I am about to complete my last class for my Masters in Education program. After months of studying academic inquiry and the importance of content in the education process I have appreciated the reflective and interpersonal focus of my current and final class.

The instructor, Principal Dr. Garran (@Walter Johnson HS), chose Daniel Goleman’s Emotional Intelligence as one of our two required readings. I first heard about Emotional Intelligence about a year ago. It came up in discussion of what businesses look for in an employee.

Someone can be super talented, but if they can’t stay cool in chaotic situations or interact well with other people, no one wants them on their team.

Emotional Intelligence (EI) is especially important in jobs that require interactions with other people. As more jobs become outsourced or assigned to computers and robots, highly competitive jobs require strong “people skills.” Not only do we have to handle ourselves well but we need to be able to read other people as well.

I fear that while schools may do a good job testing the conventional understanding of intelligence (some educators may argue this point) they do not help students examine and improve upon their ability to intelligently handle emotions, both in themselves and in others.

If teachers do integrate lessons on emotional intelligence into their classrooms, how would they do so?  Is emotional intelligence something that we can measure as teachers.  Or do students measure it themselves?  If so, what guide to we give them to do so?   What cautions should we have if we do decide to help students work on their EI?  What could the benifits be?