I.Q. vs E.Q.

The little boy was racing around the store, howling.  He was jumping on the furniture and acting as if he were released from a dungeon and had never seen anything before.   A woman, her own child standing quietly beside her, said, (and not all that sotto voce) "Parent's of Retarded Children should look after them better."

The little boy had just come from the car, where, examining a snack, had told his mother; "This product has Zero Vitamins."   He was not retarded, in fact,  he had an extraordinarily high I.Q. and was almost at genius level.

However, his Emotional Intelligence was that of a two year old, so the woman's assessment was not that far off the mark, for when it comes to E.Q. that boy is retarded.

For too long we have focused on Intelligence Quotient.  As if it is important to be able to answer the questions found on any Intelligence test.  The boy may be able to give the answers to those nebulous problems, but he doesn't know how to behave in public, nor that his behaviour is so reproachable that he seems to be retarded.

The boy standing beside his mother may have an average or below average I.Q., however, he knows how to behave.  He knows there are other people around him, is aware they will judge him, and chooses not to open himself to their opprobrium (or his mother's slap).  

Unless the parents of the 'gifted' child put him under heavy manners, he will grow up without the slightest awareness of acceptable and unacceptable behaviour.

Children with high Emotional Intelligence will know when Mommy is tired, or angry, or happy, and set their responses based on the emotions and attitudes of others.  He will know how to speak with people so that he will get better service, and be far more successful in life than he with the high Intelligence sans Emotional understanding.

Truely gifted people score high in both fields and are successful.