A Conversation With Charle Peck
Why do you believe SEL and EQ are important?
SEL and EQ are the core of what makes us function as humans, and they are essential to navigating our lives in a healthy way. They help us cope with the inevitable obstacles that challenge and skew our life path and teach us to attune to others along the way. We all need to belong, and therefore, we need to understand our own shortcomings and limitations while learning to empathize so we can build deep connections and become strong advocates. The more we master SEL skills and develop our EQ, the greater the chance we have in making this world a better place to exist.
Do you have any personal anecdotes about how SEL/EQ has brought you success in your
personal life/career?
Over time, I noticed people seeking me out to discuss personal and professional problems, especially those involving challenging people in their lives. They often expressed appreciation of the time I spent listening to them while offering some guidance, and many of my colleagues told me to go into leadership. Having gained confidence as being the sort of “SEL guru”, I am able to have conversations with just about any person in any role, which can be daunting to some. In my personal life, this led me to meeting my dream celebrity (Jon Bon Jovi) and professionally, it allowed me to reach out to people as a podcaster. Rather than being intimidated by people with a distinguished title or status, I am eager to learn from them. Having strong SEL/EQ knowledge and skills has definitely helped me grow, and overall, the connections I have with others ultimately open the doors for opportunity.
What do you believe to be one or two of the main challenges in education (K-8) today?
The two main challenges in education are: 1) a lack of training in trauma-informed teaching and, 2) avoiding difficult topics and situations with staff and students because we are driven by fear of causing further harm, offending someone or getting something wrong, so we do nothing. Investing in SEL early in human development will lead to an advanced EQ in later life, especially in early adolescence when the brain is uniquely developing. Schools are the second most significant agent of socialization and often have a powerful influence over the life path of our children. The earlier we learn to effectively teach self-advocacy, boundary-setting, decision-making, self-regulation (or naming/recognizing/feeling our emotions), self-awareness, etc. the better chance our youth will have in polishing these skills when they are emerging adults. Learning this in the early years also normalizes the conversations and allows adults to confidently model behaviors and foster important discussions that can keep our children safe and in healthier life circumstances. Had teen students learned the essential SEL/EQ in their homes and reinforced by schools (or visa versa), they may have avoided unhealthy/abusive dating relationships, or perhaps they would have set boundaries with friends, activities or (gasp) parents/adults. With all of the evidence-based data we have these days, SEL should be mandated in school curriculum globally to address these pressing issues.
Conversely, what do you believe to be one or two of the biggest opportunities in education (K-8) today?
There is excellent leadership right now in education with some awesome training opportunities that exist in SEL. Insightful administrators are leaning on their compassionate staff who understand the value of this kind of programming, so innovation is definitely occurring. Training in trauma-informed teaching and mental health awareness is readily available, and conversations about suicide prevention is emerging more now than ever before. Some schools infuse SEL curriculum into daily practice, especially in middle schools, and others are stepping into it; there is forward movement. I also see administrators investing more into whole school SEL programming while keeping their staff’s mental health in mind. Parent groups are receiving training and students are attending workshops (internally or externally) too, and language around emotional regulation and self-awareness is being normalized. This is a fantastic way for whole school communities to unite. I am really excited about the future of education!