It is the wish of every parent that their child
grows up happy and loving life, but is the significance of student happiness
ever considered in the classroom? A child’s feeling of happiness has
ramifications extending far beyond the walls of a house, as social and academic
successes are very closely intertwined with their emotional state of being.
In the fast-paced and technology-driven
world we live in, oftentimes emotions are not openly shared or discussed. It’s
easy to hide behind busy schedules and electronic devices and never even take
the time to ask how your children are feeling. Did you feel happy today? Did
anything upset you? What would make tomorrow a better day for you?
Those are all questions which should be
asked on a regular basis, and the happiness of your children and students
should be constantly monitored. Here’s why.
School
Is Stressful
Obviously, all students are extremely
unique in their emotional responses to school and homework. Some kids
thrive and enjoy school, and other kids truly struggle with the stresses that
come along with the academic and social pressures. Even more so these days with
a broadening sense of standardization in teaching and testing, students are feeling
the anxiety of academic achievement and the increasing workload that
accompanies it. It is imperative that you keep the lines of communication open
with both your children and their teachers.
Knowing not only their achievements on
paper but, more importantly, how they are feeling and how they are acting are
critical in monitoring their success at school. Burnout is a very
real threat to a student’s academic achievement. Even if they are doing well
with their grades, if they are not happy and are stressed, these emotions can
very quickly snowball into feelings of being overwhelmed and wanting to give
up.
Happiness
Impacts Performance
Think about your own job. When you are
having a bad day, how is your job performance? Does that speeding ticket you
got on the way into work play into how you act in your morning meeting? If you
got up early without much sleep, are you able to easily turn in that big
project? The same goes for teens.
If they are stressed, if they haven’t slept
well, if they are just overall not happy about life right now—all of that will
play into how well they do on their test, how they interact with their friends,
and how much they can really hear and learn that day. Student happiness
directly correlates to student academic performance.
Emotions
Drive Cognitive Functions
When students are happy, they are better
able to problem solve, they are more open to critical thought and reasoning,
their focus is more in tune, their ability to retain and recall information is
heightened. A happy child is much more likely to be motivated at school, to
collaborate and build friendships with classmates, and to
troubleshoot and solve both social and academic dilemmas. Biologically,
happiness and other emotions play a critical role in cognitive
functionality and processing.
Clearly, the answer to the question of how
important student happiness is to success is a resounding and obvious
“extremely.” Even if your students are not happy in the classroom, they may
find joy in activities outside of school. Work on any home influences which may
be clouding their happiness; and if there are some deeper emotional issues
threatening your child’s happiness, be sure to reach out for help. If their
current school is causing them to be unhappy, it may be time for a change.
Many students feel stifled or unhappy in traditional classrooms, The Assisted Learning centre is the ideal alternative..
Let us not lose sight of those things in
life that truly matter, like the happiness of our children, and work in
collaboration to help students achieve their dreams both in school and in life.
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