What every teacher should know about the functions of emotions in children and adolescents

The criteria for licensure of teachers in Texas are course grades in 18 semester credit hours and the passing score of 70 on the Professional Development component of the Examination for Certification of Educators In Texas (EXCET). The emphasis, therefore, is upon cognitive factors only. Based on social learning theory and information systems theory as well as a "contemporary teaching theory" (White, 1995; 1996; and 1997), teachers should be trained to deal with the autonomic nervous system functions of hope and fear. Teaching strategies must include interactions with the self social feelings of students, empathy and understanding, anger, acting out, violence, self efficacious, and self regulatory behavior of the student.

In the State of Texas individuals in teacher education programs must pass the Examination For Certification Of Educators In Texas (EXCET) as the criterion for teacher licensure. Certification, further, requires 18 semester hours in teacher education courses. Certification and licensure for teaching in Texas, therefore, is completely cognitive in structure and measure, and is regulated to the lower level thinking skills (Bloom, 1956): (a) information and fact; (b) comprehension and understanding; and (c) application of fifteen principles (promulgated by the Texas Education Agency) to teaching activity. The EXCET also consists of 100 multiple choice test items which examine each teaching area, e.g., elementary education, early childhood education, reading, or biology, etc. At least 90% of the 100 items in the Professional Development component are little cases, or vignettes relating to one or more of the fifteen "principles, or competencies" offered by the Texas Education Agency as the dogma of the domain of teaching. The bases for the fifteen principles appears to be the "divine right of kings" or some "administrative fiat". The Texas Education Agency (TEA) has published that the EXCET is a "critical thinking test" and not an achievement test. The definition of critical thinking by TEA, however, appears to be the application of 15 principles in daily teaching activity. It is hard to find any of the 100 questions in the Professional Development component which test for analysis, synthesis, and evaluation in the higher order thinking skills. The key concept is, however, that licensure for teaching in Texas is entirely cognitive, intellectual, reasoning, and informational.

The EXCET does not measure attitudes, feelings, emotions, or belief systems. Indeed, the Texas Education Agency clearly advances the position that the only determinants of "successful teachers and teaching" are cognitive processes, thinking, intellectual functioning, and reasoning processes. Emotional, attitudinal, feeling, temperament, and personality factors are either ignored, or assumed to be equally present in all individuals and, therefore, of no consequence.

Not only is the criterion of success for certification simply a pass score of 70 on the EXCET in professional development, but the State of Texas over-emphasizes and establishes a score of 70 for all students at grade levels on the Texas Academic Assessment System (TAAS), grades 3-12. Throughout the entire academic process of matriculating through each grade level from the third grade and exiting high school, the overwhelming indicator of success is a cognitive factor of 70% on a standardized criterion referenced test of knowledge and intellectual skill (TAAS).

The "contemporary teaching theory" advanced by White, (1989; 1993; 1995; 1996; 1997;1997) emerges out of two major learning theories: (a) social learning theory (Bandura and Walters, 1963), and (b) information systems theory (Gredler,1986; 1992). One of the pillars, or foundation, of social learning and personality development is the theory and research of O. Hobart Mowrer. Mowrer built a bridge between S-R theory of Pavlov, Thorndike, Skinner, Guthrie, and others. There was no mediation between the S (stimulus) and the response (R); no language, no thinking, no feeling, no attitudes, or emotions stood in the middle between the S and the R. Mowrer was the first learning psychologist to introduce emotions, feelings, and attitudes between the S and the R (Mowrer, 1960). We interpret this mediation in S-O-R, where "O" stands for organism and emotional functions.

