There are those who think that bringing social-emotional learning into the classroom is kind of bland. This is not the case, says a report from the national commission of the Aspen Institute. “Promoting social, emotional, and academic learning…is the very stuff of education.” »
This is not a distraction from the “real work” of teaching math and English; this is how teaching can succeed. And this is not another reason for political polarization. It combines a traditionally conservative emphasis on local control and the character of all students, and a historically progressive emphasis on the creative and challenging art of teaching and the social and emotional needs of all students, especially those who experienced the greatest challenges.
In fact, the basis of this approach is not ideological at all. It is rooted in the experience of teachers, parents and students, supported by the best educational research of recent decades. More than nine in ten teachers and parents believe social and emotional learning is important to education. At least two-thirds of current and recent high school seniors think the same thing. As one student said, “Academic success should not be defined only by our test scores…but also by the ability to think for ourselves, work with others, and contribute to our communities.” »
Indeed, these “soft skills” are in high demand and better prepare students for the 21st century economy. The resilience developed through a comprehensive SEL program makes the ever-changing work landscape much easier to navigate.
But SEL is not the only one that has its place in the classroom. Emotion itself also has its place.
“Emotions assign value to things”
“We used to have this top-down idea that reason was in balance with emotion,” notes David Brooks in an excellent 2019 book. New York Times column.
If you wanted to be rational and think well, you had to suppress these primitive gremlins, emotions. Teaching was about dispassionately downloading knowledge into students’ brains.
Then, the work of cognitive scientists like Antonio Damasio showed us that emotion is not the opposite of reason; it is essential to reason. Emotions assign value to things. If you don’t know what you want, you can’t make good decisions.
Additionally, emotions tell you what you should pay attention to, what you should care about, and what you should remember. It is difficult to overcome difficulties if your emotions are not engaged. Information is abundant, but motivation is scarce.
This first breakthrough in neuroscience reminded us that one of the key tasks of a school is to give students new things to love – an exciting field of study, new friends. It reminded us that what teachers really teach is themselves: their infectious passion for their subjects and their students. It reminded us that children learn from the people they love and that love in this context means wanting the good in others and offering active care to the whole person. [emphasis added]
Fred Rogers puts it another way: “Love is at the root of everything – all learning, all relationships – love, or the lack of it. »
If you think back on your own experience as a student, you’ll quickly realize that the teachers you remember best are probably the ones who let you know they cared; that you mattered; that you deserved to be taken care of. They may have never said it verbally, but their actions always proved they cared.
We believe that the classroom can and should be a place of radical kindness.
Learning is about relationships
Perhaps more than anything, learning is about relationships – the relationship between student and teacher, first and foremost, but also peer relationships within the academic environment. We are grateful to see more teachers, administrators, schools and districts adopting this approach.
When we work to create positive environments and learning communities, positive relationships can flourish. Behavior improves. Attitude improves. Academics are improving.
We see that this new priority restores the balance lost during the era of No Child Left Behind and values STEM over other academic, artistic, and professional fields. Under such mandates, the entire approach to education has become something of a top-down affair, emphasizing testing and adherence to “standards,” effectively neglecting many of the needs of real-world students required to comply with these standards.
The intentions may have been good, but we all know the results: stressed teachers, stressed children, and academic stagnation.
We have also seen results when things change, so that the needs of the whole child are addressed, including emotional and cognitive needs. We have seen children thrive and flourish.
Images from Jose Kevo and Penn State, via Flickr
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