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The most poignant section of the article is as follows:

"To address these myriad challenges, teachers and leaders need systemic supports to expand both their social-emotional competence and their technical competence to build strong conditions for learning. The first means managing stress, handling anger, being self-reflective, and understanding, and preventing implicit bias. The second means understanding the impact of trauma and acting in trauma-sensitive ways, differentiating instruction, and classroom organization.''

The social and emotional relationship between a teacher and student is of paramount importance in areas in which a child does not receive parental support or pride. Somehow, someway, a teacher needs to develop positive social and emotional relationships with such students before any learning can take place. This is a well-written article that promotes this empathetic model of teaching.Sadly, social and emotional learning standards were omitted from Common Core.

Tony Mullen
Classroom teacher, BED students
2009 National Teacher of the Year
2008 Connecticut State Teacher of the Year