Please support our work by reviewing with your child the Second Step HomeLinks that occasionally come home. The Home Links reinforce your child's learning and also let you know what we're teaching in class. I felt crestfallen when some students told me, "My parents just throw those away. It's not real homework -- like math or spelling." I would argue that it is even more important than math or spelling. The outcomes for children and adults who have strong social-emotional skills are more promising than for children and adults who lack those skills. https://www.edutopia.org/sel-research-learning-outcomes
Why Social Emotional Learning?
WHAT IS SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL LEARNING?
Social-emotional learning (SEL) is the process through which children and adults acquire and effectively apply the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions.1
Often taught in the classroom, social-emotional learning gives tomorrow’s workforce the tools for success, while educators find it contributing to a positive school climate and increased academic success. Beyond immediate outcomes in the classroom, SEL prepares employees to solve problems, manage emotions, and communicate.
1 “What is SEL?” CASEL, www.casel.org/what-is-sel/, (June 19, 2017)
