May is Mental Health Awareness month, and concerns about students’ mental and emotional wellbeing are well documented. However, social-emotional learning or SEL has become a code word that some parents see as concerning and controversial. How safe is it for educators to sustain social-emotional learning initiatives?
Positive actions to respond to parental concerns about social-emotional learning were suggested in a recent EdWeek article. A key recommendation was to avoid jargon when communicating with parents and use clear, direct language. Other recommendations include proactively communicating information ahead of an initiative and enlisting support from community organizations and businesses. Businesses place a high value on “soft skills” such as empathy, collaboration, and a positive approach to problem-solving. Data showing the positive impact of instruction is also helpful, such as increases in attendance rates and declines in discipline referrals. Some parents are concerned that social skills should be taught in the home rather than at school. Providing suggestions for home-based learning on wellness and behavioral self-management skills will involve all families in instruction. Lastly, parents want reassurance that instruction in wellness and behavior isn’t taking too much time away from academic instruction.
While the term “social-emotional learning” isn’t popular with parents, according to a poll by YouGov and commissioned by the Fordham Institute, parents are generally supportive of teaching students about life skills, cooperation, and behavioral self-regulation. 92% of Democrats and 75% or Republican parents agreed with the statement, “Learning life skills and social skills at school is just as important as academics.” The social and behavioral skills with the most support among parents included setting goals and working towards achieving them, approaching challenges in a positive way, navigating social situations, responding ethically, and preparing to be an active, informed citizen. The good news is that the Fordham study also concluded that,” the vast majority of parents want their children to acquire social and emotional skills and think that schools have a role in making that happen.”
Read the article and see the Fordham study.