Giving Compass' Take:

• The author expresses concern that educators teaching social-emotional learning might need more training to recognize their own bias and be able to identify student trauma. 

• Should an anti-bias training be provided in accompaniment with social-emotional learning development for teachers? 

• Read about some schools that are actively addressing racial bias to close disparities in discipline. 

In 2011, there was little research on SEL, and very slim pickings if a school hoped to adopt an SEL curriculum. However, this past year I had the privilege of meeting with educators from schools and districts from around the country, and it has been extremely heartening to hear teachers, principals and superintendents speak passionately about supporting students’ emotional intelligence. With an increased interest in social-emotional learning, comes the need for teachers, administrators, and staff to be trained in culturally responsive practices.

When schools discuss the importance of teaching students to “self manage” their emotions, are we taking student trauma into account? Is it reasonable and empathetic to expect students who are living in heightened states of stress every day to “self regulate” their emotions as consistently as students who live in neighborhoods and households free from physical and emotional violence and trauma? Do we take student cultures, backgrounds, and experiences into account when defining what respect looks like?

Are we identifying students with high SEL development as children who are truly showing signs of high emotional intelligence, or are they merely compliant?

When I look towards 2019, I hope to see not only continued focus and development of students’ social-emotional learning, but also for teachers and staff members to seek out their own educational development surrounding their own identities and beliefs.

I hope that schools and districts recognize the importance of the education of adults who work with students in our diverse and rapidly changing communities. Are white teachers who work in communities occupied by BIPOC (Black, indigenous, people of color) given the time and space to unpack their positionalities and biases?

Are educators being trained to identify student trauma, rather than quickly label these children (particularly our Black and Brown boys and girls) “disruptive” and assign them an ADHD label?

Read the full article about confronting bias when teaching social-emotional learning by Liz Kleinrock at EdSurge