ENHANCING
EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE IN CLASSROOMS
INTRODUCTION
School
education is an important segment of the total educational system contributing
significantly to the individuals as well as to national development. A good
school provides conductive environment for development of cognitive, affective
and psychomotor domains for allround development of individuals. Today, the
trouble with the processes of education is the pervasive emphasis on cognition
and the neglect of the ‘affect’ state of the learners. As learning is not a
mechanical process a there is need to recognize the interface between cognition
and emotion (affect attribute). Any teacher would attest that the felt and
expressed emotions and the emotional dynamics of groups shape the process of
learning in any classroom. Therefore, education for promoting emotions need to
be recognized as an essential element of the educational process in the
classroom. Further, emotions provide information, direct attention and
facilitate attainment of goals. Infact for the teacher emotions become a
valuable tool for education of various reactions. Emotional literacy programmes
directly alter the level of success, self-esteem and well-being of a person. They
help to reverse a tide of educational decline and thus strengthen quality of
school education. Therefore nurturance of emotional intelligence becomes a
prime concern for teachers.
What is emotional intelligence?
Emotional intelligence is the
ability to deal with one’s as well as other’s emotions. The key domains of
emotional intelligence according to Daniel Goleman are given below.
1. Knowing One’s emotions self-awareness
The ability to recognize a feeling
as it happens and not put off it inconvenient is the key stone to emotional
intelligence. It is important to be able to say’ I am feeling jealous’ even
though it may be uncomfortable to admit it. The ability to monitor feelings
from moment to moment to moment is crucial psychological insight and self-understanding.
Teachers with greater certainty about their feelings are better pilots to their
lives/teaching.
2. Managing emotions
This relates to the ability to
handle uncomfortable emotions once we have accepted that we are feeling them. A
lot of this work is about developing an ‘inner mothering’ mode and learning to
soothe ourselves when things seem difficult. Teachers who are poor in this
ability are constantly battling feelings of distress, while those who excel in
it can bounce back far more quickly from life’s set backs and upsets. For
example, when a teacher is angry, he / she manages it by not bearing oneself or
students but switches over to as caring mode. The attitude one should have
‘whatever it takes to make me feel I care about myself and value myself.
3. Motivating oneself
Positive motivation the marshaling
of feelings of enthusiasm, zeal and confidence-is paramount for achievement. To
motive oneself for any achievement requires clear goals and an optimistic can
do-attitude. Emotions motivate us but also can disempower us if they are too
strong and we allow them to overwhelm us. For example, if I want to get what I
want out of life, I have to develop emotions control. It requires delaying
gratification or stifling impulsiveness. And being able to get into the ‘flow’
state enables outstanding performance of all kinds. People who have this skill
tend to be more highly productive and effective in whatever task they
undertake.
4. Recognizing emotions of others – empathy
The capacity to know how another
person feels is important on the job and in classroom transaction. As one
begins to recognize emotions in oneself and realize his / her own emotional
weather systems, he / she will be able to sense them in others more accurately.
This means one can feel with someone rather than feel about them. People, who
are empathic are more attuned to the subtle social signals that what others
need or want. This would take a long way especially in teaching.
5. Handling relationships
The art of relationships is, in large part, skill in managing emotions
in others. Understanding of other people’s motions give us the ability to
motivate them, be effective leaders and to work in successful teams. People who
excel in these skills do well at anything that relies in interacting smoothly
with others. The old rigidities, born out of fear or anxiety, can dissolve into
acceptance of ourselves and others. Emotional intelligence gives the ability to
have ‘grace under fire’ and to act with integrity and courage.
ENHANCING EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE
By and large, too many children find
difficulty to handle their upsets, to listen or focus, to rein in impulse or
feel responsible for their work. One reason that they are so poor at this basic
skills is that as teachers we have not bothered to make sure that every child
is taught the essentials of emotional competency. The ability to motivate and
guide oneself whether in doing homework, finishing a job, or getting up in the
morning, the ability to defer gratification, control and channelize one’s urges
for a required goal is what makes all the differences.
Teachers behaviour in the classroom
or outside the classroom has lot of influence in nurturing emotional
intelligence. The following are the specific points for teachers in enhancing
emotional intelligence among students.
1. Listen if you expect to be heard
Lack of communication is the biggest
problem in most of the classrooms. The teacher either ‘shouts’ at students and
the loudest complaint is ‘students don’t listen to me’. The answer to ‘why
won’t they listen to you? May be simply” you are not listening to them”.
2. Teach emotional choice
Manage your moods by letting all
feelings be OK but not all behaviour. Exhibit behaviour that respects and
encourage the feelings and rights of students and also make it clear that we
have choice about what to do with what we feel.
3. Don’t try to solve problems for students
Caring for your students doesn’t
mean taking charge for their problems, giving unsolicited advice or protecting
them from their own emotions. Give them an opportunity of know their strengths
and weaknesses and allow them to ask you for what they need.
4. Teach to be responsible for one’s
actions
Your beliefs and values are
communicated by your actions, no matter what you say. Students are observant
and sensitive to your verbal, non-verbal behaviours and your actions at large.
Accepting responsibility by saying ‘sorry’ when you hurt some students shows
you humanity and emotional integrity. You can demonstrate that no one is
perfect but everyone can learn at any age. Apologizing sincerely proves that
you can forgive yourself and makes it easier to forgive other.
5. Teach generosity by receiving as well as
giving
We
are all in the global sphere of giving and receiving. Giving and receiving are
parts of the same loving continuum. If we don’t give, we find it hard to
receive and it we don’t receive, we don’t really have much to give. As a
teacher, you need to love students unconditionally as the way they are.
For overall improvement in the
school system propose two ways in which we can enhance emotional intelligence.
a.
I advocate for preparation of
structure emotional curriculum for standard I to XII.
b.
Integrating the concept of emotional
education programmes in the existing curriculum.
CONCLUSION
Apart from introducing at school
level, the teacher training department should go for training the teachers both
at pre-service and in-service education. At elementary and secondary / higher
secondary teacher training institutes, emotional education as a special subject
needs to be introduced. Otherwise, the head and the heart will be in two
different directions which is not desirable for an individual or school or for
nation at large.
REFERENCES
1.
Daniel Goleman, (1995) Emotional
Intelligence, Bantam, Book, New York.
2.
Jaenne Segal, (2000) Raising your
Emotional Intelligence, Magna Publication, Mumbai.
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