Building Emotional Intelligence With
RULER By Jessica Levin
In classrooms a generation or two ago, it is unlikely that “emotional intelligence” topped the list of subjects most teachers prioritized for their students. But today, learning how to recognize, express, and explore feelings is a central part of the CEE curriculum as students develop the agility, creativity, and empathy required in the modern world.
What is RULER? RULER stands for five areas of emotional intelligence: Recognizing, Understanding, Labeling, Expressing and Regulating emotions
After several years of pilot programs at The Center, the RULER approach to socialemotional learning—developed at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence—is now being integrated at CEE across the school, for students and adults of all ages.
Why? Studies show that students in RULER programs who are less anxious and depressed, manage their emotions more effectively, are better problem solvers, have greater social and leadership skills, experience fewer attention, learning, and conduct problems, and perform better academically. RULER students learn a diverse range of feeling words, which allow them to articulate feelings and access emotions in a new way. Feelings that may have been previously suppressed or confused can be expressed and acknowledged, promoting stronger communication between children, teachers, and parents. Teachers integrate RULER into the academic curriculum in creative ways so students continue to practice the concepts throughout the school day.
