Recently, I was having a discussion with a couple of students, and we were talking about how many teachers in our district are REALLY smart. Of course, the students felt our math and science teachers were quite intelligent, but when I (sarcastically) suggested that I am quite smart as well, they simply smiled at me and said, “Mrs. Oelke, you’re really more of a people person.” Wow. Out of the mouths of babes.
Needless to say, that conversation got me to thinking. As a teacher, which is more important? IQ, which is a measurement of intelligence, or EI, which is emotional intelligence. In other words, should we, as teachers, focus more on being “smart” or connecting with students. I vote for the latter. While I feel like I am well versed in my content area, I also feel that my classes would not run as efficiently as they do without the EI or “people person” component. After all, I could be the smartest person on Earth, but still not be able to convey any of that knowledge to students if I am not able to manage my own emotions as well as those of others. And in a classroom of hormonal teens, that is no easy task. After all, each student enters our classrooms each day in a different emotional state. It is my job to deduce what state that is for each, gauge the class as whole, and move forward with instruction. If I was not able to be emotionally aware of my students, I may not notice that Alyssa seems out of sorts today, and maybe shouldn’t be pushed to respond to random questioning, or that Sebastian seems to have a lot of energy and would do well to be the focus of attention at some point during the class period. I need to be aware of the mood swings in my students so that I can give them what they need when they walk through my door. For all, that is a safe place, for some it is learning by taking center stage, while for others it is learning through simple observation of others. Only through Emotional Intelligence can I come to know how to meet these needs of my students. I feel grateful for the relationships that I build with students during my brief time with them. I enjoy getting to know them, and connecting with them emotionally (if not intellectually) because I am a “people person” and proud to be so.
0 Comments
|
Jessie Oelke
#deptofone providing compelling and comprehensible input Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.
Categories
All
Archives
April 2020
Providing guidance
Aventuras Nuevas
by Bethanie Drew The Language Coach by Amy Lenord Bryan Kandel TPRS by Bryan Kandel Bryce Hedstrom's Blog by Bryce Hedstrom CI Peek by Carol Gaab Creative Language Class by Kara Parker & Megan Smith La Clase de Sra. Dentlinger by Elizabeth Dentlinger The Comprehensible Classroom by Martina Bex Grant Boulanger's Blog by Grant Boulanger Kristy Placido's Blog by Kristy Placido Maris Hawkins' Blog by Maris Hawkins El Mundo de Birch by Sharon Birch Musicuentos by Sara-Elizabeth Cottrell Mis Clases Locas by Allison Wienhold Making Good Mistakes by Courtney Johnson MJ's Comprehensible Input by Michele Whaley My Generation of Polyglots by Mike Peto PBL in the TL by Laura Sexton Somewhere to Share by Carrie Toth Spanish Nobility by Jason Noble Teaching Spanish by Kara Jacobs Todally Comprehensible Latin by Keith Toda Tripp's Scripts by Jim Tripp |