Have
you ever wondered if SEL (social and emotional learning) in school and
classrooms really matters? I’ve been exploring this question a lot about
over the past year, as well trying to understand the recent increase in
parental and political pushback in the US specifically that is putting
the future of SEL in schools at risk.
I wanted to get into a deep
conversation about SEL for the show, and so I reached out Dr. Joseph
Lee, a psychiatrist with a special interest in social and emotional
learning and helping people achieve what he calls optimal mental healthiness.
We had exactly the conversation I was
hoping we would, as we got into so many important topics, including the
state of children and young adult’s mental health today, demystifying
what SEL or social emotional learning actually is, why SEL matters, how it’s best introduced in schools, the limitations in the current educational model for social emotional learning curriculums,
what the pushback against SEL is really about, and what it’s at stake
if our children aren’t provided with social and emotional learning
opportunities. I think this is such an important and timely conversation
– I hope that you enjoy it and that you help me amplify this episode by
sharing it in your communities.
About Dr. Joseph Lee
Dr. Joseph Lee, MD., is a Psychiatrist in private practice in Redondo Beach, California. He is also an educator in social and emotional learning (SEL) and provides individual and group supervision to licensed therapists looking to add mental healthiness and SEL principles to their own practices. Dr. Lee has a medical doctorate from University Of California, Los Angeles, School Of Medicine.
Key Takeaways
- Dr. Joseph Lee’s thoughts on the state of children and young adult’s mental health today
- What SEL or social emotional learning actually is and why it matters
- Ways that SEL can be weaved into traditional educational curriculum, as well as the use of specific SEL curriculum
- What social and emotional learning inside schools looks like in practice
- The “why” behind the pushback against SEL in the recent years and
what’s it’s at stake if we lose the ability to teach SEL in classrooms
Resources Mentioned
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
