Last weekend our educators spent half a day with Angela White from Habits of Heart on personal development – gaining an understanding of the Habits of Heart.

The Habits of Heart are a set of 16 emotional dispositions, which when explicitly taught allow for the growth of social and emotional intelligence. These heart form emotional dispositions, when applied, institutionalize values important for a happy and healthy person.

In today’s ever increasing digital age, these soft skills will become an ever important in our skill set for any child, parent or educator. As our workforce’s grow, change, globalize and evolve, emotional intelligence is what will enable intelligent ‘emotional’ decisions to be made.

The 16 Habits of Heart include: Acceptance, Compassion, Courage, Forgiveness, Generosity, Gratitude, Humility, Intuition, Love, Openness, Patience, Presence, Stillness, Trust, Truthfulness, Vulnerability.

A willingness to learn can be taught through the Habits of Heart, encouraging our children to be open to new ideas and participate in different activities.