Teachers have always known that they have a duty to teach students, not just content. Most of the skills taught beyond the core curriculum fit under the umbrella of Social and Emotional Learning (SEL). CASEL identifies five competencies of SEL: Self-Awareness, Self-Management, Social Awareness, Relationship Skills, and Responsible Decision Making. While all of these competencies should be practiced in the social studies classroom, I want to focus on two:
Social Awareness
- Perspective-taking
- Empathy
- Appreciating diversity
- Respect for others
Responsible Decision-Making
- Identifying problems
- Analyzing situations
- Solving problems
- Evaluating
- Reflecting
- Ethical Responsibility