[Project.diverse] Re: SEL issues at CEC

Great- maybe we get one person from each of our groups- and put heads together- I have some $ also to put behind some working/social meetings- we meet tomorrow and will ask. On my emails- I am very open with those I work with at the doctoral level- usually it is something that I has crossed my desk/encountered/or trying to make sense of and figure out- and I always think- if I am struggling with it- others likely are too or will sooon as “the rain doesn’t fall on one house alone”- take what makes sense to you and consider (or ignore) the rest..MDB From: Diana Infante-De Leon <diana.infantedeleon(a)gmail.com&gt; Date: Monday, March 18, 2024 at 4:08 PM To: Perrott, Lisa J <lbperrott(a)tamu.edu&gt; Cc: Burke, Mack <Mack_Burke(a)baylor.edu&gt;, project.diverse(a)lists.it.utsa.edu <project.diverse(a)lists.it.utsa.edu&gt;, project.leer(a)lists.it.utsa.edu <project.leer(a)lists.it.utsa.edu&gt; Subject: Re: [Project.diverse] Re: SEL issues at CEC Dr. Burke, First, I would be happy to serve/chair the engagement committee, I am an excellent event planner! Second, Thank you for sharing information and your perspective on the challenges facing Social Emotional Learning (SEL) amidst political polarization and the allegations made by some critics about its potential ties to CRT. The "Trojan Horse" theory in one article was particularly disturbing to read, especially since I serve on my District/Campus SEL committee and I know the carefully crafted lessons we create and the evidence-based practices we align to them. The need for SEL to remain politically neutral, grounded in empirical evidence, and mindful of potential unintended consequences is crucial. As educators and researchers, we must think critically about the practices we promote, ensure they are developmentally appropriate, and perhaps incorporate elements of cognitive-behavioral therapy to mitigate risks. I look forward to continuing this conversation and collaborating to navigate these complex challenges. Diane On Mon, Mar 18, 2024 at 3:39 PM Perrott, Lisa J <lbperrott@tamu.edu<mailto:lbperrott@tamu.edu>> wrote: Thanks Dr. Burke - definitely important considerations for us to discuss. Lisa Bowman-Perrott, Ph.D. Associate Professor Haynes Faculty Fellow Department of Educational Psychology Special Education Division Texas A&M University College Station, TX 77843-4225 (979) 862-3879 (office) (979) 862-1256 (fax) ________________________________ From: Burke, Mack <Mack_Burke@baylor.edu<mailto:Mack_Burke@baylor.edu>> Sent: Sunday, March 17, 2024 11:15 AM To: project.diverse@lists.it.utsa.edu<mailto:project.diverse@lists.it.utsa.edu> <project.diverse@lists.it.utsa.edu<mailto:project.diverse@lists.it.utsa.edu>>; project.leer@lists.it.utsa.edu<mailto:project.leer@lists.it.utsa.edu> <project.leer@lists.it.utsa.edu<mailto:project.leer@lists.it.utsa.edu>> Subject: [Project.diverse] SEL issues at CEC Thanks to everyone that turned out for CEC- we will try to do more to pull everyone together more often- maybe we need a social event/connect/engage committee…😊 I was trying to figure out what the SEL issues at the conference people ZjQcmQRYFpfptBannerStart This Message Is From an External Sender This message came from outside your organization. ZjQcmQRYFpfptBannerEnd Thanks to everyone that turned out for CEC- we will try to do more to pull everyone together more often- maybe we need a social event/connect/engage committee…😊 I was trying to figure out what the SEL issues at the conference people were talking about since I have supported SEL and even framed several studies around it in the past- was surprised to hear that one…and was flipping through the internet headlines- https://www.apa.org/monitor/2023/09/social-emotional-learning-under-fire&... https://www.npr.org/2022/09/26/1124082878/how-social-emotional-learning-b... https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/education/2023/03/27/desantis-adminis... https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2022/03/28/social-emotional-lear... All makes for interesting conversations- and you have other contrasts on it: https://www.the74million.org/article/social-emotional-learning-racial-rec... https://www.ascd.org/el/articles/why-sel-alone-isnt-enough<https://url... https://www.edsurge.com/news/2021-02-17-citing-racism-and-years-of-bullyi... https://www.clasp.org/blog/unfounded-outrage-over-critical-race-theory-ri... https://nypost.com/2021/09/15/virginia-teacher-says-making-kids-behave-is... https://wisconsindailystar.com/news/national/virginia-teacher-says-positi... Just a small sampling really…and doesn’t include the academic literature- there is an internal conflict at Yale for some time where SEL mostly comes out of to indeed to tie SEL from being politically neutral and science based to jumping on the CRT bandwagon to avoid the withering criticism and shaming out of the activist wing- in doing so- it does politicize it- as CRT driven policies and practices is about forcing people often to take sides- that part of the ideology it comes out of is baked in- which is explicitly activist based and proponents often take anti-empirical positions. Which is much of my issue with it- we are having this same issue with PBIS. And the push back against it as a driver for public policy is not so nuanced- throws the baby out with the bathwater. It is a nuanced conversation in a time in education and public policy that doesn’t do nuance. One of the empirical concerns I actually have now over SEL is that if done poorly- might lead to intragenic effects. Intragenic being defined as when the person providing care does harm...sometimes inadvertently or as an unintended consequence. Those that have been around a while remember it was a problem that surfaced with drug prevention programs like DARE- that introducing the ideas too young developmentally had the oppositive effect and increased drug use. In this case- it is the promotion of emotional reasoning if the other parts like self-regulation aren’t taught well that is a problem- emotional reasoning is a cognitive error or distortion in cognitive behavioral therapy and can lead to attribution bias around interpretation of a triggering event and based on the attribution you give to it- in that the event is often misinterpreted in the least charitable way possible. In CBT- we focus on self-questioning- basically fact checking the event before acting. In EBD we talk about it in terms of social information processing problems- so think of the somewhat disagreeable student in the hall way that gets bumped and wants to start a fight thinking it was on purpose- when- well- it might have just been an accidental bump- see the same thing in bars and nightclubs by the way…my misspent 20s. Add another thing to the list for all of you to help us figure out and think clearly about…MDB _______________________________________________ Project DIVERSE mailing list -- project.diverse@lists.it.utsa.edu<mailto:project.diverse@lists.it.utsa.edu> To unsubscribe send an email to project.diverse-leave@lists.it.utsa.edu<mailto:project.diverse-leave@lists.it.utsa.edu> -- Diana "Diane" Infante-De Leon, M.A. Early Childhood Special Education Teacher, NISD diana.infante-deleon@nisd.net<mailto:diana.infante-deleon@nisd.net> P: 210-632-1418