The Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL) defines SEL as "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."
We all know students who are not as successful in school as we would like them to be, and in many instances it is their difficulty with these social-emotional attitudes and skills that are the barriers to learning, rather than any lack of academic ability. Social-emotional learning is every bit as important as academics to student success, and so schools must be just as thoughtful and strategic in their approaches to teaching in the SEL realm as they are in aligning their instruction with content standards.
VASCD promotes a whole child approach to education, one in which schools move beyond a narrow focus on academic achievement to a more comprehensive approach promoting children's long-term development and success. We are pleased to sponsor the second in our series of Whole Child Institutes next week, and we look forward to seeing many of you there. Our Institute on Social Emotional Learning will feature practitioners from school divisions in Virginia where SEL programs are essential and integral parts of instructional design. We will also welcome Susan Craig, author of Trauma-Sensitive Schools, as our morning keynoter. Registration for this event is closed, but we invite you to watch VASCD's Twitter and facebook feeds, where we'll be sharing ideas and content from the Institute.
At this link we have provided a few key references for you related to social-emotional learning. We look forward to opportunities to share and network with you as we all learn more together!
