An American Nightmare (Social-Emotional Management: Conclusion)

Social-emotional learning theories cannot lead to successful classroom management outcomes because they were not designed to create them. The natural consequence of stripping teachers of power and authority has resulted in a complete inversion of the teacher-student dynamic. Teachers have been reduced to impotent observers, while students, lacking any fear of meaningful repercussions and never spending any time experiencing accountable emotions, act with impunity. This hierarchical paradox and complete breakdown of accountability is a pure failure of social-emotional learning pedagogy. The cruel irony is that by prioritizing empathy, emotional safety, and relationship building over academic and behavioral accountability enforced by an authoritative classroom mentor and role model, social-emotional learning theories have only amplified the injustices and inequities they intended to alleviate.