Social and emotional learning (SEL) initiatives can encompass different strategies at every school or school district, and educational approaches to SEL may not look the same from classroom to classroom. As school districts across the country are integrating SEL into the curriculum, the daily educational environment for children has evolved from a primarily intellectual-based learning approach to emotional growth exercises as well.
Emotional intelligence is linked to a host of positive outcomes in life—improved mental health, greater success at work and school and possibly even higher IQ scores. EQ is the new IQ, and, in many ways, serves as a greater predictor of success. However, schools often fail to implement enough social and emotional learning programs to help students succeed.
After decades, social and emotional learning (SEL) is finally getting the attention it deserves from parents and teachers who recognize that a child’s emotional health is as important as his physical health. Unfortunately, getting SEL programs into school has proven difficult, as school boards and directors resist adding yet another program to underfunded schools.
There’s a lot of buzz these days about emotional intelligence, or EQ, and why it should be part of schools and education. It’s said that EQ has huge benefits, from better relationships to better performance at school and work. But what is emotional intelligence, anyway?
Without the right coping mechanisms, anxiety can be crippling. The problem is, finding those coping mechanisms is a real challenge, because no two cases respond the same way. Plenty of patients bounce back and forth between SSRI treatment, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and lifestyle changes without finding quite the right balance.
Chronic stress in childhood is a major concern for parents everywhere. Whether your child is overcoming a problem at school or dealing with a recent trauma, it’s important for parents to find ways to relieve stress where they can. That’s why understanding chronic stress is just as important as finding ways to ease it.
Depression and anxiety are significant mental health concerns for children. According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), more than a quarter of teens (ages 13-18) suffer from anxiety disorders and almost 6 percent battle with a “severe form” of the disorder. The NIMH also reports that “in 2015, an estimated 3 million adolescents aged 12 to 17 in the United States had at least one major depressive episode in the past year.”
Many perceive academic success as being solely dependent on a child’s intellectual abilities. While a strong intellect and high IQ do benefit children in the classroom, their emotional intelligence or EQ is just as important to their academic achievement. Across the country schools are embracing a wider approach to student success in the classroom, and Social Emotional Learning programs are at the heart of the education revolution.
It’s shocking, but somewhere between one in four and one in three students in the U.S. has been the target of a bully. Bullying is most prevalent in middle school and targets students who are seen as being different. Students who are bullied experience increased feelings of sadness and loneliness which can lead to depression and anxiety.
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The Big EQ/EQuip Our Kids! Campaign intends to be the first-ever mass advertising, marketing and organizing campaign whose sole goal is that every school include in its curriculum the development of students’ and teachers’ social and emotional intelligence and skills.
