Emotional Intelligence in Schools
John A. Shuford
Public education is still healthy, but there is serious concern about some of the trends we are experiencing. If we do not do something about these negative trends, the health of the educational system will be seriously compromised in time. Some of these trends are: increased staff and student fear of violence during school; emphasis on pass/fail grade level testing; experienced quality teachers leaving public schools not because of the students, but because of fellow teachers, poor administration and increased demands/regulations; inadequate staffing and funding; increased popularity of school choice and charter schools; increased involvement of police, and so on. A common error is to perceive these trends as problems to be addressed. Their solutions become mere band-aids. They should be viewed as symptoms or as barometers of the health of public education that point us in the direction of the more serious underlying systemic problems, many of which originate in society as a whole.
Prior to the 1960’s, the focus of public education was to prepare our youth for success in life; at work, at home and in the community. Now, we are almost obsessed with academic achievement [as measured by tests], and this is at best, only half of the picture. Emotional literacy, or Emotional Intelligence, has far more to do with success in life, all aspects of life, than do test scores. “America’s public schools have historically viewed character development as a major mission. In fact, our early schools treated the transmission of knowledge as secondary to character development. … Unfortunately, for a variety of reasons, many public schools abandoned systematic, formal attention to character education beginning in the late 1960’s.”1 The results of this lack of emphasis on Emotional Intelligence can be seen in the typically dramatic diminution of student motivation from grades 1 to 12, from the lack of trust and support that teachers, students and parents feel, and from the loss of experienced burned out teachers.
It is not as though we don’t
know this. Research clearly shows the
importance of Emotional Intelligence in determining success in life. Daniel Goleman in his book, “Emotional Intelligence”
states that it is as high as 80%2.
Briefly, Emotional Intelligence is how well we understand and manage
ourselves and our relationships with others.
More specifically, it is: identifying our emotions, recognizing our
strengths and taking personal responsibility for our actions; empathy,
appreciating diversity and respecting others; managing our emotions, assessing
situations, setting goals and problem solving; and effective/positive
communication, establishing/ maintaining relationships and negotiating when in
conflict.3
Educators are more and more looking toward programs that develop Emotional Intelligence in students. There are literally scores of quality programs being implemented in schools nationwide. They go by various names, such as: Character Education, Social and Emotional Learning, Prosocial Skills, Peer Mediation, the Responsive Classroom, Positive Action, Child Development Project, Integrated Thematic Instruction, etc. The problem is that most often these programs are begun by one or a few staff members, and lack the active participation and buy-in of the school or the district. These programs often compete with other programs for time and resources and typically remain on the margins of the school’s established routines. They are not likely to be sustained from year to year4 and are regarded by some educators as fads that will soon be replaced by yet another ad hoc program to address the next perceived crisis.5 In order for an Emotional Intelligence program to be effective, it must be systemic and in effect for several years. Some dramatic improvements occur within the first year, but the real benefit is the long term change in school culture.
What can be done? If we are going to place more emphasis on the Emotional Intelligence of students, we have no choice but to make our schools, our school districts and public education, in general, more emotionally intelligent. A dysfunctional organization cannot consistently produce a quality product. The same is true for schools, families and neighborhoods. With this in mind, our first step is to fully understand the importance of Emotional Intelligence; its direct, profound and immediate impact on all who are part of the school environment, staff and students alike. We also need to examine all barriers to quality education, not the least of which is the proven negative effect of non-educational TV on the development of reading skills, creative thinking, and social skills. TV also increases aggressiveness, increases fear and anxiety, reduces one’s ability to form close relationships, increases restlessness [shorten attention span] and increases desensitization towards violence.6,7
There are three systemic benefits to having a school wide Emotional Intelligence approach, and they are: First, it provides an umbrella under which all programs addressing destructive/ inappropriate behavior prevention can be coordinated, i.e., drug and alcohol, violence, premature sexual activity, school disaffection and dropouts. Second, Emotional Intelligence is directly linked to academic learning and, specifically, the memory process. This includes a student’s attitude and motivation, as well as her/his preoccupation with non-academic matters. Finally, it is essential for desired work behaviors and citizenship.8 The National Association of Colleges and Employers in its “Job Outlook 2001” lists the 10 most important qualities employers seek, which are: communication skills, honesty/integrity, teamwork skills, interpersonal skills, motivation/initiative, strong work ethic, analytical skills, flexibility/adaptability, computer skills and self-confidence. All but analytical skills [number 7] and computer skills [number 9] are part of Emotional Intelligence.
