How to build emotional intelligence in school

Emotional intelligence is the base of building soft skills which students will need later on in their career and life in general.

Niraalee Shah, CEO, The British School of Etiquette India, https://niraaleeshah.com/ https://www.facebook.com/ImageBuildingandEtiquetteMapping , https://www.instagram.com/niraalee_shah/

Students now need to learn certain 21st century skills in the rapidly developing world. Understanding their own and other's emotions and responding with empathy is vital for children to learn from a young age.

Teaching children how to manage their emotions and respond appropriately to the emotions of others is an important part of education. Emotional intelligence is the base of building soft skills which students will need later on in their career and life in general. Teachers need to help students develop the basics of social and emotional intelligence.

Here are a few tips for teachers to develop emotional intelligence in students at school:

1. Model and impart respect

Learning to be respectful toward others is an important life lesson. Obviously, the polite use of language and encouraging children to imitate your behavior is one of the best ways to model respect. You also can model respect by being mindful and valuing children’s cultural and language backgrounds.

2. Instill perseverance and determination

Self-motivation is a key component of social and emotional learning and a necessity for kids to accomplish things in life. While there are many students who will naturally strive to better themselves in some way, there are other students who need a little more coaching in this area. Remind students that to experience success they must put forward effort and perseverance. And if you see students making a really strong effort but still falling short of the grade, praise them for their hard work and encourage them to keep trying until they master it.

3. Incorporate character education

Character education encourages the development of ethical and responsible students. Teach your students the importance of having good values, being honest, being trustworthy and taking responsibility for their actions.

Name that emotion, Label the Emotion. It may seem obvious, but even the act of naming the emotion you are seeing can help you more fully understand it. Is that person happy, irritated, angry or confused?

4. Recognize tone of voice

The good news is that tone of voice can be practiced. Demonstrate what it sounds like when you are being disingenuous or patronizing.

Now have students practice what it sounds like when they are being genuine and complimentary. There are subtle differences in tone that can help us understand one another.

5. Listen for understanding

Most people listen with the intention of responding, but encourage your students to listen with the intention of understanding. Paying attention to the subtle clues of facial expression, noticing a person’s posture and listening to the tone of voice will help your students truly hear what the person is trying to express.

6. Respond with empathy

An empathetic response shows that you care about the other person. This is a skill that is difficult for adults, as well. Avoid giving advice, one-upping, analyzing, or correcting the person. Sometimes the only response needed is just to let the speaker know they have been heard.

7. Impart resiliency

When resilient kids are bullied, they are less likely to suffer as many consequences as kids who are not resilient or secure in what they believe.

They also bounce back quicker, are mindful of their opinions, and understand their beliefs, all of which gives them a strong sense of who they are.

Why learning emotional intelligence is important

Emotional intelligence enables students to have positive interactions with others, to anticipate their feelings and to experience appropriate levels of empathy.

Empathy helps kids develop positive relationships, which is the cornerstone of social and emotional learning. Encourage your students to listen to others and ask them to try to understand how others might be feeling.

The importance of building Emotional Intelligence in schools helps in building relationships and preparing students to be global leaders.

Please check out the article on https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/featurephilia/story/how-to-build-emotional-intelligence-in-school-1739845-2020-11-10, written by Niraalee Shah, CEO-India, British School of Etiquette, India.

Niraalee Shah is the Founder of Image Building and Etiquette Mapping India. After becoming a certified international etiquette trainer with The British School of Etiquette (BSE) in England, Niraalee decided to share the training, vision and mission of BSE with India. She then partnered with BSE to set up The British School of Etiquette India. As the CEO of BSE India, Niraalee aims to extend her wealth of knowledge to corporates and organizations globally in India.