The SECD Lab is committed to combating racism, especially in these recent times. With the current events we have been experiencing as a society, as well as the many new anti-racism movements, members and collaborators of the SECD Lab are determined to take action within our community. Past webinars in the SECD lab have encouraged conversations about how to deal with racism and brought awareness to different resources and platforms. One recent webinar emphasized how SEL skills can be used to start educating others on these important issues, and to help better understand victims of racism.
Linked below is a list of resources from the webinar : https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GgsvqperF9frTdn3kpKEhpedCpquyJ_K5-RMJN52cIo/edit
SEL and Racism
The SECD Lab members will hold our own book club discussing The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together written by Heather McGhee. All members of the Lab are invited to join discussions that will take place on June 23, July 22, and August 18 over Zoom.
On June 23, SECD Lab members held the first book club meeting over Zoom!
Social-emotional learning comes hand-in-hand with conversations about racism. The content of this discussion lies around the idea that racist systems are detrimental to the social and emotional well-being of students. Schools must acknowledge this, using SEL as a way to combat racism and teach students proper social and emotional skills. Social-emotional learning in schools will teach children and young people to have increased self-awareness, relationship-building skills, and feel empathy for others- all skills which are necessary to combat racism.
The SECD Lab Leadership Team is leading an antiracism book club this Summer 2021. All members of the Lab, collaborators, and alumni are encouraged to read at least one book related to this topic of racism or social justice, and are invited to share individual thoughts and opinions through providing reflections or “Revelations, Emotional Reactions, and Questions” (REQs). This book club welcomes discussions of different viewpoints and invites everyone to share their personal experiences with one another. Through this experience, the SECD Lab hopes to open up more discussions on anti-racism in our community and work towards recognizing our privileges. We honor the different experiences of all people and continue to expand our anti-racism work within our lab and community.