Mowrer established his theory upon the autonomic nervous system (ANS) as the essential element in the psychology of learning. "What is learned are the emotions", said Mowrer. The autonomic nervous system has always been recognized as the "physiological agency of emotions." The ANS is divided into the parasympathetic and the sympathetic nervous systems. Mowrer proclaimed that when you speak about the sympathetic nervous system, you should think about the emotion of fear. When you speak about the parasympathetic nervous system, you should think about the emotion of hope. In the psychology of learning, Mowrer saw learning (conditioning) on the stimulus side, just as Pavlov did, but what was learned (conditional) was not the salivary reflexes of dogs, but emotions of hope and fear . Mowrer thought Pavlov was right, but for the wrong reasons. Pavlov conditioned starved dogs to "hope" for food.

What does all this mean in teaching. Let us explain contemporary teaching and learning with the following diagram (Figure 1).

Thus, the words and activities of the classroom, the homework, basic texts, workbooks, seat work cause the association of hope as it is connected to the reaction of student(s) to the personality (warmth, business-like, surgent) of the teacher. The emotion of hope in the student is associated with the personality of the teacher.

What other emotions and attitudes of the learners impact the teachers' strategies in "teaching" students? There are at least four personal-social emotional feelings that impact teaching and what is learned in the classroom: (1) Self-social feeling of the student; (2) empathy and understanding of the student; (3) anger, striking out and sometimes, violent behavior of the student; and (4) the self efficacious, self regulatory behavior of the student.

The primary cause of learning in children and adolescents is imitation and copying of models. Those models are real live models, such as mother, father, siblings, and peers; symbolic models, such as on television; or verbal models in speech, as well as in the written word. Students incorporate (take into the body) the very thinking, feeling, and even behavior of models.

From infancy, children expand their learning by developing a self social feeling within themselves about the environment. There is a constant, every day judging by the student about his self worth and value by comparing himself in the presence of others. The self social feeling is a reaction about how others see them, how their value and success is viewed in the mirror of the others. The self social feeling of each student must be respected. There is nothing more important to each student than the feeling and attitude he, or she, has of self. If there are trauma, or threats, to that self social construct, those feelings must be dealt with before any real cognitive processing of lessons takes place. The caring, knowledgeable teachers must make that emotional connection with each student! Students can tell when teachers are in touch with the students' self social feelings. Students can't be conned about this serious affect. There is an interaction of hope and good feeling, or there isn't.

1. Empathy and Understanding of a student is most probably incorporated from models. Empathy is a learned trait or characteristic. Every student must learn to manage emotions in his or her, own life, and to recognize and deal with emotions in others. If emotional intelligence (Goleman, 1995), emotional identification, and management is not taught by the models in the home, the teacher and student peers become the models of empathy and values. The ability of students to know and be aware of their own needs and feelings, and the ability to know how others feel, is at the root of caring about others. The word empathy is derived from the Greek "empatheia" which is translated to the English, "feeling into." From a social learning viewpoint, empathy is the ability to perceive the personal emotional experience of another person. Sympathy is interpreted as having "like, or similar, feeling (pathos) of another. Empathy, however, is distinctly different. Students, or teachers who demonstrate empathy get inside the feeling of another person and identify with that feeling. empathy has that word "caring" in the feeling of sadness or disappointment, or failure. Students watch the teacher and parents and peers and learn how others react emotionally when someone is injured, distressed, or even deprived. Children and adolescents copy what they observe, and develop a repertoire of feelings of empathy. If teachers fail to be concerned about developing feelings and attitudes relating to empathy, they are limiting the instruction of emotional development. Students don't learn by bread alone, nor do they learn only by cognitive factors.

2. Anger and violence seem to be so frequent and so egregious that teachers should be experts in defusing anger and helping students to manager their frustrations, anger, and aggression. One of the best explanations of why we get so angry was theorized to be the frustration - aggression complex. Two psychologists in the mid-forties described acting out or bursting out with anger was caused by frustration, or a lack of coping, in reaching out toward personal goals. When the path toward personal goal attainment is blocked, there is a surge of adrenaline or anger in the person. Today, the amygdala is looked upon as a source of emotional energy in the brain. The amygdala seems to be the prime mover of impulsive reactions and anger. There is another major circuit to the neocortex which slows down the rage and anger in the prefrontal lobes behind the forehead. Anger is brain centered as well as emotionally driven. The "frustrationaggression" complex also generated the concept of "displaced aggression" when an individual is distraught, angry, and unable to cope. The individual looks around for the most innocent target and tries to dump the aggression, emotional pain, and anger on that innocent person.

