John S. Dacey

All Children Need Social and Emotional Well‐being

The survival of the human race depends at least as much on the cultivation of social and emotional intelligence as it does on the development of technological knowledge and skills.1 The need to refocus American schools on the holistic development of children is profound. One national survey discovered, for example, that among 148,000 middle and high school students, well under half felt they had developed social competencies such as empathy, decision‐making, and conflict resolution skills. Only 29% indicated that their school provided caring, encouraging environments. Other research has found that as many as 60% of students become chronically disengaged from school, and 30% of high school students engage in multiple high risk behaviors such as substance abuse, sexual activity, violence, and attempted suicide.2