Emotional literacy — the ability to recognize, understand, and manage emotions — is a skill that can be learned. And it’s increasingly important in today’s world, where social media has become a significant part of our lives. After the pandemic, students have exponentially started spending a lot of time interacting with others online on their phones and computers, which in retrospect, affects their emotional development. When children don’t have this skill set, it can impede their ability to relate well with others, understand social cues and regulate behavior so they can effectively learn in school.

While screen time isn’t necessarily bad for kids, they end up spending less time engaged in active play that helps develop social skills. That’s where emotional literacy comes in. It helps kids regulate their emotions and understand the feelings of others — both online and offline.

A child’s emotional life unfolds daily — from early attempts at gaining independence, exploring new freedom, frustration over learning new concepts to stress and anxiety as they cope with school work. And as adults, we often tell children to calm down when they’re upset, but this approach doesn’t address the underlying issue at hand — it’s not always helpful for kids to be told what to do when they’re experiencing intense feelings. So instead of telling kids what to do or how to feel, we need to teach them how to express their emotions in a healthy manner and understand others’ feelings.

Importance of Emotional Literacy

Emotional literacy is a critical component of social-emotional learning (SEL), which refers to the process by which students learn self-management skills and become aware of their own emotions and those of others. The goal is to help students develop positive relationships with others while improving academic performance, decreasing behavioral problems, and preventing mental health issues such as stress or anxiety disorders. 

In addition to helping students manage their emotions better, emotional literacy builds empathy. A little self-awareness goes a long way toward creating an inclusive environment. By teaching students how to be more aware of their own emotions and how to read the emotions of others, educators can help make school a more accepting place for every student. In turn, students will learn to understand and accept others who are different.

To start teaching emotional literacy in the classroom, first, educators should model positive relationship behaviors. Students need to see that teachers care about themselves and one another to learn how to care about each other. When students see the adults around them modeling respectful relationships between different people, they learn necessary social skills that they can carry with them into their own lives.

Tracy Cardoz, the Director of Education, Square Panda India believes that children who are emotionally literate learn to express their emotions in a healthy way, and prevent many behavioral problems including low self-esteem, anxiety and low self-confidence. Students who empathize with others can build stronger relationships with their peers and teachers, which helps them succeed in school. They are also more sensitive to issues facing others, such as bullying or discrimination based on gender or disability, which can help prevent these issues from continuing in schools today.

Benefits of Teaching Emotional Literacy in School

Improved Social Skills: Students who learn to manage their emotions and use them positively will be better equipped to interact with others, cooperate on group projects, resolve conflicts and make friends. They’ll also be less likely to bully other students or get bullied themselves.

Lower Absenteeism and Dropout Rates Among at-risk Students: Learning how to regulate your emotions is significant for students with disabilities or behavioral problems, who may otherwise struggle with self-control issues that lead to frequent absences or dropping out of school altogether. Teachers often see a direct correlation between emotional well-being and academic success for such children — when they feel supported and cared about, they’re more likely to thrive academically as well as socially and vice versa.

Stronger Sense of Belonging: Students who feel connected to their peers and teachers often have a stronger sense of self-worth and confidence that helps them perform better academically. A stronger sense of belonging can also help children learn better because their self-esteem will be higher. Feeling included makes them more likely to be open to new ideas and experiences. This can lead to more creativity and excitement about learning new things. Teachers can help create this sense of connection by fostering positive relationships with their students and building trust through honest communication about sensitive issues such as family problems or problems at home.

Teachers can use the following strategies to help students develop emotional literacy:

• Help students learn how to resolve conflicts with other children using words rather than physical aggression. For example, encourage children to say “no,” walk away, or use “I” statements – “I feel angry when you do that.”
• Teachers can model empathy for others’ feelings by sharing their feelings and experiences, and giving students opportunities to practice expressing empathy for each other’s feelings.
• Encourage students to talk about their feelings. For example, after a conflict between two kids, ask them what they think one another was feeling during the conflict and how they might have felt if they were the other person. Then ask them what they could do differently next time to avoid similar disputes in the future.
• Help students understand that emotions are not right or wrong but are simply part of being human. Emotions can be positive or negative. Negative emotions may last longer than positive ones, but both are natural parts of being human.
• Teach self-management skills such as calming oneself down when angry or frustrated, delaying gratification when tempted with something one wants immediately but shouldn’t have, and developing healthy habits like eating well, exercising regularly and getting enough sleep so that their body feels good most of the time.

