Be a Modern Teacher with Emotional Intelligence: At Home, at Workplace, in Learning Institutions and During Public Presentations.

By Alozie Eugene Iheanyi

In the past ten years of pastoral vocation as a Catholic Priest, I have dedicated not less than eight years in apostolates intrinsically tied to mentoring of young people and classroom teaching. After completing my bachelors degree; I worked for six years as a secondary school principal in Nigeria before I received the call to come over to Europe for the continuation of my ministerial experience and learning. In all these years, both from studies and in practical experience, I have realized that education is meant to enhance the lives of people and improve them. In the course of researching for my Masters degree, I became aware of the concept of emotional intelligence. I saw in it an apt and timely addendum to the entire course of research and to educational research in particular. The fact is that human life, its reality and goals is the very context inside which learning should be done and for which learning is done. This is what makes education have meaning and determines its usefulness, and it is only in this context that we can say that education prepares one for life and its challenges. Directly or indirectly, emotional intelligence makes a contribution to preparation for living in the modern world.

Educational enterprise is not exclusive to the activities that take place within the four walls of a formal classroom. I accept the educational learning theory which says that learning is everywhere for a conscious mind, though it always needs to be tuned and guided. In fact there are a huge number of para-teachers, such as parents, coaches, mentors, pastors, inspirers, trainers and leaders, who do not know the extent to which their day-to-day teachings and drilling of others affect the psychology of society at large. This is because the teaching, mentoring and coaching of such para-teachers influences the emotional intelligence of their followers and learners, most often in a positive way.

Emotional intelligence was a ground-breaking theory developed by Daniel Goleman, not only on to teach how best to teach and inspire, but also to make an important link between the learning achievement of the classroom and success in real life situations. This is called knowledge transfer in education.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse UK
• Release date: Aug 25, 2015
• ISBN: 9781504988841

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© 2015 Alozie Eugene Iheanyi (Fr). All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 08/25/2015

ISBN: 978-1-5049-8883-4 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5049-8882-7 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5049-8884-1 (e)

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CONTENTS

Preface

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

(First Dedication)

Bishop, Mild and Kind

We had a Shepherd, very humble and kind

Gifted with a mixture of two hair textures, white and black

Pure white front hair of wisdom and black showing origin

A bishop of known intelligence, so mildly walks

Do you remember his three voice tones of great variation

The high tone to stress a point, the soft for exhorting

There was a base one for explaining and reproofing.

At times reveals annoyance for no double living

But stays with priests at different moments of sorrow

Made mistakes especially when they came manipulating

Ezeonyia built catholic schools as many as forty four

Even leading young priests to diversification of talents

Vincent was always found in smaller churches visiting

For me a mixture of Aba-Ngwa and Anambra talents

Bishop Egwu was a name without much publicity, yes

Though a simple icon of great emotional intelligence

He loved God, praying before the Blessed Sacrament for hours

Celebrated the holy mass with great unction and solemnity

Teaches his priests all time to follow the Roman rubrics

Taught folks that houses are not more important than faith

That rather faith gives birth to houses for God Almighty

Yes, he looks like a child of God, God help him be Amen

Thanks a bunch!!!

(Second Dedication)

DEDICATION TO ALL TEACHERS

WHO IS A TEACHER?

Some say a good man or woman. Fun loving. Passionate and very curious. Another group says a rock star and game changer anywhere, any time. Awesome and necessarily goofy. For another folk an artist and an engaging magician. I agree with all these and more.

Many would not doubt that teachers are world-builders and world judges. Many great constructs of the world today come from teachers. Teachers are great shapers of the mind and heart and that explains the desire of parents to have teachers who are also caretakers and dedicated to the growth and development of happy children. Teachers are a precious gift to every family. It’s not about having money, a luxurious house, a big business; it’s about the child. Knowing this, good teachers are positive, Godly and focused on the good of the child.

Great teachers are the most current version of the Bible which every child should read every day. Like Jesus Christ, even without knowing it, teachers break themselves into pieces like a sweet unleavened bread in order to offer children that food which gives life and health not death, because there is nothing bad in Him. When teachers give of themselves, they feed children with what they need to grow and develop into whole people. Thank God. No wonder no pay is enough for a committed teacher.

