The Importance of Social Emotional Learning

LEANNE ANG & TOMMY LY

STAFF WRITERS

Throughout the entire school year, students undergo a tiring cycle that stunts their social and emotional growth. Many students are in a system that has little to no emphasis on the social emotional development of the young minds within these indoctrination systems. As the education system slowly evolves, it is time to make changes that allow for students’ internal growth.

Some teachers are more prone to lecturing and other teaching styles that students may not consider stimulating. Teachers should integrate practices such as taking kids outside or creating various activities that allow them to express themselves.

In the current curriculum, there is undoubtedly an immense amount of emphasis on academics. Students are expected to keep up their grades with extracurricular activities as well as their social life. A great amount of school takes up their lives leaving them no time for emotional growth. Most students learn to suppress their emotions on their own in order to continue functioning normally. As they are bombarded with endless homework, quizzes and tests, exhaustion forces students to no longer find that their welfare is important physically and mentally. With social emotional learning, students will learn that it is better to share what they feel inside and not keep it a secret from those who care about the student’s well-being.

Although students are overwhelmed with academics during their class time, there are small periods of time where the students can socialize to develop emotionally. Most high schools also have social clubs for students, where they can talk to other students to relieve the stress of school. High schools also have counselors that they can make an appointment with and talk to them. The most important thing here is that they can talk to other peers and express themselves as a human being as well. However, all of these options for students to socialize are completely optional and can be ignored by students who wish to be unsociable. This is why social emotional learning must be implemented in the classroom to affect all types of students, not just those who are willing to develop emotionally on their own.

Teaching practices and traditions should be remade to place a higher emphasis on social emotional learning to make students more unique with their personality. The outdated traditions of education in schools cause students to follow a strict agenda. Students behave in a way that pleases the teachers and are subjected to mountains of school work which results in a buildup of stress. In order to soldier on, students suppress their emotions, which can sometimes lead to mental health issues. Certain schools encourage students to participate in exercises, for example MindUP. However, for many students it becomes compulsory to take part in programs that influences the development the habit of not thinking for themselves. Therefore, preventing the students from building character and morality because they will not have any sense of what is right or wrong.