Why We’re Concerned
What is SEL and why are we concerned?
Per the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL), Social Emotional Learning (SEL) is “the process through which all young people and adults acquire and apply the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to develop healthy identities, manage emotions and achieve personal and collective goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain supportive relationships, and make responsible and caring decisions”. RULER is a Social Emotional Learning program being piloted in Connecticut schools, including Darien. RULER is a “CASEL-select program”. No competent parent or caretaker would dispute that developing emotional intuition, compassion, and cooperation is important for children. RULER, CASEL, and SEL more broadly have escaped scrutiny because, on the surface, many of their stated goals are obvious and uncontroversial. As is revealed on this site, however, SEL is the driver for many of the educational initiatives parents and caretakers find concerning, including:
Introducing books that prior to SEL’s reframing would be considered pornographic and lacking in learning value. In Darien, these include books that depict a brother and sister demonstrating how they masturbate to one another and an adolescent encouraging his friend to ejaculate into a bottle and drink the contents.
Psychological counseling performed by unlicensed providers without parental consent because the program is deemed to be “preventative”
Using public schools as vehicles for societal transformation and redistribution of power
The quantification and bureaucratization of “soft skills” and “character”
Unsecurely (no HIPAA compliance) collecting childrens’ medical and psychological data and sharing it with third parties
In today’s world, it can be difficult to find non-politicized information about important policy and societal issues. Sadly, the debate over SEL has been reduced to an ideological battle between the “groomers” and the “book banners”. These hyperbolic categorizations are unhelpful and leave parents confused and uncomfortable about having to “pick a side”. As it pertains to SEL, the resources provided on this site include documents and position papers created by SEL credentialing bodies themselves. Therefore, Darien parents can decide for themselves whether organizations like CASEL and RULER are actually advancing the causes they claim to champion.