So teachers are to be aware all the time, both before God and before man, that work should be done well, for goodness’ sake. It has been said that skilled and passionate teachers are gods because their words can teach many generations. And that is not all. Teachers have the ability to discover what talents God Almighty has given to a child. The teacher does not stop there, but builds on those talents so that the child becomes all the God intended him to be. How I wish teachers would realize how much Jesus Christ loves them and their work with His children. God loves children so much. Jesus knew that the teacher has a great influence in a student’s over an extended period of time.

You can see that teachers find friendship with good students just as Jesus Christ finds a home in the hearts of those that love Him and keep His word. It’s as sweet as a caress from the angels. Some say they are not up for that. However, great teachers are often found sighing with confusion and frustration about the lives of a few bad students, not necessarily because of they are angry with them, but because there are signs that these students could be lost if nothing is done fast. They cry. But they also hope.

Have you ever seen teachers giving encouragement? It as if God is there with the child. Yes, the teacher does not know where the child comes from but, like Jesus Christ, he adopts child, shares his jokes is happy when they are pleased, smiles just because the child responded convincingly: I understand to a lesson. I never forget the special mateletur rub which my first teacher-Madam Omenihu applied on my face during the cold season of harmattan. It was my first day in school. I felt like I had a second mother and this was a big encouragement to go to school. She may not remember this.

Great teachers are great readers, thus they know what the world expects. They are like lights shining on the road of life. So it is not good if any of their words are doubted and contradicted later in life, when the kind teacher may not there to say, No what I meant was this….was not.. may be that…. Teachers are called to be relatively exact. That’s the point. This is why teachers always pose questions to themselves, to colleagues, to parents, to children and to common folks. The task is immense but worth it.

Just as the sun shines unto everybody without distinction, so does teachers’ knowledge illumine all ages and generations without preference. Yes no doubt, education is everywhere, but just like the seed sower, the teacher carries this knowledge in his raffia bag to disseminate to thirsty minds and hearts. Show me an example of a woman who behaves like a mother, and I will tell you instantly that she is a teacher. So, no teacher makes it if she does not become like a mother. Again just like the church of Christ is a mother also, no good pastor can make it if he does not become a good teacher, at least in some sense. In this sense, the church never condemns the knowledge of teachers but rather approves it, and goes further to uncover the supernatural purpose of man which any teaching and learning should never exclude; that is – our heavenly, eternal inheritance.

Could this be why Jones (2014)¹ insists that teachers should find time to teach more than their subject? For her, while connecting with your students, it is important to find time just to talk with your students at times forgetting about learning and teaching. As she said: this is because teaching is exhilarating, the possibilities are endless and the impact is huge. Thanks to all teachers.

BE A MODERN TEACHER

WITH EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

At Home, At Workplace, In Learning Institutions and During

Public Presentations

PREFACE

In the past ten years of pastoral vocation as a Catholic Priest, I have dedicated not less than eight years in apostolates intrinsically tied to mentoring of young people and classroom teaching. After completing the postgraduate degree; I worked for six years as a secondary school principal in Nigeria before I received the call to come over to Europe for the continuation of my ministerial experience and learning. In all these years, both from studies and in practical experience, I have realized that education is meant to enhance the lives of people and improve them. In the course of researching for my Master’s degree, I became aware of the concept of emotional intelligence. I saw in it an apt and timely addendum to the entire course of research and to educational research in particular. The fact is that human life, its reality and goals is the very context inside which learning should be done and for which learning is done. This is what makes education have meaning and determines its usefulness, and it is only in this context that we can say that education prepares one for life and its challenges. Directly or indirectly, emotional intelligence makes a contribution to preparation for living in the modern world.

Educational enterprise is not exclusive to the activities that take place within the four walls of a formal classroom. I accept the educational learning theory which says that learning is everywhere for a conscious mind, though it always needs to be tuned and guided. In fact there are a huge number of para-teachers, such as parents, coaches, mentors, pastors, inspirers, trainers and leaders, who do not know the extent to which their day-to-day teachings and drilling of others affect the psychology of society at large. This is because the teaching, mentoring and coaching of such para-teachers influences the emotional intelligence of their followers and learners, most often in a positive way.

Emotional intelligence was a ground-breaking theory developed by Daniel Goleman, not only on to teach how best to teach and inspire, but also to make an important link between the learning achievement of the classroom and success in real life situations. This is called knowledge transfer in education.

