This is one question that keeps running my mind throughout my tenure in education industry.
Why do we need to go to school?
- Answer is to learn and for a better career.
Why do we need a better career
- Answer is to earn a better living.
If you further ask WHY questions for everything, answer will eventually come to
- HAPPINESS. Is the objective of schooling – Learning or Happiness?
Research demonstrates that happy people are successful across multiple life domains, including marriage, relationships, health, longevity, income, and academic and work performance. They are better able to multitask and endure boring tasks, and are more creative, trusting, helpful and sociable.
The objective of anything that we do in school should be HAPPINESS. If children are happy, they learn better and faster. If children are not happy, however good is the curriculum or infrastructure or teachers are, children will find it difficult to learn.
According to Professor Timothy Sharp, in his Education Review article, Promoting Positivity in The Classroom, modern educators have classically confused the order of well-being and achievement — thinking accomplished students will feel a sense of well-being when in fact, students who have well-being accomplish more. ―Teachers often assume that their students will be happy, engaged, and well-behaved in school after they’ve achieved some of their academic goals.
There is increasing evidence from psychology and neuroscience to suggest that periods of happiness are linked to personal growth, health and development. When we are happy it seems we are more likely to be receptive to outside stimuli than when we are sad or distressed. Happiness also makes us more disposed to engage in creative endeavour, which is itself another source of fulfilment. Positive psychologists argue that rather than being fixed, happiness, optimism and other positive traits can be learnt.
However, if you check the World Happiness Report 2017, India stands at a rank of 122 out of 155 countries. This number definitely needs our attention because of the fastest growing economies in the world is slowly turning out to be a sad place to live in.
The role of the emotions in learning has long been acknowledged but is often overlooked. In the process of completing portion and teaching children, we often overlook the objective of schooling i.e HAPPINESS.
Let us understand how we can get our focus back on the objective of schooling –
Happiness among teachers
- Teachers are like parents for children during their school time. Like parenting expert suggests that parents need to be happy first to upbring a happy child, similarly teachers need to be happy to spread happiness among her class children. They are the medium through which they nurture happiness in children. It is important that school leaders make sure teachers are happy by making them feel cared.
Physical Environment
- After teachers, physical environment of school plays a major role in nurturing happiness in children. A school should offer warm, comfortable and secure setting to nurture happiness. Also schools should be more colourful with open spaces, green lawns and well-lit classrooms which are conducive to learning as well.
Curriculum
- Curriculum is the center of every school and it is also a weapon to change the culture & future of children. We need to focus a curriculum where its not only about IQ but also EQ is given equal importance. A carefully designed curriculum which offers enrichment opportunities, self-learning, peer-learning and group learning for students will definitely nurture happiness in children. A curriculum needs to be designed keeping the objective of schooling in mind. 4. Incorporate Quiet Time – Incorporating Quiet time through meditation is a primary way in which Bhutan works to build a happy populace. There’s an abundance of evidence about how meditation causes changes in our brain chemistry that produces feelings of calm and wellbeing. In our country, some schools are incorporating mindfulness meditation, but I also think we could work towards similar ends by simply incorporating more quiet time into our daily routines.
Respect & Smile
- Schools need to create a culture of respect and smiles. We expect children to smile and wish us good morning in the morning but do we do that with our team mates or helping staff. Even if you’re not a smiley person, try smiling more often — aim for authentic, genuine smiles. Smiles can move you along towards a more content state of being. And more than that, they can have an affect on those looking at you. So teachers, administrators, just see what happens if you smile more often at the people you interact with on a daily basis 6. Play Music – Music in a fast tempo and in a major key can make us feel happy and it has a measurable positive impact on our bodies — it can even boost our immune system, decrease blood pressure, and lower anxiety. Playing music as your students enter the classroom or school can be welcoming and can create a positive atmosphere. Those of us who facilitate learning for adults can also do this. Imagine coming into an early morning staff meeting to the music. You probably feel happier just thinking about this. 7. Accept Failure – The other thing that children should be taught is to accept failure. They need to be told that it’s okay to fail. The ability to fall down and stand up again isn’t something that students in India are being taught.
Nelson Mandela said,
- Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.‖ Given their importance for the future mental health of our nations, happiness and well-being skills deserve to be taken seriously—and educators can lead the charge, one classroom at a time.
About the author : Greshma Momaya – Principal of Prarthana.in World School
Greshma believes that
- For any child, life remains a sea full of rich experiences just waiting to be explored.‖ As an educator, she would like to become that sea for them. She feels that if a child can’t learn the way we teach, maybe we should teach the way they learn.
- Her education and career have been dedicated to developing young minds. A Bachelor Degree in Human Development followed by a post graduate Diploma in School Counselling from the University of Mumbai, and a Certification in Early Year Foundation Stage from UK empower her to create an eclectic curriculum for nurturing young minds.
- She started her career as a Kindergarten teacher and taught at the primary level for 7 years, then, as Preschool Coordinator & Operations Head, and now as Head of Tots. She has been involved in designing of learning environments, scripting curriculum and training teachers in preschool. From 2007, she is set on a journey for creating stimulating Early Learning Environments.
- She enjoys creating vibrant learning environments that are happy and warm. In her words, ―I strive to ensure that the curriculum is both enriching and stimulating for young children. I believe a preschool should be a wonderful safe heaven for children – a home away from home where learning is effortless and organic‖