WAB Podcast | Practiced Superpowers, Exploring Social-Emotional Learning at WAB 

What does it really mean to learn about emotions, stress, and relationships at school and why does it matter? In this week’s episode of the WAB Podcast, Middle School students, Sabrina, Isabelle and Charlotte, sat down with SEL expert Nick Haisman-Smith, from The Institute for Social and Emotional Learning, to explore these questions. 

Nick has been working with WAB for several years as part of our long-term commitment to social-emotional learning (SEL). During the conversation, he explained how SEL helps students understand their feelings, manage stress, work well in teams, and navigate conflict. He shared the importance of SEL as a “practiced superpower” that shapes how you relate to yourself and others throughout life. 

For Nick, SEL is most powerful when it is active, creative, and responsive to what students actually want to talk about. He has worked with WAB to design SEL experiences where students move, create, discuss, and try out concrete strategies, like tools in a toolbox that they can use to calm down, focus, or handle difficult emotions in real time. 

Our students connected this directly to their own experiences in WAB classrooms. They described how SEL feels more meaningful when it includes peer activities and conversations. They also shared personal strategies for managing negative self‑talk and academic stress, from building small daily routines and starting test prep earlier, to taking mindful breaks, deep breathing, or simply asking a parent for a hug. 

Simple, high‑impact practices like this really make a difference. In fact, Nick highlighted regular check-ins as one of the most powerful tools schools can use. When students pause to notice how they are feeling and share that with peers, they build self‑awareness and also empathy for one another. Knowing that a classmate is tired, anxious about a test, or not feeling their best can change how students support each other during the day. 

Nick also emphasized that adults need SEL, too. When teachers and parents have space to practice these skills, like listening deeply, naming their own emotions, and modeling healthy strategies, they are better able to support students and respond with empathy. His PALs session last week focused on practical ways families can listen and connect without adding pressure during difficult times.

For WAB, this work connects directly to our recent recognition in the 2026 China Schools Awards for Pastoral Care. SEL is one way our community puts that commitment into daily practice: through mentoring, check‑ins, collaborative lesson design with students, and partnerships with experts like Nick. 

The full podcast episode offers a thoughtful, honest look at how SEL lives in our classrooms and homes, from naming feelings to managing test stress, from listening to others to listening to ourselves. Check out the full episode to hear more from Nick and our students.