March 1, 2024 | Liz McCardle

“Future Ready” and SEL Alignment at Find Your Grind

Defining Find Your Grind’s “Future Ready” and its alignment with social and emotional learning—what we really mean when we say “SEL”

Find Your Grind sees “social and emotional learning” as the skills that ultimately contribute to academic, career, and lifelong success. These are the same skills that are critical in times of rapid technological transformation, economic uncertainty, and social change. These future-proofing skills paired with 21st century skills can be applied to all areas of life: at school, at home, at work, and in our communities.

Being Future Ready means…

Being Future Ready means students have met these outcomes to prepare for life, no matter what pathway and lifestyle they choose.

Being labeled “Future Ready” means students have expanded from developing just social and emotional skills and have been exposed to as many career opportunities that are aligned to their own skills and life plans as possible. Through exposure and exploration of new pathways, skills, lifestyles, industries and future-proofing skills (i.e., SEL), students are able to identify how their skills and talents will empower them to thrive in the future of work and the industries and careers they can be successful in.

This future ready plan sets students on a path of self-determined, self-paced, personalized learning that builds confidence, intuition, and expertise through investment and reinvestment in new or increasingly complex knowledge and skills through relevant skills and competencies. 

And over time, students’ interests, knowledge, skills, confidence, attitudes, actions, improvements, and interactions regarding their goals and mission mutually reinforce one another, encouraging continued reinvestment. 

With educators investing in students’ personal career paths, providing opportunities for exploration, and developing their future ready skills, educators, teachers, and schools as a whole, can be more proactive and forward-thinking in preparing students for the future and the future of work.

Find Your Grind’s Alignment to Social and Emotional Learning

Find Your Grind believes that social and emotional learning is a process of continuous improvement, a journey toward your better self. Social and emotional learning and Find Your Grind’s Theory of Change describe the mindsets, skills, attitudes, and feelings that help students and adults succeed in school, career, and life. We align with the CASEL Framework and its five broad, interrelated competency areas.

Find Your Grind Future Ready Competencies

Find Your Grind’s Theory of Change and Future Ready Framework are grounded in four competencies: self awareness, social awareness, career awareness, and action awareness—a future-proofing blend of both SEL and 21st century skills to achieve a future ready fluidity path. We guarantee students are more future-ready when they complete Find Your Grind’s curriculum experience.

Self Awareness

Students will demonstrate their understanding of their personal strengths, skills, values, and behaviors through communication and life planning

Social Awareness

Students will understand how they fit into the world around them. They will be able to communicate how they relate to other people, groups, and situations and with respect to diverse perspectives and feelings of others

Career Awareness

Students will identify how their skills and talents align with the industries and careers they can be successful in and will be empowered to thrive in the future of work

Action Awareness

Students will demonstrate the ability to set actionable steps, explain progress, and will be open to support and feedback while on the path to achieving their goals