Do the Ten Commandments align with Social Emotional Learning?
American educators have a love-fest going with a trend called social emotional learning (SEL). It is suddenly everywhere within the last few years, infused in most parts of a child's daily school routine. And many parents are rightfully skeptical, if not alarmed.
When a teacher’s priorities center on the five competencies of SEL — “self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making” — communities have a right to ask: what are the values and beliefs upon which these are developed in children? Knowing how many radical agendas permeate public education (and are starting to invade private schools as well), it's easy to see how quickly SEL becomes a tool not just for reckless classroom group therapy, but to shove corrupt progressive agendas down every child's throat, K-12.
Don't we want our children to learn timeless and noble values centered around faithfulness to God Almighty? What if we applied the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20) to social emotional learning, and let those be the driver of our lessons and priorities? SEL as it is currently devised might quickly fall apart, but let’s see if this works.
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For instance, let's start with self-awareness. No human becomes truly self-aware until he or she is “God aware” and understands commandment #1, “You shall have no other gods before me.” And that includes oneself. Deifying the “self” is an underlying principle of many education fads, including SEL, and we’ve seen just how well that’s working, with reading proficiency rates in the basement and youth suicide at an all-time high.
Once we understand Who God is (and that it’s not me), the other commandments make sense as the outline for human behavior — how to relate to a holy God and then to others, with virtuous, respectful and honorable boundaries. Bowing before our Creator is where every human action should start. The beginning of wisdom is the fear of God (Proverbs 9:10).
Unfortunately, the typical elements of self-awareness SEL messages to students include a heaping dose of identity politics. What about skin color? How should I feel about that? Racial identity is nowhere in the Ten Commandments nor is it a biblical concept. So, this should never be emphasized as something critical to a child’s identity, but only as an aspect of personal appearance.
Neither should a child be directed toward self-labeling according to “sexual orientation” or “gender identity.” These are already determined by God for each of us. Embracing God’s awesome natural design is how children should be directed, not toward false labels and sinful behaviors. Unfortunately, too many SEL programs dwell on and normalize this conduct, increasing confusion and anxiety among students.
It would be fantastic if the second competency, self-management, could be the application of the practice of honoring God and others, and that includes refusing any flirtation with other gods (so, get the mindfulness/yoga sessions out of school) and not creating idols in our lives, including sports or academic achievement (common obsessions in school culture).
We are to be respectful in speaking about the Lord (Commandment #3) and honor the practice of keeping the Sabbath (#4). We are to honor our parents (#5), refrain from committing murder(#6), adultery (#7, i.e., all sexual sin outside of one male-one female marriage), theft (#8) and we are also never to tell lies (#9). We must refrain from harboring envy and jealousy of others and their possessions within our hearts (#10).
Imagine how positive a school climate would be if these values were taught and expected! (Of course, Christian schools strive for this already).
Social awareness, the third competency, focuses on our relationships with other people. It’s easy to see where this becomes a tool for “equity” and skin color division. It’s also sometimes perverted to create an expectation that, for instance, homosexuality, gender confusion, and the “right” to become sexually active as a teen, are to be embraced as normal behavior in others or oneself, when just the opposite would be God’s expectation (#7th).
Premeditated murder is a violation of the 6th Commandment, yet many schools will teach adolescents in sex ed that abortion is an acceptable practice and a “reproductive right.” Planned Parenthood, an organization that has built its empire on violating the 6th Commandment, is often invited into the school to conduct these lessons. What about “loving our neighbors as ourselves” (Mark 12:31)? A teen couple’s unborn child is their “neighbor.”
Also, teaching students to respect socialism asks them to embrace government-mandated theft, a violation of both #8 and #10. Is this how we are to be “socially aware” — by demanding that others give us what they earned?
Relationship skills start with our relationship with our savior, Jesus Christ. Does every child know Him as Lord and Savior? Is He the One in whom we “live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28)? And are we able to relate to other people based on the example and standards given to us by Jesus? Are students taught to reach out to those who are hurting and in need, to feed the poor, to take care of our own elderly parents and relatives, to nurture and care for babies and children? Are they taught to behave in the workplace in a respectful manner and obey authorities?
Do we teach students to obey authorities in government? Unless officials are flagrantly dishonoring the Lord, of course. In that case, “We must obey God rather than man” (Acts 5:29). We should teach our children the example of Corrie Ten Boom, to be the person who would hide Jews from the Nazis. But for most times in most places, respecting governmental (and school) authorities is a biblical value.
But any intimate relationships before marriage violate the 7th Commandment. We are not to draw someone else into sexual sin (any sexual activity outside male/ female marriage). This also fails to “love one’s neighbor” and SEL lessons that direct children to sex outside marriage are inherently non-Christian.
And responsible decision-making begins with asking the question, “What would Jesus do?” Some SEL priorities might fit here. For instance, surely Jesus would want children to complete lessons, keep their promises, control angry impulses and never be a bully.
But some common SEL directives won’t make a Ten Commandments filter. Would Jesus encourage you to “responsibly” use condoms during unwed sexual intercourse? SEL lessons will often classify this as “protection” and an example of foresight. But unwed sexual behavior is aways a sin (#7).
Nor would Jesus force others to use non-biological pronouns that offend His design of each human as unchangeably male or female. Jesus would not say, “Sure! Go ahead and announce a homosexual identity on ‘Coming Out Day’!” Would Jesus want any class to be instructed by an openly homosexual teacher or one who dresses as the opposite sex? Would Jesus approve of teachers who secretly counsel children to pursue life-altering gender distortion without parental knowledge?
Jesus called out sin, often with mercy. Yet He was perfectly willing to angrily accost merchants at the Temple taking advantage of those who sincerely wanted to worship God. Would Jesus do any less to those who take advantage of the innocence of children? What would Jesus say about some of the obscene book selections offered to children in school libraries? He told us about people who lead children into sin, that they deserve to be cast into the sea with a millstone around their necks (Mark 9:42). We must be very careful about how we relate to children, born and unborn.
And it is every Christian’s duty to first, teach our children about the Lord.
It's hard to make SEL as designed to accommodate the Ten Commandments. When one puts a biblical lens on these “competencies,” their pitfalls become clear.
Parents, think about this. Going down the SEL road may make it difficult for your son or daughter to walk faithfully with the Lord. For these and many other reasons, we must choose this day whom we will serve.
It’s probably best to remove social emotional learning from your school, or to remove your child from any school that teaches it.
Linda Harvey is President of Mission America.