Everyone knows that there has been a fear springing from the evidence that the student’s ability to attain high academic scores in class work does not guarantee certainty for success in practical life after school. Practical evidence based on this statement is everywhere. We find people saying that life is larger than logic. Others say that school is one thing and life is another thing. The fact that many intellectual luminaries finish their education and come out to see themselves staggering and stumbling uneasily through the ups and downs of life, for which they have no already educationally-fashioned answers in their head, may not only indicate the limitations of their studied subject areas and knowledge in general, but also posits a question about what intelligence is. Could this be why so many do not have the motivation to go to school or at least to further their studies? When challenges come at times, knowledge often seems insufficient. However, when knowledge is linked to the concept of emotional intelligence, also called Intelligence² (or Intelligence squared), or to put it simply when what one learns with the intellect is connected with what one has to face in life, there is a high probability of relative success in real life. That is why in this book the focus is on how school or academic work could be made more relevant, leading to some doing well in life after school, in situations like marriage and friendship, child development and upbringing, leadership, nursing care, teacher competence, success in business and sales, pastoral work, public speaking, etc. This important breakthrough was made because a link was found in the human brain between the thinking brain, called the neocortex, and the emotional brain, called the amygdala, and their functions with regard to human actions and achievements. In general, emotional intelligence has placed a big question mark over our former way of measuring human intelligence and has, at the same time, evidently improved it.

The emotional intelligence theory has not only managed to explain why one could do well in school but may not do well in real life, but has also discovered ways to link academic achievements with commensurate success in life. Taking from the findings of Daniel Goleman that emotional intelligence could be taught, this work points the way to enhancing normal traditional teaching skills by developing the emotional intelligence of students, and in so doing creating a functional learning experience for others, both adults and the young alike.

Emotional intelligence for me does not quarrel in any way with our existing academic methods but seeks to improve them though through a reactivation of our consciousness of our intra and inter personal skills. In fact, if education means that people should be more socially aware and achieve educational results that help them to become better, more caring citizens, then emotional intelligence is apt. There is no doubt that emotional intelligence has come to convert education into an instrument which makes man more humane. Humane behaviour is an expression of feelings and emotions; if the emotional intelligence of people can be improved, then this will lead to better ways of dealing with crisis situations and relationships as it reorientates their way of thinking and doing things.

Emotional intelligence creates zeal for and encourages openness to new information and capacity building. Emotional intelligence doesn’t only acknowledge this fact but propagates and teaches how to channel one’s emotions to move life and the world forward in a positive way. This type of intelligence will do much service to the entire educational enterprise. Old institutions like religion will see in Intelligence² how not to allow its true spark to fade away in the modern times as mentalities continuously change. In short, this is how emotional intelligence has created a mark and broken records of being the most acceptable type of intelligence; penetrating all the departments of life, which embrace its promise of maximum performance with excitement. With professional curiosity set afire in this area of research, I have been inspired to invite you to walk along with me on this path of great discovery that has made a great impact on all human concerns and progress. In this intelligence trek, we shall move, starting from the point of view of classroom teaching and learning, making some important connections and then looking into how emotional intelligence has made remarkable waves as very useful practical applications of knowledge in everyday life ranging from academics, management, health care, family life, pastoral work, counselling, public speaking, to business and sales and more. Let us find out how emotional intelligence seems to be pointing our focus towards that long expected golden age of the human race which has made it receive heart-warming recognition from all around the world, and been acclaimed an important aha! answer of our time.

CHAPTER ONE

1.1 Background of the Study

Though the classroom is not the only place where learning takes place, it is certainly the centre-point where all the educational policies and objectives are implemented. The classroom is where the great impact of the entire school system is received by the child. While the whole school system aims at all-round development of the pupils’ potential, there is no doubted that the disposition of the teacher plays a great role and determines the extent of accomplishment or even non-accomplishment of learning objectives. This is because a great chunk of the entire learning process revolves around the teacher. He therefore has to be aware of his constant need for the apt learning skills and talents. In some sense he is the time manager of the classroom and determines its results to a great extent.

It is actually in the classroom that students are moulded into active, interesting, ready, balanced, motivated learners or even inactive, unintelligent and demoralized learners, as the case may be. This is dependent on who the teacher is, what his skills are and what personality he radiates in the entire classroom activity. For ages past, the entire school system had presumed to be coping with teachers charged only with well-known pedagogical skills until the concept of emotional intelligence made its appearance. Emotional intelligence amongst other things is believed by many professionals to have what it takes to contribute immensely to the teacher’s role in the classroom.

The Educational Opportunity Centre (2014)² devised the Emotional Quotient (EQ) test as a gauge of the presence of emotional intelligence in a person. The Centre formulated the test in terms of a number of questions. Be mindful of the quoted words.

