A new front in the educational culture wars has broken out, as parents hit out at schools teaching Social Emotional Learning (SEL) which they fear is becoming a Trojan horse for CRT.
Supporters of SEL say that it is an essential tool for the development of young people - National University describes it as 'a methodology that helps students of all ages to better comprehend their emotions, to feel those emotions fully, and demonstrate empathy for others.'
SEL classes are designed to help the youngest children give voice to their feelings and emotions; older children will discuss mental health, sexuality and race.
The concept was popularized following the 1995 publication of Daniel Goleman's book, Emotional Intelligence. Goleman believed there was too much emphasis in schools on intellectual achievement, and not enough attention paid to encouraging qualities such as self-awareness and impulse control, persistence, zeal and self-motivation, empathy and social deftness.
Yet critics are beginning to question the introduction of SEL in schools.
A September 27 meeting of Carroll Independent School District in Southlake, Texas, saw an angry mother, Tara Eddins, called for an end to the program.
Tara Eddins, a mother in Texas, is pictured speaking out at a Carroll Independent School District meeting on September 27. She said that SEL programs were designed to 'advertise suicide'
Protestors condemning Critical Race Theory stand outside a rally in Loudoun County, Virginia, on June 12. SEL is seen as a new front in the culture wars
Anti-CRT protesters in New Mexico are seen on November 12. Now parents are worried about SEL
'Why are we hiring counsellors grades five through 12 at $90k a pop?' she asked.
'At Carroll ISD, you are actually advertising suicide.'
She said that less attention should be paid to mental health, and more to academic criteria.
'Counsellors need to get back to the business of prepping our kids for higher learning. Not promoting suicide,' she said.
'These kids are trying to get through the day - get through compacted math, algebra, go to cotillion on Sunday - they are not thinking about these issues.'
Southlake Families PAC, which campaigns against SEL, then sent an email to supporters calling on the school district to 'leave mental health and parenting to parents.'
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 2,756 minors died by suicide in 2019, the most recent year for which data are available.
Suicide was the second-leading cause of death among children.
Early CDC data from 2020 show that the number of children who visited emergency rooms for suicide attempts increased by 31 per cent compared to a year earlier, supporting the theory that isolation in the pandemic harmed young peoples' mental health.
In Indiana, meanwhile, the town of Carmel has seen activists protest at school board meetings this fall, NBC reported - demanding that a district fire its mental health coordinator from what they said was a 'dangerous, worthless' job.
In June 2019, Carmel Clay School District hired Stephanie Whiteside as their first mental health coordinator. She has hired a series of therapists, and more than 400 students have participated in therapy sessions in the last 14 months, according to the district.
Alvin Lui, who co-founded a group called Unify Carmel, circulated dossiers about Whiteside that included an analysis of posts she had liked or shared on social media.
He said she was anti-police, and said that SEL was 'an extremely deceptive indoctrination system.'
He said the school did not need therapists, as they should 'involve parents if there's an issue.'
He added: 'But focus the kids on academics.
'Focus them on something productive and useful so that they feel competent and confident that they're doing well in school.
'They shouldn't be questioning their gender identity and worrying about marching and worrying about social justice.'
On September 30, Carmel Clay Schools wrote to parents lamenting the presence of an 'outside group' at their board session, which 'deliberately orchestrated multiple disruptions to the business portion of the meeting.'
They said: 'When the Board called for a recess, the group booed, began name-calling, and continued their rude and inappropriate behavior.
'Claims that the Board and administrators were trying to silence parents were remarkably unfounded given the evening's agenda contained four opportunities for public comments.'
Stephanie Whiteside was hired in June 2019 to recruit therapists for schools. Her work has been derided as 'worthless' and she has been threatened and abused online
Alvin Lui has co-founded a group called Unify Carmel, campaigning against SEL in schools
The school district accused the organizers of the anti-SEL protest of attempting to 'scare and intimidate the hard-working individuals who put in hundreds of hours to meet the needs of the students.'
'Board members have had their home addresses posted in acts of intimidation. Teachers have received letters and emails with threats of violence and unwarranted references to family members. School librarians and media specialists have been steadily under attack with accusations,' they said.
