My son attends public school, and like most children, he was issued a school Chromebook. Being the diligent mother that I am (i.e., scouring every app, document, and website to ensure only appropriate content was available), I kept finding books discussing emotions and feelings.
The issue of feelings confronts him every day when he opens his screen, as a pop-up appears asking him how he feels by showing three faces: red – sad face; yellow – neutral face; green – happy face. It’s a constant reminder compelling him to stop what he is doing and evaluate his emotions – and collect data in the background.
Last year, my son participated in a class exercise called “emotions bingo.” Students had to identify their emotions based on certain events the teacher called out. They then discussed the details of the events and why children chose certain emotions on their bingo cards.
Why does it matter that our children are encountering so many emotion-based lessons and activities in their classrooms? It matters because these lessons are all part of Social Emotional Learning (SEL), the latest trend in woke ideologies infiltrating our public schools and children’s minds.
SEL is “an integral part of education and human development … [and] is the process through which all young people and adults acquire and apply the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to develop healthy identities,” according to an organization called the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL). It also “advances educational equity and excellence through authentic school-family-community partnerships,” focusing on five primary areas – self management, responsible decision making, relationship skills, social awareness, and self-awareness.
All that sounds promising and innocent enough. Who wouldn’t want their child to develop responsible decision-making skills, right? But if you look just below the surface, you’ll start to understand the dangers of SEL.
For starters, let’s consider the organizations pushing SEL in every single classroom across the country, including Alabama’s public schools. The aforementioned CASEL is one of these, noting in its mission statement, “We imagine communities in which all young people – across race … gender identity, sexual orientation … have the skills to thrive.” Other SEL proponents include organizations such as the National Education Association (NEA), American School Counselor Association (ASCA) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) just to name a few. This very short list includes some of the most progressive, left-leaning institutions influencing our public schools nationwide.
One voice shedding light on SEL is Abigail Shrier. In her most recent book, “Bad Therapy,” she discusses the immense emphasis placed on children’s mental health and how that focus is actually creating the spike in anxiety and depression we see in children today. Her words caught my attention considering what I’ve personally seen on my child’s school-issued Chrome book.
As Shrier points out, such overemphasis on a child’s emotions and triggering events is nothing short of unlicensed therapy. That alone should concern every parent in our state, not to mention that our state standards require every child in the state to attend classes riddled with SEL. To put that in full context, without parental permission, kids are forced to attend unlicensed therapy while attending public schools – all under the guise of helping children with their feelings.
When programs like that are shoved into kids’ faces constantly, they begin to only think of their emotions, which is extremely unhealthy! This leads children to be more anxious as they question themselves, Shrier explains, which then leads to feelings of depression. In some cases, it can even create confusion that leads children to start questioning their identity. At first glance, this is all innocent enough, but once you realize the deception, you can’t ignore it.
Earlier this year, the Alabama Legislature passed the Parent’s Right to Know Act (2024-35), which went into effect in June. It requires the posting of classroom curricula on the website of the school. For the most part, I’ve not had major issues accessing my son’s curriculum – expect for, you guessed it, the mental health/SEL materials. I’ve raised this concern, and the school is looking into the issue, but their initial response was that the material is under copyright and therefore can’t be published online. For anyone keeping score, I’m batting 1,000 in terms of red flags with this overall program.
I’ve been battling this fight for two years now, and honestly, it’s time to turn up the heat. Parents need to start asking direct questions of their public schools. Our legislators need to formally define SEL as a subcategory of DEI and prohibit it entirely from our public schools. They also need to pass laws restricting CASEL programs from the state.
Parents, you must understand that no matter how wonderful you believe your school administrators are, they are likely doing serious harm to your children. The issue does not necessarily lie with the administrators, teachers and coaches, but with the external influences impacting our schools.
Parents across the country seek refuge in Alabama because we are supposed to be a “safe state” with strong Christian values and a conservative government. We are no longer that state, but we must return to it for the sake of our children.
Parents, for the love of your children, please start asking questions of your school, and start understanding the dangerous ideologies they are pushing onto your most precious possessions before it’s too late.
Emily Jones is a native of North Alabama who now resides in Madison County. She started the first Moms for Liberty chapter in the state, seeking to fight for the preservation of parental rights and the protection of our children, including her own son, a student in the Madison City School District.
The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of 1819 News. To comment, please send an email with your name and contact information to Commentary@1819news.com.
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