Solar Plexus
New member
- Joined
- Jan 10, 2014
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- INFP
- Enneagram
- 4w5
Are schools setting students up for failure by neglecting to instill emotional intelligence in favor of focusing exclusively on intellectual subjects, much of which will never be utilized in the professional world?
With the prevalence of school shootings, bullying, teen suicides, drug-abuse and high school dropouts, it seems that a lack of emotional intelligence is at the core of these issues, at a time when kids need it the most, struggling with hormone changes and all of the social pressures that school entails.
Interestingly, women, on average, tend to have higher empathy than men; and men, on average, have more emotional regulation of distressing feelings.
From the book, "Emotional Intelligence - Why it can matter more than IQ," by Daniel Goleman
This is an interesting discussion from the author about Emotional Intelligence. He gets into the subject of teaching these skills in school around the 22 min point. At 6:00, he mentions that workplace studies have found emotional intelligence is twice as important as IQ and technical skill combined.
With the prevalence of school shootings, bullying, teen suicides, drug-abuse and high school dropouts, it seems that a lack of emotional intelligence is at the core of these issues, at a time when kids need it the most, struggling with hormone changes and all of the social pressures that school entails.
Interestingly, women, on average, tend to have higher empathy than men; and men, on average, have more emotional regulation of distressing feelings.
From the book, "Emotional Intelligence - Why it can matter more than IQ," by Daniel Goleman
The five main categories of emotional intelligence
1. Knowing one's emotions. Self-awareness - recognizing a feeling as it happens - is the keystone of emotional intelligence. As we will see in Chapter 4, the ability to monitor feelings from moment to moment is crucial to psychological insight and self-understanding. An inability to notice our true feelings leaves us at their mercy. People with greater certainty about their feelings are better pilots of their lives, having a surer sense of how they really feel about personal decisions from whom to marry to what job to take.
2. Managing emotions. Handling feelings so they are appropriate is an ability that builds on self-awareness. Chapter 5 will examine the capacity to soothe oneself, to shake off rampant anxiety, gloom, or irritability - and the consequences of failure at this basic emotional skill. People 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 setbacks and upsets.
3. Motivating oneself. As Chapter 6 will show, marshaling emotions in the service of a goal is essential for paying attention, for self-motivation and mastery, and for creativity. Emotional self-control - delaying gratification and stifling impulsiveness - underlies accomplishment of every sort. And being able to get in the "flow" state enables outstanding performances of all kinds. People who have this skill tend to be more highly productive and effective in whatever they undertake.
4. Recognizing emotions in others. Empathy, another ability that builds on emotional self-awareness, is the fundamental "people skill." Chapter 7 will investigate the roots of empathy, the social cost of being emotionally tone-deaf, and the reasons empathy kindles altruism. People who are empathic are more attuned to the subtle social signals that indicate what others need or want. This makes them better at callings such as the caring professions, teaching, sales, and management.
5. Handling relationships. The art of relationships is, in large part, skill in managing emotions in others. Chapter 8 looks at social competence and incompetence, and the specific skills involved. These are the abilities that undergird popularity, leadership, and interpersonal effectiveness. People who excel in these skills do well at anything that relies on interacting smoothly with others; they are social stars.
Of course, people differ in their abilities in each of these domains; some of us may be quite adept at handling, say, our own anxiety, but relatively inept at soothing someone else's upsets. The underlying basis for our level of ability is, no doubt, neural, but as we will see, the brain is remarkably plastic, constantly learning. Lapses in emotional skills can be remedied: to a great extent each of these domains represents a body of habit and response that, with the right effort, can be improved on.
This is an interesting discussion from the author about Emotional Intelligence. He gets into the subject of teaching these skills in school around the 22 min point. At 6:00, he mentions that workplace studies have found emotional intelligence is twice as important as IQ and technical skill combined.