Daniel Goleman, International Psychologist and Science Reporter, The New York Times is credited with giving preeminence to the phenomenon of Emotional Intelligence, also termed as “EQ”, through his book with the same title. Doing this, he has become a key contributor to the concept of Social Emotional Ethical (SEE) Learning for school students. It is being introduced in India by Atlanta, USA – based Emory University and His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
SEE learning facilitation is going to be offered to Indian schools without added cost. It is expected to encourage learning among the students. Max Group’s CSR arm – Max India Foundation has taken the onus of promoting SEE Learning in India and training the teachers.
Emory University’s Center for Contemplative Science and Compassion – Based Ethics (a K-12 program) curates SEE learning as tools to foster the development of emotional, social and ethical intelligence for students and themselves. It aims to equip the students with life skills like attention, compassion and ethical discernment, systems thinking, and resilience and trauma – informed practice. SEE Learning aims to achieve this through orientation and supported facilitation sessions and interactions between lead scientists, contributors of SEE Learning and educators as well as through a curriculum that comprises of easy to implement lessons. In addition, a comprehensive framework and resources for educator preparations and development are provided.
Comprising nearly 10 percent of population under the age group of five, world’s largest cohort of young people focuses on the holistic development of the students. According to His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, the current education system has materialistic values like external science without inner science. So, efforts must be given to educate human beings on the importance of warm heartedness and compassion, which SEE Learning visions to do. It is marching forward to empower students to engage in ethical practices, to provide educators with the tools to support student well-being. Most importantly it engages human values and ethics in its approach. These are needed essentially across the entire human community of 7bn people.
SEE Learning has been developed with the help of veterans in developmental psychology, education, and neuroscience, as well as with the guidance of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, who has always been an advocate of educating both the heart and mind and preaches a universal, non-sectarian approach to ensure ethical development of children. It will be executed in India by the Max India Foundation (MIF), which represents the social responsibility efforts of the Max Group. MIF has recently shifted its core focus to the field of education after making significant strides for more than 10 years in healthcare for the underprivileged. The Piramal Foundation will also be directly involved in the implementation of the program as education has always occupied center stage for it.
Tara Singh Vachani, Managing Trustee, Max India Foundation, said “After the success received in the healthcare industry, Max India Foundation is delighted to now focus on education. SEE Learning is an initiative grounded in the idea that education can and indeed should be expanded to foster the values and competencies that lead to greater happiness for both individuals and the society at large. Hence, we have introduced to India the most structured, evidence-based and comprehensive program in this area. We hope to bring a change for a better future.”
Daniel Goleman, internationally known psychologist, said “The me-first ethic that has become so dominant in economics and society today [that it] will likely make disasters worse. For the human species to survive, we will need an ethic of compassion, and emotional intelligence skills like resilience, empathy, teamwork, and collaboration, more than ever. My hope is that programs like SEE Learning will be adopted far and wide, and will help more and more students throughout their lives, as they grow up and grapple with challenges not seen before in human history.”
