Class 1: The Science of Emotion - What Are Emotions?

Hi, I'm Rob!

As an actor and traveler, I have been swimming in the world of emotions.  

After I earned a bachelor's degree in Psychology, I started teaching High School in Montreal, Canada.  While I was teaching, I dedicated some time to learn acting. I studied many characters, and I learned to uncover their intentions, motivations, and the emotions that power their behaviors. 

Years later, I decided to continue my teaching journey in Thailand. I lived there for 2 years as a grade 4 ESL teacher. This began a new adventure and a new discovery of myself. I've lived in places like Vietnam, Malta, Ireland, Spain, Greece, Morocco, and Cyprus. 

Now I combine what I learned in school with life's adventure and my new mission is to teach young minds about emotional intelligence. The ability to bring awareness to emotional states is a survival skill. I teach what emotions are, the biology of emotions, and how they are made.  

(Please note, I would like to specify that the students WILL NOT share anything personal about their emotional experiences in any therapeutic way. This is a class designed to construct their ideas about emotions, not to evaluate their emotions) 

Developing emotional intelligence is key to survival.

I approach teaching emotions through the lens of a constructivist, where our emotions are developed by our past experiences. Naturally, I apply the same philosophy in teaching, where knowledge is constructed and the students create their own learning by applying the concepts to their individual experiences. Concepts of emotions can be too vast and vague, so I use stories from books or movies to help form more concrete understandings. 

I hope to normalize a discussion about emotions, and I hope students walk away from this class with an awareness of emotional intelligence.