Emotions In The Classroom: What You Should Know

Many people have written about and discussed the need to deal with emotions in the classroom. In fact, it is essential that emotions and feelings are part of the curriculum for all age groups and at all levels of education. The goal is for students to develop a strong emotional intelligence.

What do we know about emotions and feelings?

Emotions are responses to psychophysiological reactions that the body regenerates in response to situations, people, or objects in the environment. Therefore, emotions represent an adaptation method that each person has. On a psychological level, people have different responses from biological systems, such as facial expressions, muscles or endocrine systems. 

On the other hand, emotions refer to both a mental state and a conceptualized emotion. Emotions are the result of emotions, and they can last longer and be verbalized. Therefore, the difference between emotions and emotions has to do with intensity and duration. Emotions are generally of shorter duration and are more intense.

Sadness, joy, anger, fear or nostalgia are all reactions and thus emotions you may feel. They are almost automatic responses to changes, a situation, a person or an object. Therefore, these emotions can turn into emotions if they persist over time.

Why work with emotions in the classroom?

It is essential for the proper development and formation of personality in children and adolescents to work with emotions in the classroom. It is important that children and young adults learn to recognize their emotions and those of others, as well as learn to talk about them and deal with them.

It is possible to control anxiety, stress, depression and frustration if children learn to deal with their emotions at an early age. In fact , improved self-esteem, better relationships with others, and the achievement of personal goals are all closely related to emotional coping. Emotional coping means being able to regulate your emotions when needed.

As a result, meeting the goals of emotional education is a significant reason why students should work on emotions in the classroom. These are the goals of this type of work:

• Know, recognize, understand and describe one’s own emotions and those of others.
• Learn strategies and develop skills to control negative emotions and generate positive ones.
• Avoid and prevent negative or harmful consequences of negative emotions.

• Develop a positive and optimistic attitude in life.
• Become aware of the benefits of positive emotions.

How to work with emotions in the classroom?

Teachers need to plan educational activities that can help work with emotions in the classroom. The goal of this is to generate strategies for dealing with emotions in children and adolescents. In order to achieve a progressive development of emotional intelligence, it is therefore important to work on empathy and the development of proactive attitudes and impact.

Furthermore, it is important that students work on emotions in the classroom as a topic in itself, but also as they emerge. Due to their special characteristics, emotions represent adaptive processes to different environments and activities. As a result, emotions can appear at any learning moment in any school subject.

Activities to work with emotions in the classroom and at home

Finally, we will give you some opportunities for both educators and parents to work on emotions with their students and children:

• School assembly. Given the opportunity to share experiences and have a dialogue, school meetings are a great time for educators to work on emotions with children. For example  , it can be as simple as asking what the child did the day before at home. Talking to children about how they felt, how they feel now, and why they feel this way is the first step for them to understand their emotions.

• Reading. Storytelling or reading stories is an ideal strategy for working with emotions, as children can relate to the characters’ experiences. Next,  you can discuss what the characters feel and experience, which helps children to recognize and identify different emotions.
• Problematic situations. It is an activity that is more suitable for teenagers. First you have to start with a problematic situation and then discuss the emotions that are at stake. The children must understand why they arise, and analyze the possibilities and strategies for changing, accepting and dealing with emotions. For example  , it may be a situation of a quarrel with parents, the loss of a loved one or not being able to achieve some personal goals. 
• Drawing. It is a good strategy for children to draw emotions to express, define and externalize what they are feeling. In fact  , drawing and painting is an excellent strategy to consider to talk about how one feels. You can also learn more about your emotions when you paint.