Social Emotional Learning

Schools have always played an important role in the social and emotional development of youth. Teaching and learning are inherently social activities. The ability to assess your own knowledge and regulate your emotional state is vital to success and learning.

We prevent and address bullying by teaching conflict resolution, and help students identify their feelings and motivations.  We ask them to take personal responsibility and consider how their behavior may have impacted others and understand the other person's perspective—the same way we teach students to conduct a character analysis in Language Arts.

We teach about the power of a positive mindset and emotional regulation because brain science proves that these impact complex thought and performance.  We talk to students about the importance of sleep, nutrition, and planning as they prepare for exams and teach coping skills to address anxiety and depression.  

Social Emotional Learning (SEL) is  no different than the Character Education that schools have taught for decades.  It can be defined as the process through which individuals develop knowledge and use skills in order to:  create and maintain healthy relationships; manage emotions; understand and empathize with others;  establish a positive identity; set and achieve goals; and make just and caring decisions.  

We teach students to be assertive about their needs, because self efficacy is fundamental to academic achievement. We teach them decision-making skills because these are critical in school, life and work.  Decades of research in human development, neuroscience, and educational policy has established that social and emotional development is essential for success in learning and life.