As part of the groundbreaking group Run-D.M.C. McDaniels racked up a formidable list of 鈥渇irsts鈥� in the hip-hop world, with multi-platinum albums, Grammy awards, rock鈥檔鈥檙oll crossovers, sold out stadiums, a Rolling Stone cover, and hip hop鈥檚 first major apparel endorsement.  

But McDaniels, who had been creative and introspective since childhood, also battled depression and personal demons that threatened to steal the joy of his success. Now, he鈥檚 using his influence and ability to rap on command to reach kids with an important message: Your feelings matter. 

He takes this message to schools, and works with Nickelodeon鈥檚 educational arm, Noggin, on a literacy and social emotional learning television series 鈥淲hat鈥檚 the Word?鈥� He also authored a children鈥檚 book, Darryl鈥檚 Dream, about a third grader who finds perseverance and confidence in the face of doubt. 

Ahead of a panel discussion hosted by Big Heart World, Sparkler, Noggin and 麻豆精品, McDaniels spoke with correspondent Bekah McNeel about his love of therapy and empowering words, and about the ways adults can validate the emotions of children while helping them through the tough parts of growing up.聽

鈥淎 lot of the things we go through as adults start in childhood,鈥� McDaniels said. Rather than pushing away anxiety, fear, and sadness鈥攊nsisting that children be happy simply because they don鈥檛 carry the responsibilities of adulthood鈥攈e suggested teachers and parents, 鈥淟et them be engaged from the point where they鈥檙e at.鈥� 

A lifelong fan of superhero comics, McDaniels reminds kids that when Spider-Man and the Hulk and others are not in their superhero form, their alter egos like Peter Parker and Bruce Banner have to deal with bullies, setbacks, and all the problems regular people face. Even Star Wars鈥� Luke Skywalker, McDaniels said, 鈥淗e had parental issues.鈥� 

Parents and teachers, the original heroes in kids鈥� lives, can also model vulnerability so that kids see how to handle tough emotions鈥攊t鈥檚 healthy to have negative feelings, because bad and sad things happen. At the same time, the feelings don鈥檛 have to stop you from reaching your goals. Being appropriately open and vulnerable with kids also strengthens that adult-child relationship, which will also contribute to the child鈥檚 success. People admire strength, he explained, but they connect to vulnerability. 

Those connections are a top priority for University of Michigan researcher and pediatrician Jenny Radesky, who joined Austin ISD educator Rebekah Ozuna and American Enterprise Institute policy analyst Rick Hess in a discussion following the McDaniels interview. The panelists discussed the state of social and emotional learning in their various fields鈥攆rom insight gained during the pandemic to current political pushback, from social media to classroom management. 

While there may be ideological and political debate over whether topics like anti-racism and LGBTQ identity belong in social and emotional learning curricula or in schools at all, Ozuna said every classroom inherently has a 鈥渃ulture and climate鈥� in addition to academic instruction. If the culture of the classroom doesn鈥檛 acknowledge the real struggles students face, she said, little else was going to break through. This became more clear than ever as students and teachers struggled through the pandemic. 鈥淓verything was greatly intertwined.鈥�

Other educators have told 麻豆精品 similar stories in recent years. Here were some of our most discussed and shared articles about social and emotional learning in 2022: 

• COVID Recovery: How Social and Emotional Learning Became a Priority for Schools During the Pandemic
  
• Expert鈥檚 View: CASEL鈥檚 鈥楥onsensus Builder鈥� CEO Aaliyah Samuel on Getting the U.S. 鈥楤ack to the Middle鈥� on Social-Emotional Learning
  
• Youth Trauma: Historic Rise in Child Bereavement as COVID, Drugs and Guns Claim Parents鈥� Lives
  
• Pandemic Isolation: Virtual Nightmare 鈥� One Student鈥檚 Journey Through the Pandemic
  
• Student Relationships: Remembering How to Be Friends 鈥� One School鈥檚 Efforts to Use Talking Circles to Help Kids Reconnect