The higher the well-being of our children, the greater is their learning. This is another good reason to use positive education in schools.I have two questions for you: in one word, what is the top priority for your children?
If you are not different from the thousands of people interviewed in a scientific study by the University of Pennsylvania, with samples from a variety of racial and ethnic backgrounds, community settings and countries, your reply would one of the following: happiness, contentment, love, confidence, meaning, fulfillment, satisfaction, health or kindness.
The second question is: in one word: what is the school teaching your children?
If you are not very different from the average parent in this research, your reply would be: literacy, maths, work, discipline, conformity, thinking skills or test-taking.
As you can see, there is no overlap in the two lists.
So why are they so different? Why aren’t schools teaching our children to become what we would most love them to be?
Basically it is because the system we have in place is intended to create workers. It is not concerned about whether children are happy but instead seeks to ensure that they are effective, cheap, standard and obedient.
If you have any doubt about it, think about how your own life is today.
Is the life you have what you want for your children?
Did you ever say, after learning some big lesson in life: “Oh, if somebody had taught me this skill or insight at school, I would not have had to suffer all this to learn it”?
This leads me to positive education. So what is it all about?
Positive education is one of the disciplines of positive psychology, one of the branches of psychology developed in the past few years by cutting-edge researchers in psychology, led by Martin Seligman.
Seligman a former president of the American Society of Psychology, is professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania and has devoted the last 40 years of his life to leading-edge scientific research in psychology. He is, for example, one of the developers (in the 1970s) of congnitive-behavioural therapy that is used worldwide today as one of the more effective psychological therapies to treat depression.
Positive education holds that although literacy, discipline and achievement should be maintained as one of the main focuses in education, it is important to foster in school other skills that are critical for the well-being of children and future adults, and that facilitate success in life.
These skills include, for example:
• Positive emotions (how to increase your satisfaction with life);
• Engagement (passion for what you do);
• Self-esteem (feeling very positive about yourself);
• Optimism (thinking that the best future is ahead you);
• Resilience (when things go wrong, the recovery time is short);
• Positive relationships (learning to be surrounded by people who really care about you).
Not being unhappy is not the same as being happy
Why should positive education be applied in our schools?
The shockingly high rates of depression in children (which was inexistent a few years ago) that continue to increase exponentially in the first world (now considered the epidemic of the 21st century) are a good reason to give children the tools that prevent them from falling in this vicious cycle.
The good news is that we don’t need to keep manufacturing obedient, cheap, unhappy workers, and by doing so can save a significant portion of the costs required for the multi-billion-euro industry of antidepressant drugs.
Instead, we can help children discover their greatest expression as human beings, to master the tools to cope with the negative situations life exposes them to and to develop resilience to recover quickly so they do not fall into the depression cycle.
Another good reason to use positive education in schools is to increase the level of happiness in our society. Contrary to what many might think, not being unhappy is not the same as being happy.
Research demonstrates that while the material wealth in the First World has dramatically increased in the last 50 years, the average happiness level has not increased at all. Indeed, happiness has actually decreased in many developed countries.
For example, in the US, Japan and Australia, people are not more happy than 50 years ago. And in Britain, Germany and Russia, people are more unhappy.
The only measure governments use to calculate their respective country’s progress is material progress (gross domestic product). But GDP also grows when there is a divorce and when there is a suicide, since these situations ultimately led to more sales.
An alternative way of measuring the progress of countries is by evaluating the wellbeing of their people.
Another good reason to use positive education is that the higher the well-being of our children is, the greater their learning is. I am sure many parents in Malta would be interested in a school with this type of educational model.
‘Three Good Things’ exercise
Here is a practical exercise readers can use in schools or at home called the Three Good Things exercise. It is applicable to both children and adults.
Every night, before going to bed, write down three good things that went well for you today.
They may be small things like “I had fun running with my friend”, or really big like “I made a cake with daddy”.
For each of the three things, write: why it happened; what does it mean to me; and how can I have more of this good thing in my life from now on.
Research demonstrates that if you do this for a few weeks, you will be less depressed and more happy.
It is an engaging exercise. After you do it for a while, you will want to do it every day for the rest of your life.
Julián Sáez is founder of the Positive Education Foundation in Malta and co-founder of the School of Positivity Project. For details e-mail contact@schoolof positivity.com, call 7986 5771, or visit www.schoolofpositivity.com or Facebook: School of Positivity.Waldorf Malta.