Changing the Middle School Story:
A Review of Wayfinder's SEL Curriculum

Middle schoolers are the ultimate underdogs.

We adults tend to dwell on all that can go wrong with this age. We notice the emotional swings that come with puberty. We wince at the social drama in school. We roll our eyes and call them “hormonal.” Yet as legitimate as our frustrations are, when we focus primarily on challenges, we may miss the deeper changes at play. Middle schoolers’ brains are making unimaginable leaps in development. We’re witnessing brain growth that is second only to the early childhood years in speed and intensity. If we can look past our own fears, the middle school years are one of the most opportune times for growth and learning of our lifetimes.

At the heart of this opportunity is the chance to build social and emotional intelligence. The brain changes caused by puberty lead middle schoolers to have more intense and complex emotions, and to be far more aware of the social dynamics around them. We know from research in the field of social-emotional learning, or SEL, that learning how to navigate these emotional and social worlds will have a profound effect on their academic success and their mental health. So the question is: how do we teach these skills?

I recently had the chance to review the curriculum of Wayfinder, who are presenting one answer to this question in the form of a middle-school SEL curriculum. It’s designed to be immediately usable by teachers wanting to offer SEL in advisory or other spaces. After reading their full middle school curriculum, my first response was: what a world we would live in if all young people grew up with this wisdom!

The curriculum includes topics like how to form friendships, how to forgive, and how to discern the difference between intent and impact. It invites personal reflection, develops gratitude, and helps young people make sense of the pressures they feel. In short, it gets to the heart of what this age is really about: figuring out who you are, and who you’re becoming, in the newly intense social world you discover around you.

I was equally impressed by the design of the lesson plans. The curriculum team clearly put great thought into making their work accessible and engaging to a wide range of learners. The lesson plans tap into physical movement when possible, into the powerful middle school social drive through well-framed discussions and games, and into a sense of personal relevance by asking deep questions about identity, in language that treats middle schoolers seriously. The curriculum has a good balance of playfulness with depth.

In order to make SEL accessible, we need to offer teachers materials that follow the classic educational dictum of “low floor, high ceiling” challenges. Easy to get started — and with infinite room to keep improving. I was happy to see Wayfinder’s curriculum following this rule, with well laid-out lesson plans, clear prompts, and accessible language. It’s a friendly beginning point for a teacher just starting to offer SEL. And for a more experienced educator, they can use the same topics to invite deeper discussions as they feel ready.

I have seen many SEL curricula, and Wayfinder’s is one of the best. It takes on important topics, with clever and engaging lesson design. It offers material that should be at the very core of what schooling is about. And it avoids the trap in SEL curriculum of turning these intensely personal and important topics into dry instruction. Rather, it taps into students’ personal and social questions in a lively and engaging way.

I’ve spent two decades and counting fascinated by middle school, as both a teacher and a school leader. It makes me hopeful to see curricula like Wayfinder’s become more commonly used in our field. The middle school years are ones of immense potential, and any route toward activating that potential will involve this essential work of building students’ social and emotional intelligence. Let’s make middle schools, and schools in general, places where well-being is our first goal.

Chris Balme
Co-Founder, Millennium School
Founding Principal, Hakuba International School
Author of Finding the Magic in Middle School
www.chrisbalme.com