Comments on: To Increase Student Achievement Should We Focus on Social Skills?

By: Angela Maiers

Angela Maiers — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 01:09:37 +0000

Tom,
Great post! Thank you for bringing my attention to the CASEL study. Their initial findings are no surprise to educators. Long before science confirmed it, we recognized the role students’ social and emotional needs play into their academic engagement and success.

Students ability to problem solve, manage their emotions, and work well in social settings is critical to success. These “basics” are not an”add-on” to the curriculum, but necessary foundation to equip them for success in school and beyond.

Wouldn’t you agree that giving teachers access to the science teachers, students, and parents access to the science behind the conversations, we give credence to a new understanding of “back to the basics.” I look forward to the release of the report.

By: Pat

Pat — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 11:12:38 +0000

This was great and I’m so glad you shared this with me! I totally agree with this and have taught this way for years even knowing that I was like salmon swimming upstream. I will be writing a future post on this with a link to this also.

By: How Character Education and Avoiding the “Microwave Mentality” Can Change the World » Beyond Behaviors

Fri, 28 Dec 2007 18:20:26 +0000

[...] to tracking the changes occurring in education today. He’s asked me to share this link, Increasing Student Achievements by Focusing on Social Skills, with our readers. The article argues that the American school system has relied heavily on [...]

By: Steve Nguyen

Steve Nguyen — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 18:02:05 +0000

As a mental health professional, a former Behavior Specialist (K-12) and a current Disability Services Advisor (college), my stance has and remains that unless we help educate and support children’s emotional/social growth, teaching pure academics will not have the effect we seek.

I used to tell teachers, counselors, and school principals all the time, “I understand that you want Johnny to read and do math, but if he’s unable to sit still in your classroom or comes from an abusive family environment, no learning will take place if you don’t FIRST address those issues.”

By: Beth

Beth — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 22:45:03 +0000

I would think it would be easy to see the logic in this; children learn better when they can focus on learning, rather than trying to deal with the social volatility of the class room. But there are people out there who think public libraries are social engineering and thats a bad thing.