A Conversation With Todd Nesloney

Why do you believe SEL and EQ are important?

I am a firm believer that 50% of our job as educators is reaching their brain and the other 50% is reaching their hearts. SEL and EQ should be the foundation of everything that we do because kids can’t learn until we deal with the social emotional.

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

As a teacher, and then campus-wide as a principal, I used the SEL program “Classroom Champions” that connects top performing Olympic and Paralympic athletes with classrooms to help kids learn SEL skills. It was an INCREDIBLY powerful and personal program and my students even won a competition where our athletes got to come and spend the day with us at our school!

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

One of the biggest challenges facing educators today is time. It seems like every year more and more are put on teachers’ plates without ever taking much off, yet the pay remains the same and no extra time is given to plan or prepare.

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

I think the pandemic has blown the doors open with us now re-thinking the way we traditionally do and view education. Now is the perfect time to reimagine and do things differently!