Students who are angry and tend to be violent are frustrated and feel unable to cope and handle the situation properly. Teachers should try to model, themselves, and point out models in the teaching of managing frustration. Poverty, a lack of resources, an absence of quality models of personal management, provoke rage and anger. It is well understood that violence escalates from conditions in the home and in the neighborhood. Probably, the teacher who is trying to teach students to manage their anger, their hatred, their rage should try to develop skills with these strategies in mind:

3. Reach out in a clinical, individual manner and try to diffuse the anger in the student by calmly talking about it. Let the student catharsize the emotion and let the emotion escape or "evaporate".

4. When rifts between students, or when a student is acting out as a model of anger, try a "cooling off" period. Many competent parents and teachers try to teach the child or student to "calm down".

5. Conflict resolution. A mediation is used to settle the enmity and rage. Sometimes students can be trained to help resolve problems with their peers. Above all, emotional conflicts and anger, are the responsibility of teachers just as curriculum issues.

6. Teach the students social skills, promote student responsibility for actions, and teach students the difference between passive, aggressive, and assertive behavior.

Self-efficacious, self regulatory behavior of the student:

Teachers need to model themselves, and describe models of self-efficacious behavior, and to develop self regulatory behavior. When we speak of self-efficacious behavior, we are talking about self-competence, or self ability. When students have strong, assured feelings that they are competent and productive, there is consistent, healthy reaction to people, places, and events. When students are self-regulated, they are self disciplined; they set goals for themselves, and process information, and regulate their behavior toward success. How can teachers teach self discipline, self regulatory behavior, and feelings of self competence? There are two major teaching strategies which arouse and direct self-discipline:

1. Teach students, individually, to set reasonable goals.

2. Teach students to monitor progress toward those personal goals. Teach students to record, graph, and analyze statistical data about progress toward those goals.

As we examine the universe of teacher behavior in teaching students about emotions and how to manage their emotional life, we have to stand in awe about the complex, multivaried role of a professional teacher. Every professional teacher should be a master in teaching cognitive and affective processes.

References

Bandura, A., and Walters, Ritt. (1963). Social learning and personality development. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston. Bloom, B.S. (1956). (Ed.) Taxonomy of educational objectives. Handbook I. cognitive domain. New York: David McKay Co.

Goleman,D.(1995). Emotional intelligence. New York: Bantam Books.

Gredler,M.E.(1992). Learning and instruction. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co.

Healy, J.M. (1990). Endangered minds. New York: Simon and Schuster.

Mowrer, O.H. (1960, b.). Learning theory and the symbolic processes. New York: John Wiley and Sons.

Mowrer, O.J. (1960, a.). Learning theory and behavior. New York: John Wiley and Sons.

White, W.F., and Hargrove, W.R. (1996). Are those prepared to teach prepared to teach critical thinking? Journal of Instructional Psychology, 23(2), 7-11.

White, W.F. (1993). From S-R to S-O-R: What every teacher should know about learning. Education. llO(I). 79-86.

White, W.F. (1997). The purge of the lesson plan and the focus on clinical teaching. College Student Journal, 31(1), 93-95

White, W.F. (1995). The search for the truth about

"good" teaching. Education, 116(1), 70-74.

White, W.F. (1989). Toward a psychology of pedagogy. Education, 109(4), 455-460.

White, W.F. (1997). What every teacher should know about functions of learning in the human brain. Education, 117(2), 290-296.

White, W.F. (1997). Why students can't remember: the problem of forgetting. Journal of Instructional Psychology, 24(2),140-143.

WILLIAM F. WHITE

Education

Lamar University

Beaumont, Texas 77710

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