• Do you keep yourself cool and stay calm in stressful situations;

• Are you caring, compassionate and considerate?

• Do you make great decisions?

• Are you a good listener?

• Is your intuition well developed?

• Are you flexible and adaptable in most situations?

• Can you read the emotions of other people easily?

• Can you positively influence people?

• Do you rarely give in to your urges?

• Are you generally optimistic and happy?

If your answer to any of these questions is no, then your emotional intelligence level needs to improve, and since it is not set in stone, this is entirely possible. As a matter of fact, all these indicators above are not emotional intelligence as such but may point to what it is. As rightly said here, an honest no to any one of the questions may be pointing a finger at the need to increase one’s emotional intelligence. The issue is that emotional intelligence has managed to wield its influence and demonstrate its utility in the modern times, penetrating almost all departments of human endeavour.

A definition could be important here. As a definition, let us resort to the work of Salisbury Downs School of South Australia³ captioned School Initiatives. It is a school which aims at integrating emotional intelligence skills in their curriculum:

Emotional Intelligence is the ability to understand, manage and express emotions to meet the daily requirements of living, learning and relating to others….. we believe emotional intelligence is of equal importance to academic intelligence, and a key predictor of success in later life.

The theory of emotional intelligence is associated with the psychologist, Daniel Goleman⁴, the New York Times Writer, in 1995, whose work on emotional intelligence caught on like fire. What has happened since is a paradigm shift in American culture, particularly in the areas of education and corporate business where Goleman’s book and a follow-up book called Working with Emotional Intelligence⁵ has shaken up the entire old order and brought the entrenched mid-century ways of teaching and business under scrutiny. As a result of this research some professionals today regard academic intelligence as training of the mind, and emotional intelligence as training of the heart. The importance of the both cannot be contested, though the difference is that the latter has been found by many experts to be the main driver of success and excellence. This discovery is what provokes of our imaginations. That is our major concern and curiosity in this book.

In fact, this research has put a question mark over the traditional idea of the Intelligence Quotient (IQ), though for many, it is mainly by widening its input. For this reason, emotional intelligence has been accepted and regarded as Intelligence² by adherents. An attempt to adjust to this new wave of understanding intelligence has led to an exigency to redefine intelligence. This is because intelligence is no longer what we thought it to be. This new inquisitiveness and tendency now creates a gap to accommodate emotional intelligence and its inevitability in life.

However, before this positive development, many writers and academicians suspected and spoke in a way that seemed to indicate that intelligence was not yet totally discovered. In the early 1980s, Gardner (1983)⁶ for instance entered the intelligence debate with a book called ‘Frames of Mind’ - a work that shifted the intelligence testing landscape dramatically. ‘Frames of Mind’ suggested that in essence, intelligence is not a single entity, but a wide range of talents, the measure of which is absent from traditional IQ tests. This theory of multiple intelligences considers and includes novelties like musical, kinaesthetic or spatial intelligences (and a number of others) alongside the more traditional verbal and mathematical skills. Yale psychologist, Sternberg (1985)⁷, also published an article suggesting a similar idea, what he called the ‘Triarchic Theory of Intelligence’. Again in Sternberg’s model, three main areas of intelligence were pointed out: Practical, analytical, and creative. Like Gardner, Sternberg produced compelling data in defence of his theory.

The recurring concern is why people with high Intelligence Quotients (IQs) sometimes fail in life and those of modest IQs often do surprisingly well. Goleman (2000)⁸ answered the question stressing that our view of human intelligence had over the years been far too narrow. Many intellectuals began to pay attention. In fact, he stressed the point that a high score on an IQ test of a person did not guarantee future success or determine the person’s ability to be well equipped, self-disciplined, motivated and enthusiastic, all of which makes for success in life. He postulated that in recent years, we have experienced a degeneration of emotional literacy across racial and class boundaries and that the results have been an increase in cynicism, social pathology, violence and suicide. Goleman believes that society has overemphasized IQ to the neglect of emotional skills such as empathy, responsibility, persistence, impulse control and caring disposition. However, he stated that these attributes can be taught and this is where the good news lies for educationists.

Making meaningful reference to Goleman’s pathway, the understanding of the intelligence of the teacher has been revolutionized. In fact, the ordinary IQ, school qualification and or the advanced knowledge of the teacher today do not suffice to ensure a child’s development in a way that prepares him for the modern world.

Then, in making their own