The Bottom Line

Schools must make emotional literacy a vital part of their curriculum. This will enhance effective communication, teamwork and social skills, which will help children manage day-to-day issues with greater ease. At Square Panda, we intend to help build emotionally literate communities where every layer of the learning ecosystem is involved in building strong, resilient learners.

As the proliferation of technology continues to make waves in our social fabric, education is one sector that can significantly benefit from technology. This ever-evolving resource has become a key instrument in every child’s learning psychology, helping technology children with its myriad applications.

Educational Technology: Education has become more powerful with the rise of various software and hardware gadgets. Access to information has taken a positive change through schools which are now using new resources to educate students worldwide. For example, in response to the global outbreak of the Covid 19 pandemic, education systems implemented virtual learning, which had previously been reserved for a select few.

Here’s a look at how technology is transforming education:

✏️ Accessibility

Schools have changed dramatically with an increasing focus on blended learning—a combination of online and traditional classrooms that allows students to take advantage of the internet’s accessibility to learn at their own pace. In traditional classrooms, teachers were forced to adapt a syllabus plan that is in line with the needs of their students. If students weren’t absorbing information at a particular pace or missed class for an extended period, they would likely fall behind on the portion. With technology, students can now rely on online course materials and resources from anywhere with a high-speed internet connection. This means that students who are absent or struggling with a concept can catch up on missed work by rewatching lectures and working through their notes.

✏️ Collaboration

Today’s students are collaborating with other students across the world through social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Google Meet. They’re also collaborating on school projects using platforms like Google Docs or Dropbox — programs that allow multiple users to work on a single file at once by tracking changes as they happen in real-time! This collaboration helps students develop critical thinking skills while also improving their communication skills through practical group work.

✏️ Evolved Teaching Methods

While the global workforce is becoming more competitive and technology more pervasive, educators are finding new ways to inspire students of all ages to reach their potential. From elementary school classrooms to university lecture halls, educators are prioritizing experiential learning opportunities that engage students and make them feel like they are part of a larger community.

Examples of this trend can be seen in the evolution of teaching methods. For instance, in addition to lectures, some teachers introduced group activities and group projects into their classrooms. These collaborative efforts encourage students to develop a more comprehensive understanding of a subject matter and allow them to practice what they have learned in an authentic setting.

One way students can apply concepts they are learning in school is through simulations or games that give them hands-on experience. For example, computer software allows students to practice skills such as coding without having to build a physical model or turn a test answer into a physical form. In this way, educational technology can actually expand what can be learned through traditional instruction—where classroom time may not allow for every theoretical concept to be executed in real life, simulation and game software take learners beyond what they would otherwise learn in the classroom or lab setting.

✏️ Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR)

Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) have generated excitement in the tech world for years, but they have only recently begun to revolutionize education. Both technologies allow users to view and interact with digital information while still being able to see the real world. VR is immersive, taking you out of your physical environment and putting you into a simulated one. For example, students can take a virtual trip to Rome, walking across the Coliseum’s floor and viewing its architecture firsthand. AR is more nuanced, adding digital information to real-life objects or scenes as if it were always there. In one example, students learning about cells can use AR to see a cell’s nucleus highlight itself in 3D when they point their iPad at it.

The possibilities for VR and AR are endless. They can teach people how to play instruments or even paint a picture; construct complex buildings; learn about biology by putting on goggles that let you see cells light up from within; or travel around the world without ever leaving your seat. Like everything else we’ve seen come out of technology, these technologies will change how we learn, teach others, and train ourselves for future careers.

✏️ The Way Forward

Education is an industry that has always been intertwined with technology. Virtual learning is here to stay, irrespective of the ever-increasing costs of essential infrastructures like information and communication technologies, teachers, and related educational material.
In India, where the infrastructure is constrained with inadequate resources to put in place for education at all levels, it’s time for all stakeholders to leverage technology to bridge the gap. At Square Panda, we leverage cutting-edge technologies to create accessible, inclusive, and easily replicable learning solutions that can be deployed and scaled up across India. Know more about our work: ecce.squarepanda.in 

Being part of a school, children are expected to put forth positive attitudes of diligence, tolerance and respect for others. When students exhibit undesirable attitudes, it directly impacts the community, including teachers, parents and fellow students. Unacceptable behaviors and attitudes threaten school safety and security when students manifest them within the premises or outside.

With the continuous pressure to perform, academic institutions and parents must realize that helping students deal with their stress must be considered part of the learning process. Although initial funding difficulties are overwhelming, schools benefit immensely from having counselors on staff.

