“All learning has an emotional base.”
— Plato
Emotional Intelligence is a theory that has been included in education topics for years now. But what is emotional intelligence? And why is it such an important topic that schools have to be aware of?
“Emotional intelligence is the ability to perceive emotions, to access and generate emotions so as to assist thought, to understand emotions and emotional knowledge, and to reflectively regulate emotions so as to promote emotional and intellectual growth.” – Mayer & Salovey, 1997
Studies have proven that when it comes to being happy and successful in school and in life, emotional intelligence is more important than intellectual abilities. Emotional intelligence will help children (and adults) manage stress better, have better relationships, learn how to control yourselves in different situations, and adapt better. It has also been proven that these skills can be taught to children in early ages to promote their skills and have great benefits in their academic outcome.
Roger Weissberg – President of Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) says “if you (teachers and parents) focus on social and emotional learning it improves children’s behavior and it also improves their academic performance”
There are Five Components of Emotional Intelligence.
Every parent and teacher should be aware of these keys in order to help the children in their lives improve their emotional skills, perceive, reason, understand and manage emotions.
These five components can, and should be taught in school so children get the benefit during academic years. It has been proven that when social and emotional learning is part of an academic program and curriculum, children are more opened to new content and material engage their students and improve achievement.
We recommend this video so you can learn more about this 5 components and how they can be taught in school.
