Laura Blanchard, spent time visiting and working in Hoa Binh and Bac Kan provinces. Such activities have contributed to offering the Education Advisor a comprehensive overview of the challenges with regard to project activities, thus helping her to come up with practical solutions in the future.
An extra-curricular activity to raise awareness about online risks for secondary students in Hoa Binh Province
News by: Dinh Ngoc Duy – Social Worker
On 02 March, 237 grade 8 and 9 students from Phu Cuong Primary & Secondary School, Hoa Binh province excitedly took part in an extra-curricular activity……
The seminar “Strengthening coordination between Health & Education sectors in health care for students
News by: SBS Team
The seminar “Strengthening coordination between Health and Education sectors in health care for students at ethnic minority semi-boarding schools…..
The seminar “Strengthening coordination between Health and Education sectors in health care for students at ethnic minority semi-boarding schools and schools with semi-boarding students” was recently organised by the ChildFund Program Management Unit of Ngan Son and Thach An districts.
As part of the project “Safe and Supportive Semi-boarding Schools for students”, the event welcomed 60 participants who were school, commune and district health workers, experts from the disease control centre in Bac Kan province, leaders of related departments, and teachers from project schools.
In the workshop, delegates were informed about the current situation of student health care at schools and the cooperation between Health and Education in student health care, then together participated to develop a detailed cooperation plan to nurture and care for the health of students.
The workshop “Sharing experiences on integrating online safety curriculum into schools” in Cao Bang province
News by: Nguyen Manh Cuong – Project Officer
Nearly 20,000 students; 5,000 parents and 1,000 teachers have been provided with online safety knowledge. On top of that, many others also received training including…….
These remarkable results of the online safety project “Swipe Safe” after 5 years of implementation were shared at the workshop “Sharing experiences on integrating online safety curriculum into schools”.
The workshop took place in two days from 10-11 March in Cao Bang province with the participation of 72 delegates from the Department of Teachers and Management Development, Department of Education and Training, and leadership boards and informatics teachers from 3 provinces of Hoa Binh, Cao Bang and Bac Kan. This was not only an opportunity for the participants to look back on the project’s journey, but also place for them to share ideas to effectively educate children about online safety, especially in the context when more and more forms of child abuse using technology are emerging.
Participants all agreed upon the practicality and urgency of integrating online safety into the secondary school curriculum, at the same time showed their commitment to cooperate and promote this activity. In the coming time, in addition to providing more trainings for teachers and students, ChildFund will work with partners to implement new, creative and effective ideas to create a safe and comprehensive educational environment for the students.sinh.
The “First feedback on supporting children in the transition from preschool to primary school”
News by: Dinh Thi Thu Ha – Project Officer
On 4 March, the workshop “First feedback on supporting children in the transition from preschool to primary school, gender and disability: Planning and practice” was held…..
The “Happy and healthy children – Stepping up to the Youth Union” festival
News by: Hoang Van Hung – Project Coordinator
During the festival on 26 March, 600 students participated fun activities such as performing flashmob, playing folk and physical games……….
Launching of “Pupils with information security 2023” contest in Hanoi
News by: Do Duong Hien – Online Safety Specialist
On the morning of 17 March, under the guidance of the Ministry of Education and Training, the Ministry of Information and Communications and the Ministry of Labor…….
CULTURE CORNER
APRIL, THE KINDNESS MONTH FOR SPREADING LOVE AND HAPPINESS
Stories told through sound are proven effective in motivating and inspiring people. How long has it been since the last time you expressed your sincere feelings to your colleagues?
A brand new category in the “Together” Newsletter where ChildFunders can send kind messages to each other. Let’s read meaningful messages and enjoy good songs of this April!
A gift from a member of the Program team to Do Duong Hien, Online Safety Specialist
A gift to Nguyen Thi Ha Lan, SEL Officer
A gift to Le Minh Phuong, Business Development Officer
A gift from Nguyen Thi Hien – MEL Officer to Nguyen Thi Le Thu – Sponsor Relations Officer
A gift to all ChildFund Vietnam members whose birthdays are in April
CULTURE CORNER - BAN KAN "GIO" CAKE
Bac Kan “gio” cake with its shiny amber color, soft and sticky texture, and sweet taste from sugar cane syrup has long been many people’s favorite snack.
“Gio” cake’s origin dated way back. It used to be a common dish found in many rural areas across the country. But now, Bac Kan “gio” cake has become a delicacy produced and sold all year round, helping to improve the economic life of local people.
Although “gio” cake doesn’t have a filling, it still requires a lot of effort to make. The key to a good “gio” cake is good ash (or “gio”). The baker will choose cinnamon or acacia wood to burn into smooth white ash, then mix it with limewater in a precise ratio to produce “gio water”. If this water is too thick, the cake will be acrid and inedible. But if the water is too watery, the cake will be pasty..
DID YOU KNOW?
One simple thing you can do every day is to ask about how your child is feeling. You can start by asking “How was your day?”, or “What feelings do you have?”. Remember to take note, respect every emotional states your child experiences, but don’t judge them. Practice active listening and ask what made your child feel that way!
Pay attention to the words your child uses. Negative comments like “I can’t do this”, or “I’m afraid of that” can be thoughts that represent a “fixed mindset.” Instead, you should embrace opportunities to help your child practice and build a “growth mindset” – an essential component of SEL.
Encourage your child to replace negative words like “Never” or “Always hard” with words like “I can do it” and “Failure helps us learn and grow” etc.
Please bear in mind that family is the first place children learn about SEL. Indeed, children learn by observing how adults behave in daily situations. Therefore, you should be a role model for your child’s in terms of SEL skills. Although we sometimes may make a mistake, children can also learn through our corrective measures!
Together
March 2023
CHILDFUNDERS – FOR CHILDREN’S WELLBEING