Social Emotional Learning (SEL) -
First came the denouncements of school district diversity, equity and inclusion programs, critical race theory, panoramic and other progressive identity surveys. Now, and rightfully so, suspicions are being directed at social and emotional learning.
Social-emotional learning (SEL) is the
"warm fuzzy" of education. Is an education practice that integrates social and emotional skills into school curriculum. SEL is also referred to as
"socio-emotional learning", "social and emotional learning", or
"social-emotional literacy" National University explains it this way:
As an educator, some of the worst things you can hear a student say is, "This is stupid," or "Why are we learning this?" Think back to when you were in school and the subjects that caused you the most frustration. You'd likely find some common ground with your students in wishing you were given clear reasons why something was important and how learning a subject or skill would benefit you now, as well as years later. That frustration and finding constructive ways to deal with emotions and interact with one another in respectful ways are just a few of the guiding principles behind social emotional learning.
Social emotion learning, if you believe what the progressive education gurus tell you, helps school officials find out about students' emotions and social awareness in order to help them manage in the public education setting. How do school officials gather this information? They pass out a survey, a series of very personal questions asking about the child's outlook, emotional status, gender status, home life, religious status, relationship with mother, relationship with father, inquiring if there is both a mother and father, asking how much time he or she spends alone at home without a parent in the house, asking if daddy hits mommy, asking if the child has been abused by a parent, asking if there is a gun in the house, asking if the child has had sexual relations and if so, with how many partners, asking if the student needs to speak to a counselor, etc. The questions, aside from being very (and unnecessarily) probative, intrude most directly on a child's right to privacy and the right of his or her parents to safeguard the information that the public school (and by extension, the government) collects. (Violation of privacy and a violation of parental rights). But the questions don't stop with an inquiry as to the child's emotional and psychological well-being. They ask unacceptable questions about sexuality and gender (unacceptable for the age and development of school-age children) as well as questions that can be used to report the child and the family to the departments of social services and to the local law enforcement agencies.
Social and emotional learning, which is essentially a program of in-school psychological training, has become the major vehicle for teaching the tenets of Critical Race Theory and the LGBTQ agenda.
The good news is that parents have woken up. They have realized that these SEL questionnaires and surveys are nothing more than a progressive's way of using
"identity" surveys as a cover for their agenda to push and
"progress" social norms to the next generation. Some say schools are overstepping by teaching these concepts, a lament shared on T-shirts worn by protesting residents at a recent Cherokee school board meeting that proclaimed,
One parent attended a school board meeting with a tee shirt that read:
"I don't co-parent with the government."
Give a progressive school board an inch and it will take a mile. Give government an inch and it will take a mile. We all know their long-term goal - to replace the role of the parent with that of the school system and with teachers, and to replace common sense, moral, family values with the values of progressivism.
Why are parents opposing such SEL policies? Many see them for what they are. Many refer to them an
"a dangerous experiment, a dangerous social experiment. And most are opposed to their inclusion in their children's education because they believe that while the time the education system gets to educate and prepare children for higher education and/or to go out in the world to become a meaningful and productive member of society is short enough, there should be no time to teach about feelings and no time for indoctrination. Teachers should be focusing on what public schools were intended to do - teach CONTENT. That's what parents expect. They don't send their children to school for social-emotion-psychological nurturing. School isn't about group therapy. As a parent from Georgia explained:
"I don't send my child to school to learn someone else's definition of morals, values, empathy."
Apparently, funding often plays a big part in SEL policies. Funding comes from federal COVID-19 Schools Relief package. Many school districts will plan to increase their emphasis on social emotional learning in order to get federal dollars. Follow the money !
The bottom line is that SEL inquiries are outside the scope of acceptable assignments for school-age children. It is not the role of a school system to question a child's mental or emotional well-being, to teach morality, to shape a child's character, to emphasize sex, or to introduce confusion regarding a child's gender and sexual orientation. All of these issues belong at home with the parents, with the family, and yes, even with the church.
Panoramic Surveys -
Panorama Surveys, which are a series of carefully-designed questions, are designed to pull students' information together in one report apparently to give the school system insight into their individual identity, their emotional status and vulnerability, and psychological status and vulnerability for the purpose of helping to
"improving student outcomes." The explanation sold to parents and to the community is that Panorama surveys provide a valid and reliable way
"to measure and improve social-emotional learning (SEL) in the public school system." Social emotion learning is addressed below.
Such surveys are being given to students in public schools all across the country, including in North Carolina.
Sloan Rachmuth, founder and president of Education First Alliance, NC stands firm on this fundamental parental right:
"No parent should ever fear unlawful surveillance of their families in public schools, especially from those charged with educating and caring for their children - yet that is exactly what's happening."
