Giving Compass' Take:

• In this article from The Hechinger Report, a professor at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education discusses how educators and teachers can take simple methods and techniques to provide and teach their students social-emotional learning. 

• It’s hard for schools to afford these programs and allocate the time and teach complicated lessons properly. What role can donors play in helping provide social-emotional learning for schools?

Here's why social-emotional learning matters for teachers too. 


One of the biggest educational trends of the past decade is social-emotional learning. Experts quibble over what these soft skills are exactly but the term generally refers to things like managing emotions, learning to set goals and getting along with others. Programs to boost these skills have proliferated at schools. Some are sold by curriculum publishers and cost many thousands of dollars. Others are free but can still involve hundreds of hours of teacher training. Many of the programs require carving out entire class periods during the school day to directly and explicitly teach social-emotional skills.

Read the full article about social-emotional learning by Jill Barshay at The Hechinger Report.