“Forget SATs: lesson one is a basic emotional education” – headline above Mark Johnson’s October 15 Op/Ed in The Guardian.
“Too many children live with a dysfunctionality that goes back generations… At school, these children aren’t mentally or emotionally ready for the academic learning designed for others.”
“The number of people with missing emotional development is becoming a threat to our society. But it’s not too late to tackle this massive task. There is good work going on – now we need to get it into the mainstream.”
“We need to recognise school is not just for academic achievement but for personal and emotional development… We should bring in the professionals – the psychologists, therapists, counselors… They should teach children how to nurture themselves and each other.”
“If a child is angry because his mum didn’t give him breakfast, he needs to be able to say that in a closed, supportive peer group with a skilled facilitator. He needs to cope with his emotions honestly.”
“The explosion of violence in our youth does not have its roots in boredom or lack of discipline. It has its roots in emotional problems. It has… everything to do with a new definition of what schools should be doing.”
Source: http://tinyurl.com/3nkhsq