Emotional intelligence [Archives:2009/1222/Education]
Abu Talib
[email protected]
English Department
Faulty of Education, Taiz
People have always been trying to measure intelligence with various types of tests. One major misperception has been that one can assess a person's intelligence by measuring the size and the shape of his head. Working on this subject, scientists and psychologists have come up with a new theory of intelligence including what is called Emotional Intelligence. They make a distinction between Intelligence Quotient (IQ) and emotional intelligence.
The main difference between the two is that emotional intelligence includes skills such as understanding one's own emotions and relating well to other people. In other words, it includes both how to handle your own emotions and how well you respond to others. This helps one manage life successfully. On the other hand, Intelligence quotient, according to recent researches, does not predict accurately a person's success in life.
Emotional intelligence, does help students deal with others positively and effectively. Students of high IQ tend to make friends easily and join the mainstream of college life without any difficulty. They also achieve good marks in their exams in contrast to those students who are seen depressed and frustrated. The result is that they end up dropping the class or remain resentful to academic activities.
It would be of vital importance, then, to develop students' emotional intelligence besides improving their intelligence. Many students give up when they reach an obstacle or face difficulties in learning. They need to take life in a stride and set aside negative feelings. They should also learn not to dwell too much on failure. Teachers should encourage students not to yell angrily when they are unable to answer a difficult question. They instead ought to ask for another chance or for help. They need to be more patient instead of making a fuss when they face a learning problem. Students who can't control their emotions are prone to face a lot of problems in life.
If students cultivate the skills of emotional intelligence, they can make their future better. They would know how to deal with the setbacks and never show frustration or let their negative feelings get in the way of accomplishing their objectives. This phenomenon can be clearly recognized through the behavior of those students who score high marks at school or university. They are shy to participate or are short of words when expressing themselves in different situations. These students have to boost their self-esteem and try to deal with disappointments optimistically.
College students who hope to do well in a course and find out that they fail the midterm exam should not drop out of the class. They should learn how to deal with this situation. They have to make a specific plan for ways to improve the grades in the final exam. Another example of lack of emotional intelligence is a student who feels lonely and does not want to mix with the peers. These students should keep negative feelings at bay and figure out ways to have friends who can share with them interests, hobbies and forms of entertainment. Improving students' emotional intelligence helps shaping their personalities that can brave difficulties in life and thus creating a hopeful generation.
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