The Urgency of a Social-Emotional Learning Fix

Shai Fuxman, Project Director at Education Development Center (EDC), interviewed by futurist Trond Arne Undheim. 

In this conversation, they talk about what’s the big deal with social and emotional learning. They cover the tremendous measurable benefits in terms of performance, attendance, and college entry, or even societal savings and economic success. They discuss the trends in education and the pendulum swings between STEM focus and educating the whole person. They discuss the criticism at times leveled against he SEL curriculum for being white centric and what the educational community it’s has done to address this —at times—legitimate criticism. They also discuss EDC’s new program for school districts to revamp their social and emotional learning approach. They briefly discuss education towards the next decade. 

The takeaway is that social and emotional learning is fundamental to academic success and to success in life. Every student deserves to reap its benefits— it in ten years, but now. With COVID-19, shaping the educational experience is both more important and more difficult to execute well. We all have a role to play, private sector, Superintendents, local policy makers on the school committee, parents, teachers, and students. 

After listening to the episode, check out EDC (Education Development Center) as well as Shai Fuxman's online presence:

• EDC (Education Development Center)
• Shai Fuxman (@shai_fuxman) https://www.linkedin.com/in/shaifuxman/ 
• Shai Fuxman (EDC page) https://www.edc.org/staff/shai-fuxman 

The show is hosted by Podbean and can be found at Futurized.co. Additional context about the show, the topics, and our guests, including show notes and a full list of podcast players that syndicate the show can be found at https://trondundheim.com/podcast/. Music: Electricity by Ian Post from the album Magnetism. 

For more about the host, including media coverage, books and more, see Trond Arne Undheim's personal website (https://trondundheim.com/) as well as the Yegii Insights blog (https://yegii.wpcomstaging.com/). Undheim has published two books this year, Pandemic Aftermath and Disruption Games. To advertise or become a guest on the show, contact the podcast host here. If you like the show, please subscribe and consider rating it five stars.