The basics . . . Ellerslie School students learn about emotional intelligence

Students of Ellerslie School got the opportunity to celebrate World Children’s Day with a pop up festival. The festival, hosted by the University of the West Indies (UWI) Cave Hill Campus, Faculty of Humanities and Education and the United Nations Children’s Fund UNICEF, aimed to raise awareness about emotions, wellbeing and children’s rights.

First form students attended the session which was held at the Black Rock, St Stephens, St Michael institution, which sits within close proximity to the campus.

Deputy Dean for Outreach in the Faculty of Humanities Professor Donna Maria Maynard said the festival was designed in the format of eight stations that each focused on one Sustainable Development Goal (SDG).

The students engaged in fun, interactive activities, facilitated by UWI students.

“They are learning more about alleviating poverty, clean water and sanitation, peace and justice and strong institutions. But the overall objective is to help develop their overall emotional intelligence and help them to recognize that they are a part of a larger society and a globe, and how what they do has an impact on others,” said.

The professor said the activities also taught students about the rights of the child and gave them age appropriate tips on how to effectively express their feelings.

“Normally, if you ask a child how they are doing, they would say good or bad. So we are helping them to expand that vocabulary to ‘I am feeling frustrated today’ or ‘I am feeling overwhelmed’ or ‘I am feeling very upbeat’.

“They are also looking at gender equality through matching different terms and different emotions that they can think of as males or females. This would help to break down some of the stereotypes that young people hold as well,” Professor Maynard said. (AH)