When social-emotional learning leaves out students with disabilities

Erin Crosby doesn't recall social-emotional learning (SEL) being part of her student experience. Crosby, now a special education teacher at an elementary school in Massachusetts, was in college by the time SEL programming went mainstream in public school K-12 classrooms across the country. Today, most districts select and implement specific SEL activities, lessons, or formal curricula throughout their schools, intended to help children manage their emotions and develop critical skills for making decisions, building relationships, and cultivating self-awareness, among other goals. Crosby believes that SEL has the potential to do all this and more for every child, but she brings an often-overlooked perspective to her classroom: She has learning disabilities, and she has seen how SEL lessons often exclude or marginalize students like her. Read More