Congenital Pain (Social-Emotional Management: Part III)

Social-emotional learning theories ostracized physical emotions necessary for honest reflection, behavior correction, self-control, maturity, and development of morality. Natural and internal consequences for misdeeds like shame, embarrassment, humiliation, anguish, guilt, fear, regret, and remorse were eliminated from public education, in turn destroying genuine student accountability. But it is those natural and purposeful physical emotions of the self that enforce behavior modification and push students, internally, into classroom compliance and acceptable conduct.

Most humans with the requisite brain and sensory organs learn a valuable lesson when they allow a body part to get too close to flames for the first time: fire fucking hurts! The physical pain is an immediate lesson in self-preservation, and it is a lesson not easily forgotten. In other words, pain is impactful. Just as physical pain teaches us lessons, so too does emotional turmoil.

Internal emotions that make us regret our choices or have remorse, make us feel shame or embarrassment, or have fear for the future are necessary for accountable conduct. Just as the physical pain of fire teaches us not to throw our naked bodies into pits of flames, those wishing to avoid emotional pain will trend towards actions and behaviors that lesson or eliminate it. Put simply, if there is no internal accountability for student actions, then teachers should not expect unwanted student behaviors to cease or productive behaviors to develop. Natural emotions are not negative even though some of them might be uncomfortable or difficult. They are congenital learning tools.