Blog Response: Kirsten

First off, I think this is a GREAT idea for your research paper. It’s interesting and I totally relate to it. I may not have taken any emotional literacy class in grade school, but I was raised by a therapist, so I can attest to S.E.L’s groundbreaking outcomes. To this day, my mom still gives me an emotional lesson, whether it’s about boyfriends, alcohol, or handling drama. Like the 2011 study mentioned in the article, I’ve noticed that I’m not as anxious or depressed as other students. So S.E.L doesn’t just have to be an educational curriculum, it could also serve as a practice for parents.

There’s something about making sense of your feelings and other’s that brings you to your “center.” I might be looking at it a more spiritual sense here, but it’s almost like a “namaste” moment (which literally translates to “I bow to you”). We’re all human in the end and if there’s just one thing that unites us all, it’s our endless battle with emotion. We all have emotional anchors so why not acknowledging how other’s feel in conjunction with your own emotion. That’s why introducing such a practice at such a young age would have a huge impact on the well being of further generations. 

It looks like Pixar is already on board with S.E.L. after making Inside Out. I haven’t seen it, but I know it’s about the personification of emotions in a little girl’s head. In the article, a psychologist said that even with a top-notch academic program, children wouldn’t make any advance until they’ve gotten to the core of their social and emotional issues. I’m sure a lot of students who are the bad apples of the bunch are just struggling with issues at home. It’s likely that channeling those problems in the classroom would ripped those apples. 

I recently read an article similar to this one, but it’s about introducing mindfulness meditation to the classroom. Studies showed similar effect to S.E.L. One psychologist in the article mentioned that emotional literacy also gives children “the ability to stop and calm down” just like you would do in a meditation practice. 

Tying this in with writing and healing makes me wonder if emotional literacy would ever become just as common place at history or science. If it does, I’m 100% certain that writing exercises would be mandatory.