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The current approach in many schools is to focus on the negative. When something goes wrong, such as missing assignments, incorrect answers, or avoidant behaviors, students are often punished with detentions, criticism, demerits and poor marks. In fact, it is difficult to see where we teach students how to build positive character strengths such as resilience, grit, confidence, self-control, curiosity and social intelligence. This overarching focus on the negative can take a toll on student motivation and many learners are also harassed with a negative inner voice that constantly undermines stamina as well as the learning process. What Have I Been Witnessing in my Practice? Over the past 15 years i n my private practice as a learning specialist, I have witnessed an increase of depression, anxiety, and learned helplessness in my students.  Many of these discouraged learners have identified with and integrated negative labels to describe themselves such as “careless,” “lazy,” “unmoti...

I find that more and more parents and teachers are complaining that our youth have underdeveloped social skills.  Instead of face to face encounters, many youngsters have their attention buried in their electronic devices, and they are not learning to read important social cues. As a result, many children are not developing their emotional intelligence.   We are now learning that mindfulness-based approaches can be very beneficial to both the learning process and the development of emotional intelligence.  This is a form of metacognition that can help youngsters gain a sense of control over both their thoughts and emotions. In addition, these practices can improve self-esteem and resilience. What Does Mindfulness have to do with Emotional Intelligence? P sychology Today defines emotional intelligence as "the ability to identify and manage your own emotions and those of other people." It involves the following three skills: emotional awareness, emotional application, and ...