Current Counselling Trends in India

Although school counselling was introduced in India over a decade ago, it’s not being practiced as much as it should. Psycho-social issues are still not widely accepted by the people of this country, who have an aversion to discussing their own psychological or emotional problems, even with family members or friends.

The main reason for the lack of acceptance is the stigma attached to mental illness, making people reluctant to reveal their innermost thoughts and feelings. This social stigma is what makes it difficult for children to freely express their worries and concerns without fear of being ridiculed or punished for having such feelings.

Moreover, parents and teachers often fail to recognize the warning signs of mental health issues among children and dismiss them as normal phases that all children undergo. But when they notice these signs, they tend to ignore them because they are unaware of asking for help. This leads to delayed treatment, which often aggravates conditions further. The absence of a unified School Mental Health Programme in India speaks volumes about how much still needs to be achieved for mental health in the country.

Benefits of Counselling in School

School counselors provide a safe space for students to discuss the stressors affecting their academic performance, relationships, or well-being. Many students find that talking about their problems with an objective adult who can listen and provide perspective helps them cope with these stressors and often leads to greater self-awareness. But while no one-size-fits-all, counselling in school can benefit in the following ways:

👉 Schools would have a Healthier Environment

Children often feel overwhelmed by the myriad of expectations and responsibilities put on them each day – from peer to parental pressure and prioritizing school work, extracurriculars, and tuition. Counselors could help students manage stress by working through their problems with them and identifying appropriate coping mechanisms. On top of that, students are developing who they are as people – every experience is an opportunity to learn, improve and become better. With these experiences come growing pains. Counseling can give students an outlet to discuss problems they may have with teachers, classmates or administrators. It provides a place for them to get advice from someone who isn’t involved in the situation and isn’t biased in any way.

👉 Better Student Outcomes

A student’s inability to control his emotions can lead to various adverse outcomes, including poor academic performance and an increased likelihood of dropping out. Counselors can help children develop better-coping strategies for dealing with emotions such as anger, frustration, anxiety and sadness. Counselling also teaches social skills essential for building healthy relationships with peers and valuable life skills like problem-solving and conflict resolution.

👉 Optimal Use of Resources

Counselors are highly trained professionals who help students develop their full potential. They recognize and evaluate a student’s academic, social or behavioral issues and provide diagnostic evaluations and recommendations for support services. These services could include tutoring or special programs directed at specific learning disabilities. For example, suppose a student comes forward to discuss their feelings about being bullied or harassed at school or online. In that case, they can get help before those feelings turn into something more serious, like depression or anxiety disorders.

👉 Helps Students feel Valued, Supported & Safe

Students can feel safe and supported in their schools with access to counselling services. Consistent counselling sessions can help students learn how to interact with others in healthy ways while avoiding bullying or other negative behaviors that may cause conflict between peers or teachers. They can also teach students how to handle stressful situations without resorting to violence or other inappropriate behavior, such as cheating on tests or bullying through social media platforms.

Counseling sessions can be held once a week at school and focus on:

• Introduction and assessment of the student’s level of functioning and how it impacts their school performance.
• Identification of academic strengths, interests, skills and potential areas for growth.
• Discussion of current work and/or home issues that may need attention or support.
• Identifying triggers and warning signs of mental disorders.
• Developing new coping strategies for stress and anxiety.
• Planning strategies to address the identified needs or concerns with clear goals and objectives that are measurable over time.
• Working with parents to identify ways to help them support their children more effectively at home.

The Bottom Line

Schools around the world are recognizing how integral counseling services can be to their student’s success. Yet, in India, only a handful of schools have a full-time counselor or a person on call for students to talk to. Students need more trained personnel and resources to get the help they need and deserve. Early intervention is essential to avoid long-term problems that lead to stress and decreased quality of life. A necessary part of the school experience, counseling allows students to maintain a positive outlook and get control of the problems they face.

When we think about the school curriculum, our minds inevitably go to academics. We remember lessons from history and sciences and our teachers’ helpful advice about homework and career paths. But what about skills? Skills are the fundamentals that contribute to success in any career. They’re not only necessary for academic learning but also for any work done in the real world.

While we all agree that focusing on gaining academic prowess and knowledge is indispensable, it’s worth considering to what extent skill-building can be incorporated into a student’s day-to-day life. In an increasingly globalized economy, workers must adapt to new technology, cultures, and ideas yearly. Businesses need employees who can keep up with these changes even if they don’t have a background in engineering or computer science. Explore more about Skill Development in School as you read along to complete the read.

