Socially Smart

Are there different intelligences?

According to Daniel Goleman, not only is there cognitive intelligence (known as IQ), but also social intelligence and emotional intelligence.  For many years, as a society, it was believed that the higher your IQ, the better job you would most likely have. 

In today’s society, that isn’t necessarily true. 

Think about some people that you know who have “made it”—what we would call successful by 21st century standards: nice cars, nice homes, a comfortable living, vacation homes, and gadgets, to name a few.  It turns out that the “successful person” was considered to have an average IQ, graduating high school as an average student. 

Perhaps this person didn’t even go to college, but instead created and built a very successful business from the ground up.  Let’s turn the tables for just a moment. Think now about someone who was extremely smart, graduated in the top 5 percent of his class, both in high school and college.  But yet, this person has not held a steady job for more than a year.  What’s the difference?

According to Goleman, author of Social Intelligence (2006) and Emotional Intelligence (1995),  it’s not all about brain smarts, but also about being smart socially and emotionally. In a world that is ever-changing and global competition that is ever increasing, being smart just isn’t enough, and may not even be a prerequisite. 

The 21st century and our ability to have access to so much information at our fingertips will surely change the way we view intelligence.  Couple that with the fact that each and every day,  new careers are emerging based on the technologies that are available to us and you’ve got a whole new set of rules for success.

Social and emotional intelligences are just as important as cognitive abilities and this can be found right along with all important things that we have ever learned— in the kindergarten classroom, or should I say, the kindergarten classrooms of yesteryear.

Remember when kindergarten was about playing and getting along with others?  The kitchen station, the doll station, the block station. All of these stations were used!!  In kindergarten we learned to be socially and emotionally smart, but we didn’t know that’s what we were learning.  That was the beauty of it.

In recent times, as kindergarten has become more academic in response to education regulations, play has slowly diminished and can rarely be found in a kindergarten classroom.  Therefore, the need to pay attention to social and emotional intelligence has evolved.

According to Goleman, he suggests that perhaps schools develop a curriculum that focus on feelings and what to do in social situations.  The brain’s initial thought in any situation is “Am I safe?” If the brain does not feel safe, it is a barrier for learning. 

By taking the time to acknowledge feelings in our children, we are helping them learn.  Karen Stone McGowan, developer of  the Self Science Curriculum, says “Learning doesn’t take place in isolation from kids’ feelings.  Being emotionally literate is as important for learning as instruction in math and reading”.  (Goleman, 1995)

Thinking about that “successful” person we all know. I’d suspect that person had social and emotional intelligences ranking in the way above average range.  In a world that is changing so quickly, it’s just not enough anymore to “be smart”.  Encouraging the emotional and social intelligences is a key to life long success.