Emotional literacy: identifying, understanding and expressing our emotions

Knowing what we feel and how we feel it is not an easy task. The emotional universe still remains a total unknown to each of us, to a greater or lesser extent. In this context, emotional literacy emerges as an alternative to fill all those emotional voids that still haunt us.

Nobody taught us what emotions are, what functions they have or how we can identify them. No subject was concerned with it at school and it was not even considered something important for our education: a fascinating battle in which it was understood that others could say little for you. In this sense, Emotions have gone unnoticed for years, until little by little they have gained the prominence they deserve.

Today, in addition to being social beings, we know that we are emotional beings and that depending on how we manage this sparkling internal dialogue, this is how we will find ourselves. Definitely, Emotions have gained ground, demanding education to take a step forward in this sense. Let’s look in greater depth at what emotional literacy is about.

What is emotional literacy?

The word literacy is commonly related to the process of teaching how to read or write. Basic skills in the educational field. However, it seems that this concept has gradually developed different surnames depending on the content of the teaching. An example of this are the terms of computer, scientific or technological literacy.

With these advances, we cannot help but think that Education seems to be facing new challenges. Among them, one of the most prevalent and interesting for our well-being is emotional literacy: the process of educating emotions, starting in the school environment.

Emotional literacy consists of teaching what emotions are, what they are for and how they are expressed. It is teaching to understand oneself and others on an emotional level. An educational challenge that more and more schools and nursery schools are facing through programs in which emotional education is already integrated.

In fact, and as a note, the concepts of emotional literacy and emotional education are used interchangeably to refer to the same thing. A train with a different name and the same route.

Authors such as Daniel Goleman or Rafael Bisquerra have shown great interest in this concept and even more so in its development. Specifically Goleman points out that the education of character, moral development and civility of an individual run hand in hand with emotional literacy and education in emotional intelligence.

So, Emotional literacy stands as an opportunity to deal with disruptive behaviors, aggressiveness or conflicts in interpersonal relationships. Since the absence of emotional competencies is usually linked to these problems. So if you educate yourself on emotions, these types of situations will probably decrease.

Objectives of emotional literacy

Beyond making known the emotional universe in which we are all immersed, emotional literacy aims for a series of objectives (Carpena, 2001; Vallés, 2000; Bisquerra, 2000; among others):

Identify cases of poor emotional performance.Know what emotions are and how to recognize them in others.Learn to classify emotions.Modulate and manage the level of emotionality.Develop tolerance to the frustrations of daily life. Prevent the consumption of addictive substances and other risky behaviors.Develop resilience.Adopt a positive attitude towards life. Prevent interpersonal conflicts.

Besides, Other authors point out other objectives, such as learning empathy, emotional self-control, and delaying gratification. Positive behaviors that, in one way or another, not only influence one’s own well-being, but also that of others.

The fruits of emotional literacy

Promoting knowledge of emotions in the classroom aims to help us learn to be intelligent to be happy. An intelligence focused from a comprehensive perspective in which not only the cognitive dimension is important, but it also needs to be nourished by the emotional and behavioral dimensions.

By this we mean that it is not only important to pay attention to what and how we have to experience everything we feel; but rather its expression, together with how we should process the information that emotions transmit to us and finally, how we manage them, influences our psychological well-being.

Furthermore, not only children benefit from this teaching and learning process, Teachers and the entire educational community also receive part of the interest precisely by showing it. And in some way, parents also do want to and try to reinforce what they learn in class with their children.

Emotional literacy is above all a challenge and as such, an opportunity. A bridge that facilitates knowledge of oneself and ultimately of relationships with others. We are talking, without a doubt, about an awakening that is worth it.