When kids (and grown-ups too) learn that they could seek help and always depend on others to fill-in knowledge and skill gaps (that would have required significantly higher effort if they went about it on their own), they tend to achieve more and in essence build higher IQ.

EQ helps us to better leverage resources and opportunities domiciled in others in our spheres of influence and environment. No single human, no matter how smart has monopoly of knowledge and resources.
EQ is essential to building and utilising people and technology networks.

We do not need research data to deduce that a kid that early on in life learns how to relate with people (and in the process learn more and encounter more information and challenges that build up current in his neural nerves and force his brain and mind to process more information) has a much higher possibility of attaining higher IQ than if he kept to himself and remained content in his own little world.

I would like to personally thank you for writing Emotional and Social Intelligence.
I havent finished the second one yet, but i am loving it.

Your books have taught me how to understand myself and the world surrounding me, they have lead me through hard times and have been a great guide!

Best Regards
Georg L.
Estonia, Tallinn

Let’s look at the problem in many lower income communities of low high-school graduation rates, as well as lower college attendance rates among the members of the community. When you look at the negative influences that become such a huge distraction for children in these communities (drugs, delinquency, violence, etc.), it’s no wonder they drop out of school, or begin to devalue education as a whole. No matter what the IQ level, these children are losing their way well before they are able to flex their intellectual muscles!

Social Emotional Learning (SEL) programs give children the tools they need to effectively deal with conflict they face in their lives and making good decisions. This is critical when you are dealing with generations of families who may or may not be passing those tools onto their children.

Implementing such programs in early elementary school (before the bad influences tend to take over) and building a culture of SEL throughout K-12, would create a generation of young men and women who are equipped to deal with conflict and emotion effectively. This not only will help their success in avoiding destructive paths in their lives, but will also open them up to the value of education (with the right coaching from teachers and older students who already possess the tools to be successful in their lives).

This kind of change would take more than individual programs that exist on their own. They must be woven into the everyday culture throughout a K-12 in order to ensure that the skills are transferred into everyday life. If children are not taught these skills everyday (and expected to use them in everyday situations), what they learn becomes something they learned in a “class” and have no idea how to apply in their lives. Even if they are taught how to apply the skills in their lives, they still need the reinforcement outside of the classroom in order to make that transfer happen and to make it a lasting change in behavior. So, if they are not getting the reinforcement at home (and let’s face it, most of them will not), they will have to get that reinforcement throughout the rest of their day in school.

I’d love to see how these programs, when implemented on such a scale would make an impact in performance scores as well as graduation rates at both the high-school and college level.

Just my two cents! Or maybe that was more like twenty!

Sincerly Yours,
Bruce L. Weatherspoon

I am certified to debrief EQ Profile - an EI assessment tool from http://www.learninginaction.com.
Through debriefing clients’ profiles, coaching them and watching them grow, I see the result of growing EI. People have more self-awareness by being an observer of themselves. They practice self-management intentionally and learn to be more empathetic and social aware. They are more present in relationships.
When my clients’ EI grows, their business usually grow too.

During my experiences through the Military and civilian workforces I wonder if time will stand still long enough to teach our children, which are our future leaders, the IQ and EI that is required in our ever changing world.

I believe with the constant mixing of cultures there has to be a starting period in our children’s lives well before high school about learning to understand self-emotions and how to use the tools to reach out to other peoples whole-being.