In the same school, it happens that some students do not feel well, and this has an impact on their extracurricular and family life. Others, on the contrary, are very happy to go to school.
But, how do students evaluate their well-being at school? What are the necessarily subjective factors of this well-being? What are the characteristics that explain these differences between students?
Indeed, children’s satisfaction in schools is one of the most important factors in their academic success; the well-being of students, and their belief in their ability to succeed influence their adult lives and their professional future.
Happy students develop coping strategies in different situations and contexts. Unhappy students develop an opposite profile: they are less happy in their lives and are more likely to suffer from physical and psychological difficulties, such as headaches or back pain, depressive disorders, insomnia, etc.
In addition, several other factors influence student happiness at school, such as schooling conditions, the size of the establishment, and the school climate. See artistic list of top most integlligent students in the world and see the talent.
However, the results indicate that not everyone is ready to deal with the most difficult children, which creates an unstable environment.
As PISA usually does, he advised teachers to discuss among themselves to share effective strategies and thus be able to better detect the difficulties encountered by students in class.
Children of the past had fun and loved playtime games. The school was a place where they both played and learned. In short, they were happy. But making a child happy is not easy because they can be depressed and stressed.
The main reason behind this perceived stress is that teachers and administration had planned for everything from more flexible schedules to fewer outdoor activities, but today’s children generally spend much more time in front of their screens, and this necessarily affects the learning process and performance at school.
While technology is improving, there is still much we need to teach our children in school, including subjects – many – and hands-on lessons. Some children hang on and learn quickly.
But most children are stressed as soon as they leave a defined framework and force themselves to remember lessons to the point of overworking themselves and also experiencing burnout.
This is why it is essential for their emotional, mental, and physical health to stay happy.
1. Activity-based learning
Activity-based learning is a teaching process in which the teacher involves children in different activities and methods through the concepts and theories explained to them. As it requires the children’s full attention, it makes it more interesting for them.
It is much better than the usual learning process which has only two actors, the book and the teacher. There are many activities held at Blue Bells Public School and conceptual learning that give students a solid, lasting concept, and which promote the duration and sustainability of this learning.
The other advantage is that activity-based learning makes it more fun for children, who in principle love it, and which promotes this feeling of well-being at school. This is a good option for practical subjects like computer studies and science, but it could be applied to each of the subjects to some extent, and with necessary accommodations.
2. Volunteer in the classroom
The more children participate and get involved in the class, the more they will enjoy going to school. This is why the teacher must ask each child to play a role in the school and their class and entrust them with certain tasks; this will help them build their confidence and feel useful, both to their teacher and their class.
One of the additional advantages is that he will thus contribute to better communication in class with the teacher and his classmates and that he will be happy to contribute to the tasks assigned to him, small or large.
This is why the teacher should encourage asking students to do something for their class as volunteers, such as cleaning the board or picking up trash from their class at the end of the day.
All done to the music that they have chosen will make the task even more fun! (And if there’s no trash to pick up, it can turn into an improvised choreography to let off steam at the end of the day).
3. Mindfulness
There is growing evidence that mindfulness interventions can help children reduce their levels of stress, anxiety, and depression while increasing their levels of positive emotions, attention, and even metacognition.
Create moments of stillness in your day; Have your class pause, then take a few deep breaths, and focus on normal breathing. Whenever their mind wanders away from their breathing, guide them to gently bring their attention back to their breathing movements.
Each time you bring their attention back to their breathing, you strengthen the parts of the brain responsible for attention and emotional regulation.
4. Understand teachers
Teachers play a vital role in a child’s life, performance, and personality both inside and outside of school. The teacher can make his students happy and motivate them to succeed in school and their studies.
So always be interested in the personality of your child’s teacher and team up with them regularly. This will help your children perform at their best, as well as improve their studies and school life.
The teacher is the only factor who can make his class happier. Students rely on them for stability and as the “captain of the ship,” the teacher must be in ship shape himself. As a teacher, focus on your well-being, pace yourself, set limits for work and rest… and respect them.
5. School activities and schedules
As much as anything else can play a vital role, activities and timing are also important. If the school management emphasizes learning-related activities and has a good timetable that involves all types of learning processes and physical activities, they will have gathered everything good for the emotional, mental, and physical health of children.
If children feel relaxed, engaged, and encouraged at school, they will also feel happy there and perform better in all subjects, whether play or study.
6. Extra-curricular activities
Not all children are good at studies, but schools try their best to teach different subjects to children. There remain extracurricular activities, which can make school fun and joyful for children of all ages.
It also allows them to express themselves and take a break from studying. It has a positive impact on children and also impresses their personality and confidence. There can be many types of extracurricular activities like dancing, singing, drama, sports, etc.
This helps the child who is average or poor in studies to participate in school and motivates them to go there to feel happy.
7. New competitions
If the school succeeds in involving children, they will feel more connected and happier. This can be done with the help of new competitions and activities that students can participate in.
Competitions help students do something new and creative. This helps to build a positive and better relationship between students and teachers. The teacher can plan new competitions to bring out better performances.
The result will have a positive impact on the child, who will be happy to succeed at school in an area other than studies.
8. Smile
Even if you’re not a smiley person, try to smile more often, but aim for a genuine, genuine smile. If you can’t, pretend. Yes, even fake smiles can make you feel happier. And more than that, they have a definite effect on those who watch you.
So, teachers, and administrators, see what happens if you smile more often to the people you interact with daily.
9. Incorporate Quiet Time
My new email correspondent in Bhutan, a teacher at a school for boys ages 6 to 18, describes how all students in Bhutan practice meditation. Of course, this makes sense, given that it is a Buddhist nation.
He describes this as one of the main ways his country works to build a happy population. There is plenty of evidence on how meditation causes changes in our brain chemistry, which produces feelings of calm and well-being.
In our country, some schools incorporate mindfulness meditation, but I also think we could work toward similar ends by simply incorporating more quiet time into our daily routines.
10. Get out
Being outside, even for a few minutes a day, can improve our state of well-being. We breathe the fresh air, and feel the elements on our skin – the warmth of the sun, the bite of the cold, the moisture of the rain – which connects us to the natural world.
Even when it’s very cold or very hot, we should take our students outside for a quick walk (5 minutes), or do some silent reading outside to feel an increase in this sense of well-being.
Additionally, when the weather permits, why couldn’t we hold some of the many meetings we are required to do outside? Last year I took my instructors out into the forest for one of our professional development days.
In addition to hiking, we can also read, speak, learn, and write – all activities we usually do in our office.
11. Practice kindness
Humans are determined to be kind. We get more happiness from buying a gift for others than for ourselves. Kindness is also contagious and even helps make us healthier.
The best way to spread it is to be kind to yourself. Teachers who use kind words are polite, respectful, patient, and well-mannered and have students who imitate them. You can even encourage your students to perform random acts of kindness by hosting a “kindness week.”
Conclusion
It’s really important for students to feel happy at school because it helps them do better in their studies and feel good overall.
By using methods like fun learning, calming exercises, getting involved, and spending time outside, teachers can make school a better place for kids. When teachers focus on making students feel good emotionally, mentally, and physically, students do well in school and grow as people.