Image courtesy of Ambro at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
I read the first sentence of Nirvi Shah’s list of “Books Recognized for Social-Emotional Lessons” and stopped:
“Wanda Petronski has a weird name and wears the same old faded blue dress to school every day—and her Connecticut classmates don’t let the little Polish girl forget it for a second.”
Wait a minute. I had a “weird” Polish name. Classmates asked if I were Indian (they didn’t say Native American Indian back then), and laughed before I could answer. They also butchered the pronunciation, and my second-grade teacher made a spectacle by diagramming my name, phonetically, on the chalk board. Classmates slandered my last name, followed by haughty laughs. None of them had a Polish last name. And none of them heard a litany of Polish jokes in-between lessons from Jake. My best defense was an eye roll, perfected in fourth grade. And that fourth grade crush ended pretty quick.
And what about Wanda’s faded blue dress? I cringe when I remember my blue jeans in sixth grade. My mother bought me three or four pairs of same jeans, and not a label like Jordache. Not slim and dark wash, not paired with cowboy boots. I wore Sporting Gear and sneakers. I had no defense. I heard snide comments, whispers and loud mockery – all in front of my teacher while we waited to hand in paperwork. My eye roll didn’t work so well here – I kept my head high and my back turned. I thought that these girls were my friends, and learned how girls can turn on you like a friendly-to-ferocious-dog in nanoseconds. But more importantly, I couldn’t understand why my teacher, who heard things like this and saw other things, never lifted her eyes in my direction.
This book, The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes, written in 1945, not the 1980s, could have been written 2013. Although a lot more to Shah’s overview, and much more to the book, the Open Circle Program at Wellesley Centers for Women has compiled a list of the top 25 books addressing Social-Emotional learning.
So, you can see why I think Social-Emotional literacy in the classroom is a good idea. Aside from integrating Social-Emotional-themed books into the classroom, there are classroom-based social and emotional learning (SEL) programs available to schools. Collaborative for Academic, Social Emotional Learning (CASEL) is a not-for-profit organization that works to advance the science and evidence-based practice of social and emotional learning. The organization was founded in 1994 by Daniel Goleman, the author of Emotional Intelligence, educator/philanthropist Eileen Rockefeller Growald, Timothy Shriver, Linda Lantieri, Mark Greenberg and David Sluyter.
Here is the 2013 CASEL Guide. What do you think of Social-Emotional literacy? Have you used any recommended books or curriculum ideas? We’d love to hear from teachers who are implementing Social-Emotional literacy in their classroom.
