By: Ann Rankowitz

Emotions matter—increasingly many in the field of education are beginning to embrace the belief that how kids and adults feel in our schools is critically important to their success.

“If we strictly focus on how they think and what they can do cognitively, we’re missing a tremendous amount of information.” – Marc Brackett

Brackett runs a social-emotional training program, RULER, an acronym that stands for five emotional intelligence skills: recognizing, understanding, labeling, expressing and regulating. RULER has taught educators and students in more than 2,000 schools what it means to understand and manage their emotions. RULER is now being used by the largest school district in the country, New York City, with its 1.1 million students, and Brackett is helping lead Connecticut’s effort to have the first emotionally intelligent statewide education system.

In his new book Permission to Feel, published in September, Brackett shares what this quarter-century of work has taught him about the importance of emotional intelligence in his own life, in schools and in the workplace.

As we strive to increase the social-emotional skills of our students, it is critical that we be mindful of the fact that we are asking adults to talk about their feelings with kids. Teachers will benefit from professional development and tools designed to address their social-emotional needs and personal wellness practices.

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