The NC Department of Instruction (NCDPI) has partnered with NC Health and Human Services (NCHSS) in operating the insidious program known as
"Social Emotional Learning" (SEL) which has been explained above. SEL and Panorama have an incestuous relationship; SEL requires invasive Panorama Surveys to be administered to 1.5 million public school children via a software program attached to their student identifier number. Children are asked questions about their happiness, their satisfaction with their classes, with their teachers, their assignments, their sexuality, race, nationality, and about their lifestyles and safety at home. As if these series of questions aren't enough, school-age children are also asked to complete a psychiatric evaluation.
On its website, Education First Alliance explains Panorama in North Carolina schools:
NC's version of SEL is deceptively named, however. Upon closer inspection of how the program works, the "learning" part of SEL is partly on the part of the students and partially on the part of the school state who are using questionnaires to peel copious amounts of private information out of school-aged children, all in the name of tailoring their classroom experience.
According to CASEL's program literature, the program contains critical race theory teachings such as avoiding "White racial entitlement and dominance," prioritizes developing student and parental "critical social awareness," and cites problems with teachers being "middle-class White women."
[The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI), which is the State School Board, announced in June 2020 that it would be partnering with The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) to
"meet the SEL [social emotional learning] needs of students and staff."
Children are protected by gross invasions of privacy by Federal and State Laws which require parental notification and consent prior to student surveys data collection is supposed to be aggregated. Yet that has not always happened in the many school districts across North Carolina. In Pitt County, for example, many parents were never notified prior to schools giving Panorama Surveys. In one case, a parent called the principal to opt their child out of these surveys and after the principal agreed, she coerced the child into taking the survey the following day. The message given? The school system knows, moreso than the parents, know what is best for their child.
In other cases, school Superintendents have lied to elected school board members - giving them a FAKE survey to conceal their nefarious plans.
Education First has submitted the following questions to the NC DPI, which to date, have not been answered:
- Why are children's data identified and attached to their student ID?
- Why are Principals using coercion and dishonesty to make students take these surveys?
- Why is a foreign organization with ties to the Chinese government paying for these surveys?
- Why is NC Department of Health involved with collecting mental health data of public school children?
- Will NCDPI force medical or psychological treatment on white children to achieve its equity goals?
- Since some districts are not allowing parents to object to surveys, will schools give drugs to children without the knowledge of parents?
Sloan Rachmuth and Education First Alliance are asking parents and concerned citizens to join them in calling on the NCDPI and the NC General Assembly to STOP funding the Panorama Survey program and to fully dismantle it. And to do the same for the SEL Program and the Office of Equity Affairs (Durham County). Panorama, SEL, and the Office of Equity Affairs comprise North Carolina's
"Child Spying Program."
The millions spent on these confusing, borderline useless, and non-essential programs would be far better spent by investing in the actual purpose of public education - actual EDUCATION !! Another thought is to use that money to invest in gifted student education. We always hear about diversity in education, as if that criteria is of supreme importance, yet we never hear about investment in STEM programs or
"gifted student" education. STEM programs and programs for more gifted students are the gold standards of public education.
Equity & Inclusion Programs (Advancing Racial Equality and Social Justice) -
We have all been taught that the United States stands for Equality. It's addressed in our Constitution, through its many amendments. Martin Luther King Jr., as well as Robert Kennedy Jr, fought very publicly for equality in the 1960's. Some even believe that each was assassinated because of their activism. Equality implies tolerance and acceptance. It implies a color-blind approach to everything.
Equity in education is the process of reforming practices, policies, and procedures at the school and district levels to support academic fairness and inclusion and ensure that every child has the resources, teachers, interventions, and supports they need to be successful. Equity is giving specific resources and support to disadvantaged students to bring them up to the same opportunity level as their peers. Equity is determined on a student-by-student basis. As Dr. Keith Bell explains:
"In more simple terms, 'those who need more get more."
Equality, on the other hand, refers to the principle that every student receives the same access to education, the same resources, teachers, and support needed to be successful. Equality is providing the same opportunities to all students.
Equity is not the same as equality. The West Hartford Public School System (WHPS) in Connecticut (a very progressive state) explains why it stresses equity over equality.
"The fact is tolerance is not justice. It isn't a sufficient description of the work we do or of the world we want."
The website of WHPS states as its
"Vision for Equity and Anti-Racism":
We, the members of West Hartford Public Schools, dedicate ourselves to the pursuit of equity. Equitable schools are those that value and honor ALL in our community as unique individuals capable of maximizing their true potential. We make a solemn promise to identify and dismantle all elements of systemic racism and historical inequities. We vow to clear paths, with a relentless duty to those in traditionally marginalized groups. We pledge to partner with ALL families in the service of the success of each child.
