Happy at school
There’s a great article in The Nation by Susan Engel called “Putting Kids’ Happiness on Our Educational Radar“. Here’s a little excerpt:
…research shows that if we were to emphasize happiness in school, we might ensure a happier adult population. While some people are temperamentally more optimistic than others, children can acquire new ways of thinking and spending their time that increase their general sense of wellbeing in the long run. …
How might our schools cultivate happiness? Psychologists agree that the route to happiness lies not in lollypops and television but instead thrives when children have a strong sense of connection to others, opportunities to create things (ideas, art, machines, for instance), some sense of choice in what they do and whom they do it with, and a feeling that what they spend their time on has some purpose and meaning.
Sounds like a good investment to me.
