Importance of Emotions in teaching and learning

From what we know, it is obvious that emotional processes contribute strongly to the stress of everyday living. We are in fear all the time, fear of failure, fear of being misunderstood, fear of elders, bosses etc and are passing on the same to our children in school as well. We are social beings and particularly in the present milieu, many of our trials, tribulations, the dangers we face and the sorrows we experience are due to fear. Rarely do we face a predator in the wild, or have to hunt for food anymore. This suggests to me that an understanding of our emotional heritage is potentially a powerful tool for greater selfunderstanding and empathy. In the context of education, I would like to begin with a few questions, and would then like to suggest a few hypotheses that seem to me to be justified in the light of the insights from cognitive neuroscience. 1. What is the significance of emotions for learning? 2. How do current educational practices use or abuse emotions and feelings? Are these practices justified? 3. What are the characteristics (both structure and process related) of a healthy educational environment? To what extent can such an environment contribute to the academic efficiency of a child? 4. What is the nature of adult relationships in such an environment? How can the educator sustain the momentum of learning in her life? A Few Observations Based on the experience of the group of educators at NCERT and observations of the education system, I believe that the following statements are largely justified: Learning has an irrefutable emotional dimension. While learning new skills, say in science or mathematics, does involve, primarily, cognitive processes, the emotional dimension in the learning process needs emphasis. The student's emotional responses do influence his interest for the subject. When we feel happy and secure with a teacher-we are more keen to learn . We all remember the science teacher who brought excitement and adventure to the classroom in our school. And perhaps my attitude to mathematics has been shaped, to some extent at least, by the fear that the teacher evoked. If we now begin to look at learning not just as the acquisition of skills and knowledge but as a complex process of development of life skills, social capacities and ways of seeing, the hypothesis looks even more credible. This is not to deny that there are innate and genetic influences that exert a powerful force over learning. Yet, the contribution that emotional factors make to learning has been often neglected. Therefore emotions directly impact learning. The present education system makes disproportionate use of one emotion: FEAR. Our education system implicitly and often crudely assumes that fear and anxiety are part of the price our children need to pay to be educated.

Several common practices in schools seem to provoke anxiety in students. Foremost among these is the insidious role that examinations and comparative methods of assessment play. Secondly, the fear and anxiety that seep into the learning situation through comparative grading and competition seem to me to contribute very little to true learning. Furthermore, the teacher in the classroom is still an object of fear and authority in far too many schools. The insensitivity and resistance to change in our school systems to these obvious ills is an indicator of how little we understand the process of learning. Learning is potentially a source of joy, wonder and well-being for the teacher and the student. It seems to me that a relentless campaign of advocacy is needed to persuade educators, parents and the state to acknowledge the change in approach needed. An added problem is the tendency to define "success" in narrow ways. Capacities and interests are variable and gloriously diverse. A deeper understanding of students' capacities will take account of varied emotional temperaments, innate dispositions and interests and diverse economic and cultural contexts. In herding all learners into a "one size fits all" framework, we condemn generations of students to anxiety and a sense of failure. We need new words and new deeds. Is it possible to sensitise teachers, parents and students to the need to make learning situations emotionally wholesome? Firstly, schools need to pay particular attention to the social relationships in Emotions in Relationship and Learning From what has been said so far, it should be obvious that emotional processes contribute strongly to the tenor of everyday experience. We are social beings and particularly in the present milieux, many of our trials, tribulations, the dangers we face and the sorrows we experience are of social origin. Rarely do we face a predator in the wild, or have to hunt for food anymore. This suggests to me that an understanding of our emotional heritage is potentially a powerful tool for greater self-understanding and empathy. In the context of education, I would like to begin with a few questions, and would then like to suggest a few hypotheses that seem to me to be justified in the light of the insights from cognitive neuroscience. 1. What is the significance of emotions for learning? 2. How do current educational practices use (or abuse) emotions and feelings? Are these practices justified? 3. What are the characteristics (both structure and process related) of a healthy educational environment? To what extent can such an environment contribute to well-being? 4. What is the nature of adult relationships in such an environment? How can the educator sustain the momentum of learning in her life? A Few Observations Based on the experience of the group of educators that I am part of, and observations of the education system, I believe that the following statements are largely justified:

