REPLAY | Social-Emotional Learning in the CTE Classroom with Dr. Damien Sweeney

This episode is a replay from an episode aired in November 2021. We wanted to replay this in honor of Mental Health Awareness month.

Career and Technical Education is all about helping students find a meaningful and fulfilling career pathway that aligns with their skills and passions. But before students can discover what they want to do with their lives, they need to discover who they are. That is where social-emotional learning comes into play. 

Dr. Damien Sweeney is a social-emotional learning expert and currently serves as the Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at the Kentucky Department of Education. Sweeney is also an adjunct professor at the University of the Cumberlands and Spalding University. With a passion for change agency and social justice, Dr. Sweeney has served as a special education teacher, English teacher and high school counselor in Jefferson County Public Schools (Louisville, KY). Sweeney holds a Master’s in Teaching Special Education and Secondary English from Bellarmine University along with a Master’s in Education for School Counseling and a Doctorate in Educational Leadership from the University of Louisville. In short, he’s been in your shoes and knows the burdens you educators carry. 

In this episode, we sat down with Damien to learn about what social-emotional learning is, why it matters, and why CTE classrooms are perfectly poised to help students find a place to belong and discover who they are. Damien also helped us discover how, as adults and educators, we can dive into our own journeys of social-emotional learning, and why educators need to fill up their cup before they can give to their students. If you or your students are feeling lost, overwhelmed, underappreciated, or misunderstood, this episode will bring insight and direction to help you pave a path forward. 

Looking for the resources that Damien mentioned during this episode? Check out the list below. 

CASEL Framework: https://casel.org/fundamentals-of-sel/what-is-the-casel-framework/ 

Kentucky’s Individual Learning Plans: https://education.ky.gov/educational/compschcouns/ILP/Pages/default.aspx 

Permission to Feel with Dr. Marc Brackett: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUhfLKzDEkA

We can’t wait to see you all at CERTIFIED this year! Get more information here: https://certified.certiport.com/. 

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