Social Emotional Learning
Social Emotional Learning (SEL) was originally formed to improve academic achievement in low performing school districts.
It has since morphed into a preventative group psychology program for all children in response to financial and political incentives in public education.
It raises foundational questions about:
The delineation between parenting and schooling
The distinction between “prevention” and medical treatment
(and whether “preventative” programs should require parental consent)Evidentiary burdens for experiential learning programs
When sexualized topics should be introduced to children
The political weaponization of “compassion”
Privacy and data collection issues in education
Whether public schools should be instruments for social change independent of legislators
Does SEL Support Your Priorities?
CASEL, the leading voice in SEL, positions SEL as a “universal” strategy along the mental health treatment continuum. However, most parents have never heard of SEL or were part of a conversation about whether public schools should be the arbiter of what constitutes optimal mental health. Learn more here.
Transformative SEL
Early iterations of SEL focused on improving academic performance in carefully-selected districts. SEL has become a “transformative” vehicle for social change that espouses “redistributing power” to more fully engage young people and adults in working toward just and equitable schools and communities.” Should the redistribution of power be an overarching objective of a public education for our children? Learn more here.
Darien Public Schools: Five Core SEL Competencies
Prominently featured on DPS’s website, CASEL’s “Interactive Wheel” places SEL at the center of student development while families and caregivers are at the periphery. This page also features the “Mood Meter”, a survey whose objective is to regularly and publicly monitor childrens’ self-reported emotional state. There is no evidence that publicly reflecting on one’s feelings in schools improves well being. Additionally, where does that data go? Who does it belong to? Can third parties access the data to target children with products and interventions? Are all parents aware that their children are being asked to participate in these public surveys? To date, none of these concerns have been addressed with Darien parents in a public forum. Learn more here.
Social and Emotional Learning Interventions: Evidence Review
Proponents of SEL claim that it is “evidenced based” and typically reference a 2011 metaanalysis whose search terms do not reflect what modern iterations of SEL look like. This Rand Corporation evidence review suggests that SEL is NOT supported by high quality study designs like randomized controlled trials. Learn more here.
K-12 EdTech Safety Benchmark: National Findings (Part 1)
Internet Safety Labs report about privacy, data mining, targeted advertising, and parental consent issues associated with educational technology and apps used in child learning. Learn more here.
How Wearables, AR, and VR Help Students Develop SEL Skills (Part 1)
The article below discusses the emerging potential to utilize the aforementioned technology (privacy and safety concerns notwithstanding), including virtual reality and wearables, to gather ongoing physiological and behavioral data in schoolchildren. Learn more here.
New Vision for Education: Fostering Social and Emotional Learning through Technology
A World Economic Forum position paper that recommends broadening the definition of SEL to better leverage educational technology funding streams and venture capital allocation with no acknowledgment of any drawbacks associated with increased surveillance on children: “Wearable devices can provide a minute-by-minute record of someone’s emotional state, potentially helping to build self awareness and even empathy, both of which are critical components of social and emotional skills.” The paper speaks to the commoditization of SEL and children’s mental health and to the failure of SEL advocates to define an end game or establish ethical boundaries. Learn more here.
Jonathan Haidt: Impact of Social Media
Reference list that highlights the egregious impact of social media on youth mental health. The list should serve as a cautionary tale about the dangers of entrusting dating mining companies with something like SEL in the absence of ethical guardrails. Learn more here.
CASEL: SEL in School Districts
Another CASEL document opens with: “SEL should pervade every aspect of a district’s work – from the superintendent’s office to academics and core priorities, to the classroom. It is a unifying thread to help bring together district priorities, impacting central office staff, school leaders, teachers, students, and families.” The leading voice in SEL thus doesn’t regard SEL as an adjunct to traditional academic disciplines but as the lens through which those disciplines are taught. Essentializing SEL in this way is especially problematic considering that organizations like CASEL are not politically neutral. Learn more here.
Transformative Social and Emotional Learning (SEL): Toward SEL in Service of Educational Equity and Excellence
This CASEL-endorsed academic paper posits that transforming society from a “neoliberal” to a “critical” democracy should be an overarching goal of SEL and, by extension, the public school system. The authors acknowledge that this transformation might not be consistent with existing law hence it speaks to SEL’s mission creep into political activism. Should schools be agents of “transformative” social change independent of legislative bodies and parental oversight while educating minors in a public institution? Learn more here.
The Dangers of a Sentimental Education
This article discusses the politicization of SEL and what the left and the right get wrong about it. More importantly, it raises important questions about the bureaucratization and formalization of “soft skills” and emotions. What once was considered unquantifiable is now part of a multi-billion standardized testing industry. “Instead of number lines for math, SEL offers number lines for emotions”. Learn more here.