This school year, students may have noticed something different about their English classes; the addition of lessons centered around Social Emotional Learning, or S.E.L, each week. While the implementation of these lessons caused mixed feelings, teachers recognized how these S.E.L. lessons have undoubtedly improved from the previous year. (on first page)
“The first year that we rolled it out, it was a little rocky because it was inconsistent between classes,” English teacher James Snell explained. “This year, since it is devoted specifically to your English classes, it has been more consistent because the same teacher is giving it every single week”
That’s not to say the lessons are perfect. Amy Gannon, a 9th and 12th-grade English teacher, thought that “some [lessons] are good, some not so great.” Despite that, when asked what she would change about the program, Ms. Gannon said, “I pick and choose what I want to do from each lesson. I feel like we have the flexibility to do that, so I wouldn’t necessarily make any changes.” Even if certain lessons aren’t the best, with slight alterations they “have the potential to have an impact, but it all depends on delivery, and what you do with the lesson.”
Still, the student body’s opinion on it remains varied. Of those surveyed, half of students enjoyed the lessons and half opposed them. Kyra Pagkas (‘26) noticed benefits in S.E.L. lessons, arguing that “I think [the lessons] actually relate to issues happening in my life and can be useful,” a sentiment shared by many students who think the lessons are valuable.
However, other students, such as Alex Tuohy (‘27), believe that these “Mindful Mondays” are not worthwhile, as “not many people pay attention or participate.”
So why did these S.E.L. lessons even start in the first place? Leanne Sanchez, a 9th and 10th grade English teacher, explained “SEL was introduced because the district and the school saw that more students were struggling with mental health, especially as a result of COVID.”
However, the whole process of S.E.L. coming to our school really started a while before the 2022-2023 school year. According to Ms. Gannon, “The district actually piloted this before we took it on last year…It wasn’t school-wide initially. We kind of knew it was coming.”
Wellness Wednesdays, which were implemented last year, were just like S.E.L. except during tutorials and with a different teacher every week. This constant change of teachers caused some problems in the course because the lessons weren’t always being taught. When this school year rolled around, there needed to be some changes. Everyone on campus has an English class, and so the English department became in charge of the program to solve the inconsistency problem.
Evidently, S.E.L. lessons have come a long way, but as Mrs. Sanchez said, “I…think that there is a lot more we can do with them in the future.”
