Social Emotional Learning is vital to teach kids how to be resilient when overcoming challenges and grow into well-rounded adults. Schools are supposed to teach the "whole child"; this allows them to do so. Yes, as many argue, schools are there to teach students reading, writing, and math, but you can't teach a student these skills if they don't have their basic needs met first. Schools are here to teach children to be prepared to enter the "real-world", yet the real-world is more than just academics. All of the intelligence in the world won't help you if you can't communicate that information, get along well with others, or cope with/thrive in the face of challenges. Social-emotional learning teaches our kids how to do that.