Learning has a definite emotional dimension. While learning new skills, say in science or mathematics, does involve, primarily, cognitive processes, the emotional dimension in the learning process needs emphasis. The student's emotional responses do influence her orientation to the topic, degree of involvement with the learning situation and even the level of alertness and attention that the student may display. Effective teachers have always understood this intuitively. We all remember the science teacher who brought excitement and adventure to the classroom in our school. And perhaps my attitude to mathematics has been shaped, to some extent at least, by the fear that the teacher evoked. If we now begin to look at learning not just as the acquisition of skills and knowledge but as a complex process of development of life skills, social capacities and ways of seeing, the hypothesis looks even more credible. This is not to deny that there are innate and genetic influences that exert a powerful force over learning. Yet, the contribution that emotional factors make to learning has been often neglected. The present education system makes disproportionate use of one emotion: FEAR Our education system implicitly and often crudely assumes that fear and anxiety are part of the price our children need to pay to be educated. Several common practices in schools seem to provoke anxiety in students. Foremost among these is the insidious role that examinations and other assessments play. The assumption that fears can be a source of motivation in the long run is very questionable. Secondly, the fear and anxiety that seep into the learning situation through comparative grading and competition seem to me to contribute very little to true learning. Furthermore, the teacher in the classroom is still an object of fear and authority in far too many schools. The insensitivity and resistance to change in our school systems to these obvious ills is an indicator of how little we understand the process of learning. Learning is potentially a source of joy, wonder and well-being for the teacher and the student. In herding all learners into a "one size fits all" framework, we condemn generations of students to anxiety and a sense of failure. We need new words and new deeds. Is it possible to sensitise teachers, parents and students to the need to make learning situations emotionally wholesome? Firstly, schools need to pay particular attention to the social relationships in the classroom. It seems to me that children who encounter positive and supportive teachers are more likely to grow up to be sensitive adult citizens. Teaching has become a more or less mechanical training Teaching has gradually been reduced to more or less mechanical training. The assumption that computers can replace teachers is an example of the way in which learning has been trivialized. This view obviously ignores the rich possibilities that a nurturing, cooperative learning situation has, and its positive emotional and cultural benefits. Teachers must be learners too.

Schools in general are far too rigidly structured. We seem loath to change the factory-like school organization that provides teachers (and students) with very 24 little room for exploration and initiative. Syllabuses are inflexible and created by 'experts'. Such a system does not encourage creative partnerships among teachers. And school is very rarely a place of actual learning for the educator. It is just a place to dodge another exam, another assignment and learning how to tackle FEAR! Conclusion I have argued that a nuanced understanding of feelings, emotions and the nature of brain development and processes that mediate these can be useful. Let me emphasize that we do not have to be brain specialists to be good learners and educators. Teachers must be learners too. Schools in general are far too rigidly structured. We seem loath to change the factory-like school organization that provides teachers (and students) with very 24 little room for exploration and initiative. Syllabuses are inflexible and created by 'experts'. Such a system does not encourage creative partnerships among teachers. And school is very rarely a place of learning for the educator. Krishnamurti insisted that the educator is most in need of education. A teacher who is not exploring the nature of freedom, an inward freedom that releases the individual from bondage, is unlikely to be able to nurture creativity in the student. Can schools be places of dialogue and exploration for teachers? It seems to me, from the experience at CFL, that such an environment is emotionally very demanding. Anger, jealousy and anxiety are common currency in relationship. It was unnerving for me to discover that feelings inevitably moulded my perceptions and decisions, often rigidly. Emotions and feelings are the cement that hold our perceptions together. Unfortunately, they often intimate a dubious "truth" which must be subjected to unrelenting questioning and scepticism. Most of us find this scepticism difficult in the face of feelings that support our certainties, through the flesh, as it were. Working relationships that are broken by hurt and conflict are all too common a consequence. I believe that a group that invests energy in a process of cooperative dialogue has a greater chance of discovering creative responses to this challenge. Conclusion I have argued that a nuanced understanding of feelings, emotions and the nature of brain development and processes that mediate these can be useful. Let me emphasize that we do not have to be brain specialists to be good learners and educators. But too many of the current beliefs and practices that schools adhere to are based on erroneous or outdated understanding of our biology. Correcting these cannot fail to be beneficial. I have also argued that many recent developments in neurobiology suggest the need for new ways of teaching both the head and the heart and the emotions.. Educators must contribute to the development of that new way of actual teaching and learning which is the wonder of living and the fear of our lives!