Letter to the Editor:
HB 1473 is a counterproductive bill preventing teachers from doing something they've been doing since teaching began -- teaching students how to get along, cope with differences and be constructive members of their classrooms. It is impossible to imagine how a classroom functions without students developing the self-awareness, self-control, and interpersonal skills that are vital for classroom behavior, school conduct, and also critical to work and life success. And yet this bill bans the teaching/discussing/conveying of these skills.
Why would anyone want to prevent students from being better classmates and learners? Social and emotional learning not only helps their fellow classmates but it helps the students themself -- their academic achievement increases, relationships with teachers and fellow students are improved and stress is reduced for everyone.
We should be encouraging not forbidding these: "promote school and/or civic engagement"; "promote self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, responsible decision making"; "learning skills, motivation, grit, self-regulation, tenacity. perseverance, resilience, and/or intrapersonal resources;". It is unfathomable how to run an effective classroom, school or community without these behaviors and yet they are all banned in this legislation!!! These behaviors are building blocks for being constructive productive citizens.
This legislation is bad policy -- bad for students --- bad for classrooms --- bad for schools --- bad for future workplaces and bad for our communities.
Karen Burnett-Kurie
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