I am an SPED teacher. I’m also a certified ELA teacher; I’ve taught English for the majority of my career. I have an 8th grade resource class for students who need specialized instruction in ELA and Math. There are 10 students in the group and I’m the only adult in the room.

I’ve worked really hard with my kids this year and I hold them to high standards. We do grade level content with a lot of modifications and support. My students have read two novels this year (the same novels that the Gen Ed classes read). They have written papers, had debates and discussions, and on average have improved their district test scores by two grade levels.

We have about four weeks left until their promotion ceremony. The last two weeks in ELA will be spent doing their district common writing assessment, which is a major research paper. Many of my students have challenges with their social-emotional skills, so I decided that I would spend the two weeks of “in between” time working on SEL activities that incorporate ELA standards like speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills. The Gen Ed teacher is reading a short story with his group (not part of our district’s curriculum), but I thought my kids would benefit more from SEL activities.

The other day my administrator came in to observe me during the ELA block. My students had completed an emotional intelligence self-assessment the day before. We did an anonymous form where they submitted the results of their surveys so as a class we could look at the areas of strength and challenge of the group. I posted the results on the board and we had a class discussion. Then the students did a personal reflection about their results and brainstormed strategies for improving their skills in various areas.

The kids loved the activity and were contributing great ideas during the class. I felt really good about the observation and I was proud of the work my kids did. However, after class my administrator pulled me aside and was upset that I was doing SEL activities. She said it was not part of the curriculum and didn’t relate to ELA. I explained to her that the lesson incorporated multiple ELA standards and that this was an area that my class needs a lot of support in. She was still displeased.

This is frustrating on so many levels. (1) this is the first time all year that she’s actually observed me teaching (2) I teach in a high needs urban district and many of my students need intense SE support, but we don’t have the resources to provide it (3) I wasn’t even offered a written curriculum until March (4) it’s a RESOURCE ROOM and I’m allowed/expected to modify instruction to meet the needs of my students and (5) all of my students have transition goals that involve identifying their strengths and weaknesses and completing self-assessments, so I have to do activities like this in order to accurately assess their progress towards these IEP goals.

She said that only service providers like social workers and counselors should be working on these skills with the students. This made me mad because that’s unrealistic and I know my kids and what they need. Am I in the wrong here?