An example of a five year strategic plan to implement character education comes from Mt. Lebanon School District in Pittsburgh, PA.
1. Identify a core of values as the heart of our character education effort.
2. Present the strategies to the staff and community.
3. Write the core values into the existing K-12 curriculum.
4. Ask each school in the district to write a behavior code that reflects our core values.
5. Encourage all employee groups to acknowledge their role in development of ethical students.
6. Provide an ongoing character education parenting program for the community.
7. Develop community service programs at both elementary and secondary levels.
8. Ask each school to “create a caring environment that ensures the success of each student.”
This district feels they have achieved a commitment to character education that has received broad staff and community support without a political firestorm.9
Looking more specifically at the classroom, the Integrated Thematic Instruction model relies on the following eight principles to support learning:
This model is extended beyond the classroom to include school-wide assemblies, prosocial behavior codes, service learning, extracurricular activities [including sports], and physical health.10
Public education is not broken, but it is experiencing some serious problems. Will it be easy to reorient public education more towards emotional intelligence? Of course not. But not reorienting it is not an option. We must do it. “If we continue doing what we have done, we will continue to get what we’ve got.” We can no longer look at each child as a “cup to be filled.” We must now look at each child as a “candle to be lit.” We deserve a public education system where our students are motivated, caring, responsible and achieving to their potential and where our teachers are excited about teaching, feel supported and have the resources they need. Our efforts must have a community-wide focus, which encompasses the Emotional Intelligence of our students, classrooms, staff, the school as a whole, the district, families and the extended community. Our schools are not separate from their communities; they are a dynamic part of them.
1 Huffman, Henry A. “Character Education Without Turmoil.” Educational Leadership 51: 3.
2 Goleman, Daniel. Emotional
Intelligence. Bantam Books, New
York 1995.
3 “Social and Emotional Learning Competencies” on the <casel.org> website.
4 Adelman, H.S. and Taylor, L. “Moving Prevention From the Fringes Into the Fabric of School
Improvement.” Journal of Education and Psychology Consult. In press.
5 Shriver, T.P. and Weissberg, R.P. “No New Wars!” Education Week. 1996;15(34): 33, 37.
6 Demers, P. (1989). Breaking Your Child’s TV
Addiction, Marquette Books, Minneapolis.
Pgs. 19-37
7 Hughes, J. & Hasbrouck, J. (1996). “Television violence:
Implications for violence prevention.” School
Psychology
Review,
25, 134-151.
8 Elias, Maruice J. “The Missing Piece.” Education Week on the WEB, December 3, 1997.
9 Huffman, Henry A. ibid
10 “Character Education: The Heart of School Reform.” The Character Education Partnership website:
<www.character.org/action/newslet.cgi?fall_2000:heart>
Useful websites:
The
Character Education Partnership: www.character.org
“Character Education Without
Turmoil”:
www.ascd.org/readingroom/edlead/9311/huffman.html
Teacher/Pathfinder Website:
teacherpathfinder.org/Support/peermediate.html
The Center for the
Advancement of Ethics and Character: www.bu.edu/education/caec/
The Child Development
Project: www.devstu.org/
The Collaborative to Advance
Social and Emotional Learning: www.casel.org
The Resolving Conflict
Creatively Program: www.esrnational.org/about-rccp.html
The Responsive Classroom: www.responsiveclassroom.org
The Southern Poverty Law
Center: www.splcenter.org/
“The Business Case for
Emotional Intelligence”:
www.eiconsortium.org/business_case_for_ei.doc
The Consortium for Research
on Emotional Intelligence in Organizations:
Guidelines for Effective
Character Education Through Sports article:
www.character.org/reference/index.cgi?detail:sports_guidelines
American Sports Institute: www.amersports.org
Citizen Through Sports
Alliance: www.sportsmanship.org/main.html
Sports PLUS: www.sportsplus.org
Six Seconds: www.sixseconds.org
KidSource Online: www.kidsource.com
EQ Today: www.eqtoday.com/elias.html
EQParenting.com: www.EQParenting.com
Connect for Kids: www.connectforkids.org
The Anti-Bullying Network: www.antibullying.net/
Blueprints for Violence
Prevention: www.colorado.edu/cspv/blueprints/
Association for Supervision
and Curriculum Development: www.ascd.org
Suicide Awareness Voices of
Education: www.save.org
The Heartwood Institute: www.heartwoodethics.org/libraries/bblib_index.html
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