Journalist Cokie Roberts once said, “Raise children you like because, if you don’t like them, nobody will, and you’re going to spend the rest of your life with them.” Unfortunately, so will the rest of us, too. Indeed, we already are, so it’s no wonder, then, that social and emotional learning is now offered in many of our schools, right there along with math, English, science, and history.
There’s now even an organization devoted to the subject called CASEL, an acronym standing for Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning, and it’s identified “five interrelated sets of cognitive, affective competencies:
- Self-awareness
- Self-management
- Social awareness
- Relationship skills
- Responsible decision-making
At the same time, there’s also an app called Peeple, with the tag line, “Character is Destiny.” But its character is what seems to be lacking. As USA Today’s Elizabeth Weise explained, “The creators see it as a way for people to learn what the world thinks about them and showcase the content of their character.” What that means is you rate people you know, giving them between one and five stars, and for everyone to see.
Maybe we could all use a course on how to behave and treat others…