A Conversation With Robert Beltz

Why do you believe SEL and EQ are important?

An emphasis on SEL and EQ is what drives learning and creates systems for students to meet the challenges of each day. Now, more than ever, adults have a responsibility to build foundational connections and to teach our youth to self-regulate in times of adversity.

Do you have any personal anecdotes about how SEL/EQ has brought you success in your
personal life/career?

In working with refugee students and students with high numbers of adverse childhood experiences, I found myself stuck in a pattern of vicarious trauma. I suffered significant physical and emotional symptoms. It was in training of trauma informed practices and applied educational neuroscience that I was able to balance effective self-care with service to others. Now I speak to audiences about the science and practice of Trauma Informed Care, but 70% starts with one’s own regulation.

What do you believe to be one or two of the main challenges in education (K-8) today?

Schools throughout the nation are experiences a shortage – not just of teachers – but of all human resources. This is leaving many in the field to be exhausted and emotionally battered. The more tired adults are, the less tolerant they are. Meanwhile, students are trying desperately to communicate through behaviors. Dysregulated adults cannot help dysregulated children.

Conversely, what do you believe to be one or two of the biggest opportunities in education (K-8) today?

Problems are opportunities. The advancements and findings in applied education neuroscience are changing the way that we approach learning by changing the lens by which we view discipline. The challenges of today will force caregivers, including teachers, to attend to the SEL and EQ needs of each child first. In meeting children where they are in their brains and in their nervous systems, we are better able to give them the skills to navigate through the world.