Happiness isn’t often a big topic of conversation in classrooms. Amidst the rush to meet standards, raise test scores, and provide engaging learning experiences, not to mention the daily chaos of students’ lives, many educators don’t have much time to bring up issues around students’ happiness.
But what if students could explore an important life lesson about how to identify and replicate happiness as they’re doing school work? What elements contribute to a happy and healthy society?
A high school in urban Cleveland has taken a unique approach to the so- called "Happiness Project". Led by an ambitious teacher at a low-income school, Melissa decided to test out discussions of happiness with her group of students during advisory time, which meets for 45 minutes each day.
“They all responded that seeing their friends at school made them happy, but school itself was not making them happy,” she said. “It inspired me to integrate some of that happiness and how to be happy and how to take control over your happiness into school.”
Melissa’s students were constantly asking her why she was smiling, asking her about what she does outside of school. She also felt inspired by teenager Logan's "Talk" in which he describes schools as places that teach kids how to make a living, not how to live life. “Part of what he defined as success was health and happiness,” Melissa said. She wasn’t sure her students knew how to be happy. “It was something I thought might give students a sense of empowerment over their lives,” she said.
One of the hardest, but most rewarding tasks Melissa has been working on this year is helping students to have a growth mindset about their learning. Growth mindset is a term coined by the Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck, who found students who believe they can improve skills through hard work fair better. Some of Melissa’s students had never been told they were smart before. “That was really eye opening for them because they had been told prior that they were in this position and this is where they were going to stay,” she said.
But what if students could explore an important life lesson about how to identify and replicate happiness as they’re doing school work? What elements contribute to a happy and healthy society?
A high school in urban Cleveland has taken a unique approach to the so- called "Happiness Project". Led by an ambitious teacher at a low-income school, Melissa decided to test out discussions of happiness with her group of students during advisory time, which meets for 45 minutes each day.
“They all responded that seeing their friends at school made them happy, but school itself was not making them happy,” she said. “It inspired me to integrate some of that happiness and how to be happy and how to take control over your happiness into school.”
Melissa’s students were constantly asking her why she was smiling, asking her about what she does outside of school. She also felt inspired by teenager Logan's "Talk" in which he describes schools as places that teach kids how to make a living, not how to live life. “Part of what he defined as success was health and happiness,” Melissa said. She wasn’t sure her students knew how to be happy. “It was something I thought might give students a sense of empowerment over their lives,” she said.
One of the hardest, but most rewarding tasks Melissa has been working on this year is helping students to have a growth mindset about their learning. Growth mindset is a term coined by the Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck, who found students who believe they can improve skills through hard work fair better. Some of Melissa’s students had never been told they were smart before. “That was really eye opening for them because they had been told prior that they were in this position and this is where they were going to stay,” she said.
She’s now trying to relate the idea of happiness to that of growth mindset, encouraging students to think about steps they can take to make themselves happier. She’s pushing them to set happiness goals and to imagine happiness as another mindset they can work towards. It’s a slow process, but Melissa is glad it’s a topic that can take some pressure off the many tests 10th graders in Ohio have to take.
Mind/Shift Teaching Strategies
Mind/Shift Teaching Strategies
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