Promotion of Mental Health Reflection 3

1/2/24

I like thinking about emotional intelligence using the four quadrants rather than the five domains. As crucial as motivation and empathy are, social awareness, self-awareness, relationship management, and self-management are essential skills. I have had many experiences in my life that have taught me about myself and my emotions. I have struggled with my mental health and gone through challenging situations with my family and friends. And people learn from their positive experiences as well. Because of all my experiences, I feel like I have a high emotional intelligence. Looking at the big picture, I know my own emotions, I know where they are coming from or what triggers them, and I know the possible consequences of them. Being able to regulate emotions is my hardest challenge, both personally and professionally. Self-management can be a tricky skill if you tend to be anxious. I like the “Take a Meta-Moment” strategy in the video (Marc Brackett: Developing emotionally intelligent schools 2014). Taking a breath is a good coping strategy, but sometimes I need more, and I know that students do, too. I can picture my best self and strive to be him daily as an educator. Positive self-talk is also a good strategy when I get in my head and compare myself to others. Or when I am feeling like I am not enough. As skilled as I think I am, I know that I have things to work on; everyone has things to work on, and that is what life is all about. We grow and learn with our experiences and from the people around us. 

When I think about my students, especially those in middle school, I believe teachers must be empathic. Working with the seventh and eighth graders these past two years, the most significant skill they have been lacking is empathy. Having empathy can be a challenging skill, and children need to be taught how to be empathetic. Like the video said, children learn by watching (Marc Brackett: Developing emotionally intelligent schools 2014). While the video talked about children learning to be bullies from adults, the same can be said about having empathy. The best way to teach children how to be empathic is to model the skill for them both directly and indirectly. Students need their teachers to be role models for them and guide them. 

 I have helped students with their emotions by walking them through the situation. Some students do not realize what they did was wrong or why they are feeling what they are feeling unless someone breaks explicitly down the situation. Some students are not self-aware and tend to make others uncomfortable and anxious about participating in team play. I have had to explain to several students how their actions can affect other people. While I do this in my classroom, I know several of my co-workers also do it. One art teacher told me a story of when she had to explain to a student why he was no longer allowed in her lunch study hall after the choices he made with his behavior. She explained that once she walked him through it and helped him empathize, as thinking about his actions made her feel, he was apologetic and understood the gravity of the situation. While many struggle with self-awareness and self-management, the video mentioned that strengthening one will only enhance the others. A health classroom is the perfect environment to work on these skills. Students can practice using roleplaying, journaling, and other coping techniques. In my future health room, I want students to leave feeling confident in themselves and their ability to understand emotions. 

 I wish there was more of a focus on Social-Emotional Learning when I was a student, especially when I was in high school. The education realm has made great strides in this area, and I hope to continue this with my students. I plan to use as many SEL strategies in my classroom as I can to help students create an emotionally intelligent classroom and to teach good self-regulation of emotions to individual students. Being a teacher allows me to learn how to handle my emotions and those of others. I am learning from my students, and I hope they learn from me.

References

Team FME. (2014). Understanding Emotional Intelligence: People Skills.

The explainer: Emotional intelligence. Harvard Business Review . (2015, August 18). https://hbr.org/video/4421646384001/the-explainer-emotional-intelligence 

YouTube. (2014, January 17). Marc Brackett: Developing emotionally intelligent schools. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X20uOXSgGsY