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Academics build successful adults. But it’s in social-emotional learning that the youths learn to be better and thriving humans. This is what true youth empowerment is.
What good are mathematic equations when people aren’t decent enough and share them with others?
The future is in the hands of the youth. They determine the direction in which society progresses. They also drive the development of ways in which humanity copes through difficulties. This is why society is focused on ensuring they receive the best treatment and are guided toward being the best.
However, no change, whether small or momentous, can be achieved with just the sciences and mathematics. Sure, these are necessary for the youths to land and do well in their chosen careers. Academics are essential for technical knowledge. But with little to no social-emotional learning, wisdom can be wasted or spent doing the wrong things. The youth must have the heart and the correct values to desire a positive change in society and manifest it in their behaviors.
The Many Facets of Youth Empowerment
Empowering the youth has long existed within society. They have always been given the power and the freedom to be their person. Between adults breaking generational traumas to society simply knowing and adjusting to the younger minds, there’s a significant difference in how the youths are treated and their privileges. Hence, the challenge isn’t solely about empowering them. It’s on how society empowers them properly, sending them in the right direction in life.
The focal point of youth empowerment lies in believing that young people can achieve anything they put their minds to. It manifests within teen suffrage empowerment. This has allowed them to speak up and share what and who they think is better for society. Youth empowerment isn’t just about how much freedom the young people enjoy. This also includes their exposure to ideas which help build their skills to take on anything.
An empowered youth must recognize and embody their capabilities and worth. This allows them to explore and live to their full potential. However, equipping them with technical knowledge and societal privilege isn’t enough assurance for their proper development.
Although at the heart of youth empowerment, there is education. This isn’t everything. While the youth may gain the most wisdom at school, less apparent things remain. But there are just as important. Values. A significant component of empowerment commonly overlooked is their social and emotional wisdom. Society must ensure they aren’t creating the most competent robots but people with genuine emotions and the heart for change.
Social-Emotional Development and Empowerment
According to the Empowered Humanity Theory, humans are only genuinely empowered if their intrapersonal, behavioral, and interactional frameworks are aligned with resilience and peace. This theory posits that social and emotional skills help them have a positive self-identity and their role in collective well-being.
Social-emotional learning helps the youth introspect and know themselves better, leading to a better contribution to society. School might teach them the knowledge they can use in tight situations. But social-emotional learning teaches them to use these for the greater good.
This development helps the youth gain skills beyond the sciences, mathematics, and other core subjects at school. The primary goal of social-emotional development is to help them better identify their feelings and themselves. In exchange, they can communicate and empathize with others.
By fully embracing their identities, they can better understand their capabilities. And better social relationships help them determine what they can do to help others. Social and emotional awareness is powerful. They help people identify where they stand within the world and in comparison to others. By identifying their position and roles, people can
extend their hands and provide better assistance. This, in turn, helps them establish their clear purpose. Empowerment is about developing and knowing one’s capabilities and ensuring to use them properly.
The Key Areas of Social-Emotional Learning
This learning can be broken down into key areas. Knowing these can aid in how adults and youths can better understand and help with one’s social-emotional learning.
These areas revolve around what’s considered as the core competencies, useful for anyone anywhere. These include self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and decision-making. At one glance, it’s easy to realize how these skills can’t be quite learned within a classroom setting. Instead, these are competencies people can learn through their experiences outside.
Sure, their concepts can be understood and discussed across several materials. But nobody can develop them simply through reading passages. Instead, the youths must be exposed to different situations to build them. Exposure to such experiences can be empowering in itself.
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