What is ‘Happiness quotient?’
What if instead of rewarding a child for good marks, we reward them for displaying empathy or a helpful nature? Similarly, if instead of punishing a child for poor performance, we replace it with condemning an act of bullying? Students would fare better even academically if they have reason to believe that they are in a welcoming and safe environment where their holistic growth is given most pertinence.
Happiness quotient in children is a noble idea, but seldom clear. For school-going children, we often associate happiness with performance in a stereotypically merit-based system; and while that is something inextricably linked to the overall wellbeing of a ward, it should never pose as the top priority to judge happiness.
The first step towards this is to actually delink marks and performance metrics from happiness. This is the hardest because children are under tremendous pressure to showcase any amount of validation only via their performance. However, if we take away that and replace it with other qualities a child may possess, chances are that the students will feel more at ease and comforted. For instance, if instead of rewarding a child for good marks, we reward them for displaying empathy or a helpful nature – similarly if instead of punishing a child for poor performance, we replace it with condemning an act of bullying. Students, in any way would fare better even academically if they have reason to believe that they are in a welcoming and safe environment where their holistic growth is given most pertinence. It is however easier said than done, as there are multiple instances that contribute to children feeling unsafe.
There are children with special needs who can’t articulate how they feel, there are children with curious minds who have questions that we may consider unnecessary, there are children who are just trying to find out what it is that they are good at. Supplemented by a career counsellor in school, it is important for teachers to ensure that the children also have someone to talk to who is there to just listen. So many children battle through within their ownselves because they have many things to ask and tell, but no one to listen.
The second fold of trying to ensure happiness quotient is potent in students is by asking them to enunciate and explain the meanings of words such as bullying, sexually inappropriate behaviour, anxiety, depression; these words will indicate how they view their own self-worth. Many children don’t report bullying because they don’t want to make the system difficult and that is tragic.
The schools are entrusted with reliability as a safe haven for students that constitute a variety of personalities, we must ensure that in order to have them thrive to their best, we respect their individualities and not try to mould them as per a cookie-cutter norm.
Schools are entrusted with reliability as a safe haven for students that constitute a variety of personalities, we must ensure that in order to have them thrive to their best, we respect their individualities and not try to mould them as per a cookie-cutter norm.
Amita Chaturvedi an educationist with experience over 3 decades at various positions in Public Schools and Education Companies. At present, she is Regional School Director with a Leading Education company ZeelearnLtd.Her prolific work in improving academics and Teacher-child relationship has brought excellence to many institutions.She is an avid reader and enjoys travelling.