Thursday, May 12, 2011
Emotional Intelligence - Hype or Help?
I've been working on a six-hour training for teachers of the gifted on emotional intelligence in gifted kids. If you've read my previous posts, you know that I am not a believer in "learning styles." I believe people learn different things different ways. For example, I learned to quilt by doing it, but I also read through magazines and books, and I listened to the advice of other quilters. Knowing that, you may believe that I would feel that Emotional Intelligence is quackery, but I don't. We consistently see that one of the things that keeps gifted individuals from achieving what they otherwise could (professionally, academically, and socially) is not a lack of IQ, but rather less-than-stellar EQ.
One of the things that strikes me as a problem is the difficulty people have is being truly open to their strengths and weaknesses. Our society frowns on people saying "I have a strength in this area." It's seen as arrogant. We privilege self-deprecation. This isn't healthy. If we want people to recognize their challenges, we have to make it okay to recognize and name their strengths. As we do this, we often find that our strengths and weaknesses are the same.
If you haven't seen this short clip, watch Marcel the Shell recognize his strengths and weaknesses in a small but healthy way.
One of the things that strikes me as a problem is the difficulty people have is being truly open to their strengths and weaknesses. Our society frowns on people saying "I have a strength in this area." It's seen as arrogant. We privilege self-deprecation. This isn't healthy. If we want people to recognize their challenges, we have to make it okay to recognize and name their strengths. As we do this, we often find that our strengths and weaknesses are the same.
If you haven't seen this short clip, watch Marcel the Shell recognize his strengths and weaknesses in a small but healthy way.