🖊️ Current Scenarios in India

Skill Development in School: The importance of skills development in school has been largely neglected in Indian education landscape. The current education system only evaluates students based on tests and academic records. These students are given ranks and medals but with no thought to what is expected of them in real-life situations. Unfortunately, this has created a population of people who have gained superb scores on tests but lack the abilities necessary for real life.

A survey found that more than a third of India’s educated youth are unemployed because most lack the skills needed for today’s jobs. This is extremely worrying because this demographic isn’t only losing out on a source of income and job security but is missing an opportunity to gain experience and learn about the workplace, which will make them more valuable to employers in the future.

The survey further reveals that India will need 2.7 million skilled professionals by 2023. This can be achieved with a skill development curriculum. It could provide opportunities to create practical skills in knowledge, abilities and applied understanding that would give students an edge when applying for jobs.

The NEP 2020 promotes holistic learning, wherein students are encouraged to study various subjects such as humanities, sports, fitness, languages, culture, and arts in addition to science, math and languages. The policy also enforces the importance of other skills, such as communication, teamwork and problem-solving. In line with this vision of holistic education, schools are now focusing more on skill development than before. For example, they encourage students to take up extracurricular activities like a debate club or drama club to learn how to communicate effectively with others and improve their public speaking skills.

🖊️ Benefits of Skill Building in School

If skills development is part of the school curriculum, students will be able to see the connection between their studies and real life applications. This will allow students to see how their studies are relevant and important, as well as provide them with a method of measuring their own performance and progress towards mastery.

🖊️ Promote Independent Thinking

The key to a stable, prosperous nation is cultivating a large population of thinkers and leaders who are confident and competent at solving problems independently. While a few people may excel academically, many either struggle to learn or grow bored with the traditional classroom experience, resulting in low self-esteem and the inability to think critically. 

When students have multiple avenues to learn from, they become independent thinkers who can apply concepts in the real world. With a focus on independent thinking, students become better at analyzing problems from all sides, which is an essential skill for any future career involving working with others. Students who have a solid grasp of how to apply what they learn are also more likely to be successful in whatever career they choose—whether it’s computer programming or becoming a surgeon, knowing how to think about a problem and solve it independently will never go out of style.

🖊️ Enhances Creative Thinking

Creative thinking is a part of the cognitive process that goes beyond logical thought. It allows one to think beyond the usual way of doing things and look at things from various angles. Creative thinkers often exhibit some personality traits such as optimism, curiosity, flexibility, open-mindedness, originality, willingness to take risks and tolerance for ambiguity. Most of these personality traits are not taught but developed due to exposure to different situations. Therefore, creative thinkers need an opportunity to explore their strengths and weaknesses. This is what schools should provide them with by incorporating skill-based learning into their curriculum.

Actions such as dancing, singing and drawing can help promote well-being and happiness, allowing children to tune into their bodies. The fun element involved in doing these things activates the child’s five senses: sight, sound, taste, touch and smell. This leads to greater physical activity and improved cognitive functions.

🖊️ Teaches to Fail Gracefully

The way students are currently taught to succeed in school is not the same way they will be expected to succeed in the real world. In school, you are given all the information you need to get a good grade and complete an assignment. You have all the resources available, including teachers, textbooks, and other students who can help you when you are struggling. However, this is not how life works outside of school. When using your skills in the workplace, you won’t always have the resources you need to flourish. You need to know how to use what you have and make it work for you. 

Students who have developed the ability to take risks in a safe environment and accept failure as part of the process will be better prepared for anything they encounter in the real world. In addition, students who develop skills through practice will be more likely to succeed when facing challenges with their own businesses and other ventures.

🖊️ The Bottom Line

Education is much more than just a way to pass down facts and figures from one generation to the next; it’s also about developing life skills. And although you might be inclined to think that the latter would be a better fit for extracurricular activities outside of school, education experts like those at Square Panda India believe that there’s no reason why both can’t exist side by side. We incorporate more skill-based learning methods into the curriculum to ensure that students are taught how to handle new situations in a way that allows them to thrive and succeed instead of just being told what they need to know. 

This is why skill development should be a part of the curriculum we teach our children: because it helps them succeed in a world where change is inevitable and we don’t always know what’s coming next.

Education forms the bedrock of the success of individuals, societies, and nations. It is important to learn many skills, including thinking critically, solving problems, being creative and making wise decisions.

