“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.” (CASEL)
“A comprehensive mission for schools is to educate students to be knowledgeable, responsible, socially skilled, healthy, caring, and contributing citizens” (Greenberg).
Often children with high academic skills experience a gap in social-emotional learning. Some children find traditional classrooms do not meet their academic and social-emotional needs. These children may need SEL environment to challenge them and reinforce social-emotional learning. Often children who exhibit behavioral challenges are at times not challenged enough in the learning environment. By using SEL curriculum and SEL rich environment these children can be better served and given the social-emotional learning and challenges needs for them to succeed in a classroom.
Through developmentally and culturally appropriate classroom instruction and application of learning to everyday situations, SEL programming builds children’s skills to recognize and manage their emotions, appreciate the perspectives of others, establish positive goals, make responsible decisions, and handle interpersonal situations effectively (Greenberg).
Children with high academic skills benefit highly from SEL environments. These types of classroom provide hands-on learning, sensory experiences, and social-emotional based play and learning. At Raising Arizona Preschool, we are committed to Social-Emotional Learning. We have classroom activities with SEL environment and curriculum to engage and serve children who may benefit from this type of learning style.
References
“What is SEL?” CASEL, www.casel.org/what-is-sel/, (June 19, 2017)
