April 01, 2022

Social & Emotional Learning: The Missing Link in Our Schools Today

A Ask any school owner, leader, teacher or parent in India about what educational component they think is important in the lives of children, and most of them steer towards the importance of getting good marks in unit tests and exams, and passing high school with an amazing score.

It is heartening to see that things have changed a bit over the years, and that sports, music and art have been given a little more importance. Students now have the option of choosing these as subjects in high school. Schools and boards of education have also started giving accommodation and special attention to children who learn differently. This is definitely a huge step.

...“we are successful in making them good engineers, doctors, scientists, managers or other professionals, but do not ensure that they become honest and responsible human beings”...

But even with these changes, the focal point still seems to be on high academic achievement. While academic achievement is a great thing to aim for, it is when the focus is only on getting that 100% pass percentage and students scoring centums in some subjects, is when it is a red flag situation.

For years schools have been in the business of turning our students into successful doctors, engineers, entrepreneurs, and other working professionals. Today we are producing students who score very high marks, passing high school with flying colours. These students are getting into colleges, and thereafter pursuing successful careers. As a school, this is wonderful to see, and a great testimonial to promote the school.

Take a moment to move away from a school setting and take a closer look at the world around. Our communities are full of violence, hatred, intolerance, domestic violence, drug and alcohol abuse, gender discrimination, unrest, just to name a few. Individuals are depressed, stressed and full of anxiety, they are unable to maintain happy relationships, and find it difficult to stick on to a job for too long. Where is the world that we grew up in? What has happened and when did things change?

As Manish Sisodia, Delhi’s Deputy Chief Minister and Education Minister, rightly said, “we are successful in making them good engineers, doctors, scientists, managers or other professionals, but do not ensure that they become honest and responsible human beings”. It is high time that the school takes the responsibility to introduce social and emotional learning into the education system. This should be given equal, if not more importance to everything else. Social and emotional learning should be so integrated into the system that teaching this on a daily basis comes as second nature to every teacher and school leader.

Wouldn't it be wonderful to have students who pass out from school who will not only be high achievers but also honest and responsible human beings who can contribute to and influence the families and communities that they live in? Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could have changemakers who will walk out of the gates of our schools? This holistic outlook is what true education should be all about.

As Mahatma Gandhi said, “If we want to reach real peace in this world, we should start educating children.”

Posted in Blogs and tagged Blogs, Social and Emotional Learning, Mahatma Gandhi, Manish Sisodia
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