An older dichotomy in psychology between “cognitive” and “noncognitive” abilities would put academic skills in a separate category from social and emotional ones. But given how the neural scaffolding for executive control underlies both academic and social/emotional skills, that separation seems as antiquated as the Cartesian split between mind and body. In the design of the brain they are highly interactive, not fully independent. Kids who can’t pay attention can’t learn; they also can’t manage themselves well.