'We must return to civility and question those who find these tactics appropriate.'
They also strongly defended Whiteside.
'She has genuinely saved students's lives,' the board said.
'The group published threatening posts that disparaged her and demanded her resignation.
'One far-fetched post claimed she favored defunding the police. She not only works closely with CPD but is also married to a police officer.'
On October 28 in Whiteland, Indiana, the president of activist group Purple for Parents, Rhonda Miller, told the group that SEL was 'the gateway to the LGBT agenda'.
She said: 'The schools are too dangerous.
'They are doing exactly what they were designed to do. They're not broken.
'When you go back and you look at the history of public education, it's doing exactly what it was designed to do, which was to take our system down from within.'
Rhonda Miller, president of the Purple for Parents group, is pictured in Whiteland, Indiana, on October 28
In Fairfax County, Virginia, some parents expressed alarm at $1.8 million being spent on a five-year contract with Panorama Education, a Boston-based company, to survey students districtwide about their emotional well-being.
Parents can choose to prevent their children from taking the survey, which has questions like: 'Overall, how much do you feel like you belong at your school?'
Middle and high school students are asked about their sexuality and gender identities, plus - in some cases - their experience of racism.
Panorama said the questionnaires are 'not a tool for teaching critical race theory,' adding that it 'does not market, sell, or rent any student's personal information' to any outside companies.
Asra Nomani, the vice president of Parents Defending Education, said schools should not require consultants to discuss students' mental health, and argued that it was not appropriate to ask children about their sexuality.
'What we need to do is to separate the authenticity of social and emotional learning from the activist, divisive agendas of profiteer consulting groups that are basically using our children to increase their bottom line,' she said.
She told NBC that the money spent to hire companies like Panorama could instead be used to hire more school counselors and therapists.
'It took a turn in the summer of 2020, after the tragedy of George Floyd's killing,' said Nomani.
She said SEL had become 'a vehicle for this quote-unquote 'social justice activism' and the indoctrination of controversial ideas related to race, sexuality and even gender and identity.'
And the movement against SEL has found fertile ground online.
'SEL sets students up to be 'counseled' to believe things that go against what their parents have taught them,' write one group, No Left Turn in Education, in a October 31 post.
They argue that SEL is pushing children to see themselves as gender fluid, and can expose children to grooming and sexual assault.
'There are parents who raise their children with traditional family values and a biblical worldview only to have that shattered by adults in authority at school. Do you see it?
'SEL is dangerous. It may not lead to a sexual assault by an adult, but it will likely lead to some serious mental health struggles for many young people.
'Look at the staggering number of very young women who now identify as transgender or gender fluid. Have you wondered why this is? SEL is not the only cause, but it is certainly contributing to some of the identity issues of our day.'
One mother tweeted: 'This is some of Panorama Ed user guide explaining SEL is a bunch of touchy-feely unlicensed mental health surveys replete w Critical Race Theory verbiage like 'systemic forces of racism and racial bias' and 'lived experience' and 'equitable.' All RI schools data mine ur kids.'
Kandiss Taylor, running for the governor of Georgia next year as a Republican, tweeted: 'Let's vote for who represents us BEST! A hardworking, non politician, public school educator who will ensure CRT, SEL, CSE or any other communistic, evil, divisive curriculum will never be taught in GA will do just fine.'
Yet other parents and teachers have expressed dismay at the backlash against SEL.
Christina Edmiston, a mother in Southlake, Texas, whose son was suicidal after coming out as bisexual, said she was grateful for the support, and there should be more.
'I personally cannot understand why a parent would not want their child to understand - even if their child doesn't have any mental health issues - ... what depression looks like, what anxiety looks like,' Edmiston said.
'That doesn't make sense to me, as a mom, as someone who's a part of society.'
And in Carmel, Indiana, a mother who set up a group supporting the effort, Amal Anthony, said she was baffled by the backlash.
'It's absolutely terrifying to think that our kids could be out there without the access to the things that they need,' she said.
'Because while we all like to think that our kids are going to come to us first, sometimes that's not the reality.'
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