Tag Archives: school

Happiness on the curriculum!

 

Children and young people can learn how to side-step negative and unhelpful thinking and experience positive emotions. They can be taught how to develop rational thinking and participatory skills.

Research shows that we can spread happiness in real terms by training ourselves to see the best in people and situations; by learning to deal positively with adversity and retaining a sense of balance whatever the circumstances.

Where is the best place to teach these skills?  School of course!! There is considerable potential for teaching children how to actively pursue happiness. Programmes designed to build resilience, increase optimism, promote adaptive coping skills and teach effective problem-solving skills can potentially half the rates of depression in the teenage years. But even more fundamental is their potential to encourage more satisfaction and fulfilment for those students who avail of them.

Children and young people can learn how to side-step negative and unhelpful thinking and experience positive emotions. They can be taught how to develop rational thinking and participatory skills.

I am working hard on my Happiness Project these days. I piloted it in St. Aidan’s Comprehensive School, Cootehill and Loreto Abbey, Dalkey in recent weeks. I am moulding it into a programme that will teach children what happiness is and how to increase their levels of happiness.

In a few days I will be linking up with someone who works in a third level institution to see how we can bring this forward to more schools. Hopefully there will be a ‘happy’ outcome to this venture!!