Making Children Emotionally Intelligent
Emotions are an integral part of human feelings and behaviour. Some people are emotionally –challenged ones. They have no control over their emotions. Emotion is nothing but a strong feeling, such as fear, anger, love, frustration etc. These can be subjective as well as objective.
The term emotion is derived from the Latin word , ‘emovere’, which means to stir ,to move, to agitate .It consists of physical and physiological reactions that can happen in mind. An emotion is aroused by certain incidents. Different people react differently to the same situation.
Why Emotion in Education is Important?
Children have been sent to schools for all- round development, emotion is one aspect of it. They develop their physical , psychological and emotional states. When we are talking about emotional state, it is very unique, quite different state of mind . Children must be aware of their emotions.
A child can achieve anything in life, if he/she is emotionally intelligent . Many MNCs are spending billions of dollars to understand what it is and how it works in human mind. Many incidents happen in a child’s life every day. How the child is going to react to each incident , is known as emotional state mind.
Parents and teachers must observe the child’s emotions and it should not be repressed. As the child grows, each stage needs specific attention. When we think about small children,specially of primary children drawing is one of the suitable ways of expressing emotions.
Let me narrate about a child who joined our school in class V. Initially, he had a problem in staying in the hostel, as it happens with every new child. Then I observed he was very aggressive and sometimes turned violent. I enquired and came to know why he was behaving in that way. His father was a businessman , hardly had time for children. His mother was seriously ill for many years .His grandmother was very old and not in a position to take care of them. The children were left at the mercy of their maid, who was very rude to them. They were left at their own , had spent time by watching violent films and playing violent video games. They hardly go out for outdoor games.
When he was given any chart or drawing paper to draw , he drew only violent scenes with guns , dead bodies ,blood etc . As he started playing outdoor games with other children and drawing continuously (he loved drawing) the scenery , birds ,trees and Nature started getting visible in his drawings within a year. He became emotionally stable.
So it varies from child to child. Unless the child is emotionally intelligent , he could not focus on anything.
Role of Parents
Parents are the first teachers for a child. A child learns everything from his/her parents in the initial years of his life. Story telling by parents and grand parents helps a child to remain stable emotionally. According to a research,the children ,those who grew up or spend more time with their grandparents are more emotionally balanced than the children ,who spend time with their parents only. There are many emotional problems children face today, like peer pressure ,drug abuse, broken relationship, broken family etc. The following useful steps by the parents would make a child emotionally balanced :
- Taking children for a picnic, fair or circus where they can feel comfortable.
- Taking children to a nearby park once a week/month and playing with them and telling to observe plants, flowers ,trees birds and the Nature.
- Spending some time with the child during vacations and visiting relatives
- Having a meal together once a day
- Attending PTM (Parent Teacher Meeting) regularly in the school
Parents must attend workshops conducted by school to handle above mentioned problems
When a child is emotionally balanced ,he/she can learn many things in formal and informal ways.
Role of Schools
The school must pay attention to the individual child’s needs and aspirations, as each child is special and unique in his/her way. Each child’s need is or interest is different. First step is to recognize child’s aspirations, interest and strength. The individual child must be encouraged to express his/her emotions through a particular field. As I have discussed a case study above, so there are many emotionally –challenged children in every school and can be handled delicately.
The school must make a child emotionally intelligent. The child must be aware of his /her emotions, and learn to wait to pass the state, then respond to the situation and not to react. When a child is emotionally intelligent , he would be free from anxiety , hypertension and other negative emotions. The students should be provided the following basic facilities :
- Children must allowed to play the games /sports of their interest
- Field trips /excursions should be arranged
- Different academic and co-curricular competitions should be arranged
- Art, music, craft, theatre , calligraphy, yoga etc. must be there as per the interest of children
- Must conduct workshops for the teachers to handle students’ emotions related to peer pressure , broken relationship ,family problems,drug abuse etc.
Role of Teachers for Managing Students’ Emotions
Teachers play an important role so far as students’ emotions are concerned. Though it is an uphill task of keeping individual child’s emotion in mind and managing them. One –rule-fits-all , system would not work. When thirty /thirty five students are in the class, knowing their individual needs and treat them accordingly, is the most difficult task . But teachers can manage students’ emotions by considering the following points :
Know the child’s background
- and his/her likes dislikes
- Must listen to the child carefully
- Provide a stress free atmosphere , where he/she share personal problems
- Must be allowed participate in events of his/her choice
- Must know why he/she is behaving in a particular way.
- If teacher feels child needs more help ,must be sent to the counsellor.
A child must be emotionally balanced, this is a combined responsibility of parents ,teachers and the school, once it is done he/she will be an asset for all.
