According to the Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL), social and 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.” This alleged “process” can also “help to address various forms of inequity and empower young people to and adults to co-create thriving schools and contribute to safe, healthy, and just communities.”

Several words in CASEL’s definition of SEL should alarm those who are skeptical about the wisdom of allowing the public school system to establish itself as the primary actor in the social and emotional formation of our children. The development of “healthy identities” and “supportive relationships,” the co-creation of “thriving schools,” and the lionization of “just communities” are buzz words for leftist ideology.

© The Hill