Social-emotional learning鈥攑articularly skills such as listening and sharing鈥攕eem like a natural extension of an elementary school curriculum. But middle and high schoolers can be a much tougher audience for that kind of learning.
鈥淪ometimes, we hear that people think of social-emotional learning as something for K-5 or K-8 schools,鈥� said Karen VanAusdal, the senior director of practice for the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL), a national organization that advocates for SEL. She was speaking during a Feb. 13 Education Week K-12 Essentials Forum on social-emotional learning priorities and practices.
But 鈥渨hen we think about adolescents and what鈥檚 happening [to them] in terms of the incredible growth鈥攑hysically, cognitively, emotionally鈥攁ll the more reason to be attending to the social-emotional development of our adolescents in an intentional way.鈥�
Making such lessons work for teens and tweens is 鈥渢he final frontier鈥� for SEL, agreed Trish Schaffer, the director of multi-tiered systems of support for Nevada鈥檚 Washoe County school district, during the online forum.
Social-emotional learning programs have now been in schools for several years, and in many cases, even longer. They aim to teach kids how to regulate their emotions, empathize with peers, make responsible decisions, and build other life skills.
But in many places, parents and community members have pushed back against the integration of SEL into district curricula, claiming the programs de-emphasize academics and promote a liberal political agenda. Plus, recent actions by President Donald Trump鈥檚 administration and conservative activists could reinvigorate political pushback to social-emotional learning, with potentially long-term consequences on how schools teach the concept.
Even so, growing concerns that kids are struggling to manage their emotions and become independent thinkers and decisionmakers are putting SEL strategies front and center in efforts to address those problems.
Social-emotional-learning lessons 鈥榗an鈥檛 be boring鈥�
Some strategies that help, according to Schaffer and VanAusdal? First and foremost, SEL for that age group 鈥渃an鈥檛 be boring,鈥� Schaffer said.
Instead, teachers need to highlight the 鈥渞elevant and real-life context鈥� for skills like empathetic listening by practicing it with students throughout the school day in classes such as history, science, and physical education.
Schaffer also recommends elevating student voice in SEL programs. She considers that a 鈥渞eal cornerstone to SEL implementation,鈥� particularly at the secondary level because it helps students have 鈥渙wnership of what they want to learn, what skills they need to practice.鈥�
VanAusdal suggested that the secondary level is also a good time to pair work on SEL skills鈥攕uch as collaboration鈥攚ith academic assignments through strategies such as project-based learning or analysis of real-world problems.
Ensuring that SEL is 鈥渋ncorporated into those learning experiences is really key for this age group,鈥� she said.
