More contemporary educators have been intermingling academic coursework with softer skills as well.

The term “social-emotional learning” has been a common catchphrase in today’s modern classroom setting and is an example of the soft skills educators are bringing into the classroom in the hopes of improving outcomes in academics and behavior.

Distilled to its most basic level, social-emotional learning lessons are applied to elementary, junior high, and high school students and are designed to help today’s learners get a better handle on their emotions and, in the process, develop empathy for others.

But the concept isn’t without controversy. In fact, as of last September, eight states have sought to either ban or legally restrict SEL. Chief among the concerns of legislators and parents is that SEL is a “Trojan horse” for introducing students to Critical Race Theory and Gender Theory, according to a November 2021 article in the Washington Examiner.

Additionally, some parents oppose allowing strangers to discuss mental health issues with their children.

How it’s applied in the classroom

A growing number of school districts across the U.S. are deploying social-emotional learning instruction in the classroom. Since the lessons apply to all grade levels, the manner of instruction varies at the elementary level, compared to the upper grades of high school.

SEL commonly touches on a number of the soft skills proponents say can carry outside the classroom. Lessons commonly touch on such concepts as relationship skills, self-awareness, self-management, social awareness and the importance of making responsible decisions.

From a practical standpoint, social-emotional learning exercises have been applied in a number of different ways in classrooms. Some educators, for example, have assigned students to write in mindfulness journals, to encourage self-reflection. Others have offered up an opportunity to create stress balls in the classroom or even have brought in therapy dogs as a type of show-and-tell activity.

What the research says

As a formal concept, SEL is still relatively new in American classrooms.

The Committee for Children, for example, has published research that suggests a correlation between SEL instruction and improved academic outcomes.

According to the organization’s research, 42% of students privy to SEL instruction reportedly were less likely to say they were involved in physical aggression. CFC also claims social-emotional learning could be responsible for a 5% to 12% decrease in school dropout rates.

The root of controversy

Another company responsible for developing SEL instruction is Panorama Education, which was co-founded by Xan Tanner, the son-in-law of U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland. Garland infamously called for a task force comprised of FBI and Justice Department agents to follow-up on perceived threats against school board members from parents characterized as domestic terrorists because of their opposition to critical race theory curricula. Garland was acting on behalf of the National School Boards Association.

Garland’s call for a task force prompted Sens. Mike Lee of Utah, Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, and Ted Cruz of Texas to write a letter to Garland in which they expressed their concerns.

“Actual violence, harassment, and threats are criminal activities and must be condemned,” the Senators wrote in Oct. 2021. “Yet your directive to the FBI runs a serious risk of conflating legitimate and meritorious protest by concerned parents with criminal conduct. The memorandum implies that parents who protest school boards, including those who oppose the inclusion of critical race theory in elementary, junior high, and high school curricula, may pose a public safety threat. In doing so, the memorandum appears intended to intimidate parents across the country into silence.”