Social and Emotional Learning (SEL)
It is only within the last decade that the importance of social and emotional learning (SEL) been more broadly recognized within the education community. An important yet still developing discipline, definitions of social and emotional learning vary. Timothy P. Shriver and Roger P. Weissberg, both affiliated with the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL), perhaps say it best in a New York Times op-ed piece from August 16, 2005:
"Social and emotional learning is the process through which children learn to recognize and manage emotions. It allows them to understand and interact with others, to make good decisions, and to behave ethically and responsibly. The best social and emotional learning programs engage not only children, but also their teachers, administrators and parents in providing children with the information and skills that help them make ethical and sensible decisions-to avoid bullying, for instance, or to resist pressures to engage in destructive or risky behavior, such as substance abuse. When they are well designed and executed, such programs have consistently achieved these goals, turning out students who are good citizens, committed to serving their communities and cooperating with others."
Recognizing that a self-confident child, sure of him or herself, is a child ready to learn and grow, teaching social and emotional skills - such as self-awareness, behavior change, active listening, direct and clear communication, self-motivation, problem solving, decision making, and working collaboratively - is at the very core of the ENACT method.
