Going all-in for well-being

Abstract

Social-emotional learning (SEL) programs have become one of the most popular tools that schools use to help students learn to manage their emotions and build better relationships. But Dennis Shirley and Andy Hargreaves argue that these programs are insufficient to help students face today’s challenges. It would be far better, they explain, for schools to focus on programs that enhance students’ well-being. A focus on well-being involves no longer relying on psychological solutions to solve societal problems. Instead, education leaders must look to the root causes that underlie student distress and seek to address those issues. They propose three places to start: (1) promoting a prosperity agenda, (2) encouraging ethnical technology use, and (3) embracing the restorative power of nature. Further, instead of teaching students to tamp down negative emotions, schools should empower them to marshal those emotions to bring about needed change in these areas and thus promote their own well-being.