Intelligence…

We all critique our children based on this rigid word! Often intelligence is limited to IQ.

But is it really that rigid? Is it right to assess our children just on the basis of their IQ? Paint them in the shades of black or white?

No.

The concept of intelligence is diverse and multi-faceted.

Intelligence is like a rainbow, and every child is God’s unique fusion of colours.

Even the famous American psychologist Howard Gardener, the mastermind behind the Theory of Multiple Intelligences has stated that intelligence is not a single entity but a combination of distinct intellectual abilities.

So intelligence isn’t just about acing maths or memorizing poems. It’s a colourful mix of talents. One might be a music prodigy, a sports champ, a people person, or a nature lover.

At Atmiya Vidya Mandir, we strive to foster the various facets of intelligence in every child, and help them recognize their unique strengths and talents. That’s why we launched our intelligence-based competitions 12 years ago, to turn those talents into a celebration.

On September 13, 2025, the Emotional Intelligence Competition was organized. Students from Grades 1 to 10 participated enthusiastically in a variety of activities.

For Grades 1 to 3, In Round 1, students were asked to identify the emotions they would feel in various circumstances. In Round 2, they were presented with everyday scenarios where conflicts could arise. Students were encouraged to find positive ways of handling such situations.

For Grades 4 to 6, the competition had three rounds. In Round 1, the students had to match the emotions to the statements a person might say. In Round 2, they had to identify the emotion of a person in a given scenario and say how GuruHari’s Bhoolkus would respond in the given situation. In Round 3, students had to identify the feelings expressed by the displayed emoji, act out short scenes and guess the emotion which is expressed.

For Grades 7 and 8, the competition had four rounds. In Round 1, titled “Emotion Charades,” one student had to act out an emotion without speaking, and their teammates had thirty second to guess what it was. Round 2 was the “Empathy Challenge” where the host read a short scenario, and team members had four minutes to discuss how the person might feel and how they would show empathy. In Round 3, teams received a conflict scenario to practice emotional problem solving. Finally, round 4 was an emotional quiz featuring multiple choice questions for the audience.

For Grades 9 and 10, the competition included two rounds. In Round 1, titled “React or Respond” it featured questions about everyday challenges at school and asked students to find solutions. In Round 2, “Emotional and Situational Awareness,” students were given real-life scenarios from school for which they had to find positive ways to handle them and act them out as a team. Kids understood how to handle difficult situations and became aware of how to handle them gracefully. After the competition all the students gave a quiz on how to handle their day-to-day scenarios with emotional intelligence and to our surprise almost all of the students figured how the right ways to handle these situations in an emotionally intelligent manner.

These contemplative and fun-filled activities made the students more self-aware and they understood that there are multiple positive ways to solve a problem. It also helped them realize that conflicts can be resolved peacefully through cooperation, creativity, and understanding.

Through these initiatives, we aim to curate the holistic development of our children helping them grow not just academically, but in body, mind, and soul. This well-rounded approach builds a strong foundation for their future.