The Palo Alto Unified School District had been developing new ways to integrate students and guide them on their high school journey since 2017, when the Social, Emotional, Learning and Functionality program was first introduced at Gunn High School. The program was intended to tailor to developing students’ social-emotional skills and help them build trust and support systems between peers and mentors.
Now, Gunn High’s SELF program has become a regular part of students’ schedules, alternating with study hall on Fridays every two weeks. Though the concept behind the program is widely respected and supported, the execution of the program has received mixed criticism from students over the years.
The program’s curriculum is tailored by grade level: Freshmen focus on finding a community and themselves; sophomores on building relationships with their peers and establishing boundaries; juniors on planning for the future; and seniors on life after high school, according to the program’s website. Generally, classes include a discussion and lecture from the SELF mentor as well as reflective writing or speaking activities. Overall, the program intends to provide a safe space for students to share about their worries, hopes and discuss mental health.
How rigidly the curriculum is followed, however, depends on the SELF mentor, according to sophomore Anthea Sun. In some cohorts, like the one of Sun, SELF sessions include a large amount of time to socialize with her classmates after her mentor’s lesson.
“Sometimes we talk in a circle [as a class], and sometimes we have free time to play card games or just hang out,” Sun said. “It’s nice … because [there are] a lot of people I don’t talk to outside of class, but that I get the chance to talk to during SELF.”
Sun also says, however, that SELF takes away some valuable opportunities to do work.
“A teacher once let me know late that I had to finish something by the end of the day,” she said. “I didn’t know what I should do or when I could do it, so I didn’t go to SELF.”
An anonymous freshman has had a slightly different SELF experience. In their class, students are asked to put their phones into phone pockets and are given seating arrangements next to people they’re not familiar with. The purpose, the student said, is for students to get to know those who they don’t normally talk to a bit better.
The anonymous student said their SELF class could be improved by allowing more flexibility for work time, and that they could be doing more with the time they are given.
“Right now, [the class] feels like a waste of time,” the student says. “I know the point is to improve mental health, but if we [could] do homework there, and have more free time at home, I think that would also make mental health better.”
The SELF program is regularly going through changes and responding to the feedback of students, teachers and parents, but for now, it has some way to go before all students are satisfied with it.