In the last decade, student success in academic and professional careers has become a key concern for educators, parents and employers. While schools have been quite successful in developing new curricula and educational practices, these have not been as effective as needed to raise student success rates. Schools are being challenged to develop 21st-century skills among students by preparing them for the ever-changing world of knowledge that is dynamic, international and high-tech.

The curriculum should address these needs of contemporary society by preparing students to be active collaborators for their own development and that of their communities. A dynamic curriculum incorporates core subjects and electives, but it also focuses on creating an environment where students can reach their full potential by exploring new ideas and concepts outside of the classroom.

A dynamic curriculum is one in which teachers use technology and other methods to bring their lessons to life. For example, rather than simply reading about historical events from textbooks or lecture notes, teachers may incorporate interactive video games or stories so students could learn while also having fun. This learning experience allows students with different learning styles to engage more actively in the lesson material, making it easier for them to retain what they’ve learned.

🖊️ The Growing Need for Dynamic Curriculum in Schools

Traditional education models focus on teaching students specific facts or concepts at fixed times throughout the year. While this approach works well for some subjects, it’s not enough for today’s students who need to know how to think critically about information and solve problems independently — skills that can’t be taught in isolation from one another or at specific times during the school year.

We often think of critical thinking or problem-solving skills as something you learn in college or graduate school, but it actually begins in high school — as early as middle school. So if you want your child to develop critical thinking skills early on, think about what they’re learning in math and science classes. For example, if they’re memorizing formulas and equations without understanding why they work or how they relate to each other, they will most likely forget after the exams. 

Clearly, we need new approaches to education to develop these skills in students from an early age. A dynamic curriculum can help schools and teachers teach these new skills through blended learning experiences that integrate new technologies into classroom activities.

🖊️ Dynamic Curriculum is a More Effective Method of Learning

One of the biggest reasons a dynamic curriculum is so effective is that it allows students to learn at their own pace. For example, if a student is struggling with a particular subject or topic, they can repeat it as often as needed until they fully understand it before moving on to another concept or topic. This allows both teachers and students alike to spend less time repeating lessons.

This approach also benefits students diagnosed with learning disabilities or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). These students may find it challenging to perform well in traditional classrooms because they need extra time to process information, but with dynamic learning, they can go at their own pace without having to feel as though they are struggling behind everyone else.

The idea behind a dynamic curriculum is that each student learns differently. Some students may need more time to understand a concept than others, while others might need more repetition of certain concepts before fully understanding them. This is where a dynamic curriculum comes in handy because it allows teachers to cater their teaching style and lesson plans to each student’s needs.

🖊️ Dynamic Curriculum is Shaping Student Success

The dynamic curriculum is an ever-changing and evolving process that comes about as a result of the needs, interests and abilities of students. Dynamic lessons ensure that students remain engaged with the material they are learning because they are actively involved in class discussions and activities. This means they will be more likely to remember what they have learned during class when preparing for exams or assessments later in the year. 

When students are engaged in their lessons, they tend to be more motivated about studying, which results in better grades and higher test scores when compared with those who have not been engaged by their teachers’ teaching styles. Such a tailored curriculum keeps students motivated because they feel they are participating in something meaningful that will help them succeed after leaving school.

A dynamic curriculum is beneficial because it allows students to move forward when they feel ready, not when the teacher thinks they are ready. Additionally, this also makes students feel confident and not guilty about even not understanding the material being taught. It also gives them time to develop confidence before moving on to more complex material in subsequent lessons or units on the same topic.

🖊️ The Bottom Line

In response to the increasingly global context of education and the need for a workforce that can address emerging challenges in the 21st century, many governments worldwide have initiated policies in favor of curricular reform and national educational standards. Therefore, NEP 2020 emphasizes that the school curriculum should be such that it promotes holistic, integrated development in an engaging and enjoyable manner. 

To this extent, many teachers across the country have started using a combination of traditional and dynamic curriculum methods in their classrooms. Students are encouraged to participate in various learning activities like role-playing, games, poetry recitation, storytelling, drama and songs etc., which help students learn in a more creative way. These methods also allow learners to engage with other peers and their environment by collaborating and exploring new ideas through hands-on activities.

At Square Panda India, we help educators use the concept of differentiated instruction to make their lessons more effective for all students in their classrooms. We encourage schools, administrators and teachers to incorporate dynamic teaching strategies to help students understand and embrace change.