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February 23, 2021

The development of social emotional learning (SEL) skills is embedded and inherent in musical training. And yet there are many ways we as educators and parents can streamline this process through being intentional in how we integrate SEL and music. A global pandemic has made this integration exponentially vital, and has increased our awareness of social and emotional needs – and how they can affect other areas of our lives, whether we’re talking about mental health, immune function, or academic grades and performance. We discuss reasons music teachers are in a prime position to build students’ social and emotional skills; resources for parents and educators; and an exciting new venture that will launch in March 2021!

Scott Edgar, PhD

Guest

We’ve talked quite a bit about social emotional learning (SEL) on this show. In a recent episode about genius and music’s relationship to genius, Dr. Craig Wright pointed out the benefits of cross-training in the arts and sciences, and then combining things and connecting the dots.

My guest today is a leader in connecting the dots between SEL and music. Dr. Scott Edgar is the author of Music Education and Social Emotional Learning: The Heart of Teaching Music. He teaches graduate courses on the topic and is an internationally sought-after clinician. Dr. Edgar is currently Associate Professor of Music, Music Education Chair, and Director of Bands at Lake Forest College in IL.

Notes

• Scott explains how he came to focus on and specialize in SEL and music.
• We discuss reasons music teachers are in a prime position to build students’ social and emotional skills; resources for parents and educators; and an exciting new venture that will launch in March 2021!

Connect/Other Resources

• Scott’s Lake Forest College profile page: https://www.lakeforest.edu/academics/faculty/edgar/
• Scott’s books:
  • Music Education and Social Emotional Learning: The Heart of Teaching Music (2017). This pioneering book addresses how music educators can utilize SEL to maximize learning in the choral, instrumental, and general music classroom at all levels, and at the same time support a student’s social and emotional growth.
  • Music Education and Social Emotional Learning, Student Workbook (2018)
  • The ABCs of My Feelings and Music (2021) is one of the first resources to connect SEL and music to elementary students. Edgar co-wrote the book with Stephanie Edgar, his wife and Coordinator of the Center for Academic Success at the College.
  • A fourth book, edited by Scott, will release summer 2021. It is a collection of essays, each written by a different superstar SEL educator. The working title is Portraits of Social Emotional Learning and Music Education: Teaching Music with Heart. Download the table of contents and introduction for FREE! 
  • Scott’s books on GIA Publications’ website
• Video Podcast Series: Scott hosts an internationally syndicated video podcast series, “Teaching Social Emotional Learning Through Music,” created by the Music for All. It is now available as a traditional podcast as well.
• The Center for Arts Education and Social Emotional Learning is an exciting new venture that will launch March 2021 (with Scott as Director)!
• Scott created a Facebook page  highlighting the intersection between music education and SEL. The page has close to 3,000 followers – I became one of them as soon as I found out about it!
• We reference Ep. 82: What is the relationship between musicianship, mental disorders, and genius? What is the difference between prodigy and genius? With Dr. Craig Wright
• Check out these episodes for more info on SEL:
  1. Ep. 60: How does music training affect children’s Social-Emotional Learning, and how is SEL affected by a pandemic? With Dr. Assal Habibi
  2. Ep. 64: Does Practice Make Perfect? With Ed Varner, EdD
  3. Ep. 70: What you don’t know about 1 in 6 people you encounter, and why it matters; with David Knott
• The second annual International SEL Day is March 26, 2021

 Coda

Scott shares a memorable moment of experiencing SEL learning through music when he was in high school!

Closing Words

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