Emotional Control
Emotional Control is the capacity to align our emotions with our goals. Teaching is complex and highly emotional work, so teachers need to mange themselves.
There's nothing wrong with feeling your feelings so if you're an emotional person, by nature, don't feel pressure to change that. But, Emotional Control is only a problem when it becomes a problem. What does that mean? If your emotional responses are making trouble for you or if they keep you from your long-term goals, you may want to consider how to control them better.
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Emotional Control is measured with questions such as “I overreact emotionally” and ”I have emotional outbursts for no reason.”
How to support students with poor Emotional Control
You can recognize kids with poor Emotional Control because they tend to be the ones that overreact. Young children may have a hard time accepting when things don’t go their way. Crying or shouting are obvious signs of emotional dysregulation for elementary-aged children but remember that not everyone shows emotionality the same way. Be aware of the non-obvious signs of emotional dysregulation (becoming withdrawn, avoidant behaviours). Nearly everyone is affected by emotionally provoking situations, but being able to recover and redirect is an important skill to learn.
Some classroom strategies:
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