Superintendent McFalls Weighs In
on Controversial
“Social Emotional Learning” Curriculum

by Becky Olson
This summary is part of a larger and ongoing discussion in our community about a specific curriculum implemented in Custer County’s elementary school last year called “Social Emotional Learning”, or “SEL” for short. Though originally developed many years ago and initially introduced during the first Obama administration, SEL grabbed more national attention over the past year or so as it was marketed by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention(CDC), teachers unions, and state education boards as a helpful solution to the emotional andpsychological issues brought on in students due to the pandemic and school closures of the past two years. According to the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning or “CASEL” (www.casel.org), the objective of SEL curriculum is to provide, “the process through which all young people and adults acquire and apply the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to develop healthy identities, manage emotions and achieve personal and collective goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintainsupportive relationships, and make responsible and caring decisions”. The particular SEL curriculum implemented in our school last year is from Sanford-Harmony, which claims the honor of being a “CASEL SELect program”. 
According to Harmony’s website, www.harmonysel.org, their curriculum is, “focused on supporting student growth, building community, and creating an inclusive learning environment”.
Some of the reasons SEL curriculum has garnered recent criticism and quickly become a controversial topic is many of the concepts introduced and the terminology utilized appear to overlap with, or possibly be influenced by, themes and key words used throughout another controversial philosophy, Critical Race Theory (CRT). Some examples of this include prolific use of the words “equity”, “gender”, “diversity”, “inclusion”, and “bias” all throughout SEL curriculum, which are key terms in the CRT framework and frequently utilized by so-called “social justice activists”. Unfortunately these words are right at the center of our current culture wars and are imbued with widely varying connotations depending on their context. Another factor contributing to the controversy around SEL is
the belief by some that it more closely resembles psychotherapy,
rather than rigorous academic curriculum, and some observers have questioned its appropriateness in public school classrooms, or at least its use by teachers not qualified to do so.
On behalf of The Sentinel, this correspondent recently sat down with school Superintendent, Mike McFalls, to directly gain his perspective on the Harmony SEL curriculum and its use in our elementary school. Mr. McFalls started by articulating how his overall goal is always to provide Custer County students with a quality education in a safe environment, so they are successful once they graduate. He adamantly stated that Custer County students need to know they can talk about anything in their learning environment. He noted some obvious exceptions to this such as explicit / non-biological sexual discussions and was also quick to assert the school “absolutely does not teach beliefs (e.g. religion, politics, etc.) or proselytize in anyway”, but that otherwise he wants the school to be an environment of open and honest exchange between students and teachers/faculty. He also noted there is ongoing social pressure for schools to address certain issues, and he strongly believes it’s the school’s responsibility to reflect the values and wishes of our community. The Harmony SEL curriculum was recommended by our school’s Title I teacher, Jennifer Cruzen, and after going through the normal process all potential new curriculum is subject to, it was approved by last year’s BOE members. It is Mr. McFalls’ heartfelt opinion that the Harmony SEL curriculum does indeed help students learn how to effectively socialize and interact with others so they become productive adult citizens. He noted SEL does not replace any other curriculum at our school, and that it’s really just another tool for our elementary teachers to rely on when doing the amazing jobs they do every day.
He vehemently reiterated multiple times that our school does not teach CRT, which is defined by its central tenet that certain groups in society are systematically oppressed by others based on immutable characteristics such as race. It is his opinion that while some of those foundational concepts may be helpful to foster understanding between people of different backgrounds, CRT is ultimately harmful because it crosses over into the territory of simply encouraging a different type of racism ostensibly to right the wrongs of previous forms of racism.
One of the benefits of utilizing the Harmony SEL material is that it’s available to anyone completely free of charge. Not only does this mean Custer County School is not incurring an expense to implement this curriculum, but it also means the entirety of the material is available to the public for anyone to examine and evaluate for themselves. Simply visit Harmony’s website to register for free and gain full access to the material being used in our school. A review of Harmony’s Pre-K through Sixth Grade SEL curriculum does not reveal overt critical race or radical gender theory concepts. Many of the exercises appear to be basic and harmless “ice breaker” type games and activities designed to help students get to know one another, foster good interpersonal relationships, and improve their communication. However, in other instances, the exercises appear to encourage concepts and scenarios such as groupthink / mob rule / consensus equals truth or what’s “right”, a preoccupation with students’ self-perceived “identities”, calls for teachers to “de-emphasize gender”, and an emphasis on empathy and guesses at other’s emotions as a higher academic virtue than evidence-based critical thinking. Many of the commonly used key words are never actually defined, leaving much room for interpretation and a wide array of lenses through which this material can be manipulated and presented. As with everything in life, the devil is most certainly in the details and is subject to varying interpretations.
Mr. McFalls wants the community to know that he and all the school administration and staff are available and open to discussing this topic with any member of the community. He invites concerned citizens to reach out to him and/or the members of the Board of Education, and he also extended an invitation for folks to come observe classrooms where this curriculum is utilized.
Ultimately, this curriculum is no different from any other in the sense that it’s always incumbent upon parents to be involved in their child’s education and to keep themselves informed so they can make decisions they believe to be in their children’s best interests. Only parents can decide what they think is appropriate for their children to learn in school and make educational decisions accordingly.