ABSTRACT
Before a political shift in 2007 towards the idea that schools should actively promote happiness and well-being, the government presented the scale of emotional deprivation as so great that schools and other agencies can no longer leave emotional skills and well-being to parents. In this context, psychotherapists and the emotional literacy pressure group Antidote advised the government on how to introduce emotional literacy in secondary schools. Speaking on Woman’s Hour on BBC Radio Four in December 2006, Brett Kahr, a psychotherapist, articulated why this is necessary:
time to talk, time to feel good about yourself, to create citizens of the future; the ability to talk is the most important skill we can give these children. The skills spread into the playground, onto the street and into the estate. Not bottling up emotions, lay it all out at school and go back home and make it up, say sorry. People don’t talk about it at home – mum is rushing around worrying about everything, whereas at school there’s a specific time to feel comfortable and say what we want. If we put angry, depressed and sad feelings into words, we won’t act them out. It is a joint responsibility between teachers and parents; the painful reality is that many parents are not in the best state of mind – mentally ill, abusers, in marriage break-ups, whereas teachers can nurture.
