Adam Blatner

There’s a trend towards introducing practical psychology in the schools—under the term, "social and emotional learning" or SEL. I have known some of its pioneering people and been to some conferences and am most eager to promote this. (Some resources are linked here on my website.)I wouldn’t be surprise if some practitioners mangle the method—that happens with every innovation—but on the whole I think this is a good thing—something that people should know about, ask their local school systems to integrate.

This was stimulated by an email from a friend: "Speaking as a grandparent, not a scholar: My grandkids, kindergarten and second grade, have been taking a program called Second Step in the Amherst, MA, public schools.  I learned about it when the older boy, then in first grade, told us on the phone that he felt "ambivalent" about a teacher’s aide leaving; on the one hand, he was glad that she was getting her own classroom, on the other, he was sad that she was leaving. When the astonished grandparents mentioned it to our daughter-in-law, she laughed and said that was the lesson of the week in Second Step. Another great SS story: my farmer son had some cows wander out of a pasture and on to a road one night. The Amherst bicycle cop came by to help herd them back. Younger grandchild: "Why were the police there? Were they going to arrest the cows?" Older son (then 7): "No, the cows haven’t had Second Step and don’t know about Impulse Control."