Introduction: Social-emotional learning and resolving cohen's paradox

Every day nearly 55 million children travel to schools throughout the United States. They are greeted undoubtedly by approximately 12 million teachers and administrators who work tirelessly to ensure that schools are safe places for children to learn and grow into happy, healthy, and productive members of their communities. Even though their faces may differ and the tenor of the local area may vary, the one common element is that schools are places where human beings interact, strive, resolve conflict, and teach and learn together. Schools are more than a collection of test scores, graduation completion rates, and accountability measures. They are a collection of relationships that include social, emotional, and cognitive components. In short, schools are places where learning occurs within the context of relationships.