Saturday 12 April 2014

Merits Of Undertaking Social And Emotional Learning Program

By Crystal Labbe


There are important skills that are best acquired at a tender age. They help in character formation later in life. Social and emotional learning enables children and adults to acquire knowledge, skills and attitudes as well as understand how best to apply what is learned. With such skills, they can understand and manage emotions as well as set and achieve their personal goals.

Individuals learn how to feel and show empathy as well as ways of establishing and maintaining positive relationships. They know how responsible decisions are made and the implications such decisions have on their lives. SEL programs provide a supportive environment that is challenging, meaningful and engaging.

Children at the tender age of 3-6 years stand to gain immensely from emotional intelligence training. Such training enhances their positive skills thus making them better in academics and personal interactions. The skills gained at the very tender age remain with the children for as long as they live. It ensures that they do not depart from the set path.

Parents and teachers are required to take an active role in school work. They help to design programs that will be implemented in class. These programs are designed by all the stakeholders present. The collaboration between teachers and parents should extend to include formation of positive self talk. The student is able to state what he can do instead of focusing on what is impossible in his eyes.

Knowledge of various emotions helps students to pin point their exact feeling. They easily identify what they are capable of accomplishing. This is a positive reinforcement that is transferred to other areas of their lives. Extending a similar trend at home provides holistic support.

The school, community and home should provide role models. This creates a real-life scenario for the young children and gives them a reference point for strong social characteristics. They are not left chasing vague ideas because they can spot these characters within their immediate environment. This produces better results instead of a scenario where they have to rely on theoretical teachings.

Social and emotional skills have both long and short term benefits to children especially when learned at a tender age. They minimize possibility of conduct conflicts making the child easy to manage and correct when wrong. Their behaviors in social places are also positive. The child is likeable and easily interacts with those in the vicinity.

Children who display emotional intelligence find it easy to trust people around them, institutions and personal abilities. Their self esteem is high and do not make emotional decisions. Rush decisions are catastrophic at times and so are delayed decision. Identifying that a certain reaction will produce negative or positive impact is crucial for socialization.

Children under no emotional distress develop likeable and strong characters that allow them to easily socialize. Their academic work experiences an improvement with scores getting better. Performance in tests is significantly better. The participation of surrounding communities and parents creates a seamless learning process such that there is no disconnect between what the child gets at home and what is taught in school. Each child requires a different level of reinforcement to be at par with others.




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