Education Of The Head The Heart And The Hands; A Case For Social Emotional Learning In Nigeria

Abstract

Educate the head only, you are likely to end up with characters who will preoccupy their minds with the annihilation of the entire human race. Educate the heart only and you will end up with individuals who cannot take decisions dispassionately or without sentiments and who may be lacking in critical thinking abilities. Educate the hands only and there is no telling what it could be up to. We would be creating robots, who as is the current fear with robots, may decide to exterminate the human race because they consider humans unnecessary for their existence. Education has got to be holistic. All three dimensions of the individual, the head, the heart and the hands must be functionally educated. That is why the ancient Philosopher Aristotle noted that “Educating the mind without Educating the heart is no education at all.” This paper makes a case for the education of the head, the heart and the hands, proposing an adoption of Social and emotional learning theory in the Nigerian educational system, drawing from the position of neuroscience and applying the tool of psychology. Some tips for the application of social emotional learning in the classroom are given and suggestions for learning outlined at the end of the paper.