Original post by ariana debreuil on March 25, 2019
Hi Everyone!
So in my search for happiness, I have decided to create something that makes me happy- a podcast!
For my A3, I chose to look at how mobility could afford a happiness subject area/core competency within the BC curriculum. This is an idea I have thought about in passing over the past decade, but I decided to see if it was actually realistic. There are some problems I address, ideas I come up with, and researchers who inspired and informed me to create this content. I believe a ‘happiness subject’ could have a significant impact on students (and teachers!) in both the short and long term.
The podcast is hosted on SoundCloud (available on browser or through the app).
Would love to hear your feedback and thoughts!Average: 4.2/5 Stars
I was initially drawn to this post due to its focus on happiness. I feel very strongly that classrooms should be a place of joy; learning in a positive environment fosters positive emotions around self, others, and learning. Ariana discussed some technology tools that can be used (meditation apps) to help in creating a positive environment and emotional awareness. I like the idea of happiness being a focal point within a classroom, however, I don’t necessarily agree with it being a core competency. Also, as mentioned in the replies, there are current areas in the core competencies that could be used to foster learning about happiness. In addition to the core competencies, positive mental-well being (which happiness falls under) is also part of the Physical Health Education curriculum.
Even though I don’t agree that happiness should be a core competency, I decided to repost this more so because of the questions and debates it prompts. For example, how are we fostering happiness in classrooms or bringing awareness to emotional well-being? How are we helping students in their self-awareness around emotions? How are we fostering conversations around emotions? All of those questions could also be asked within the context of online learning platforms, particularly given the situation that we have recently found ourselves in. How do we foster happiness in online classrooms? How are we helping students in their self-awareness around emotions and fostering conversations around emotions online?
For me, as a Gr. 6 teacher moving into online education, many of the conversations I have had with students around their emotional well-being has been through video-conferences. Video-conferences has allowed the ability to stay connected in a way that is difficult to do purely over text. However, if I had not built the relationships with my students prior to going to online education, our conversations around emotional well-being would have been very different. Another way we have tried to foster a space for emotions online is to use a one word focus to help guide our activities and lessons (ex. optimism). So, I’m curious, what strategies do you have for fostering happiness and emotional awareness in online classrooms?
Original reply by: carlo trentadue (Sept. 10)
The shift towards core competencies as the main mode of assessment is no doubt an important change in our educational world today. One of the first ideas that struck me while listening to this was – Are students today really unhappy to a point where we need to teach them how to be? I appreciate the ambition to further expand the current core competencies and incorporate Happiness as a new arena of assessment, but to me, there is too much overlap between the conditions of learning happiness and the Personal/ Cultural Identity competency within the BC framework. Ariana had outlined that having Happiness as a core competency would aim to empower “young people to develop the skills necessary to be agents of their own self-awareness, self-reflection and attitude on the world”. This is certainly a very important skill to endow the youth of today with, however, after looking at the definition of the Personal & Cultural Identity definition in the BC curriculum, I noticed a lot of overlap. For example, one of the main goals of P&C Identity is to have students construct “a positive personal and cultural identity, value their personal and cultural narratives, and understand how these shape their identity. They exhibit a sense of self-worth, self-awareness, and positive identity to become confident individuals who take satisfaction in who they are and what they can do. They contribute to their own well-being and to the well-being of their family, community, and society”. Despite the meshing of happiness and P&C Identity, this podcast has prompted me to think deeper about the current core competencies, whether we should think about expanding them, and the effectiveness of podcasts as a whole.
Original Reply by: Stéphanie M. (Sept. 11)
Ariana you bring up some great points in your podcast. While I do believe that there is a need to help children and adults learn how to be happier (perhaps some more than others), I, like Carlo believe that there is some overlap, just in different areas. Given the numerous Positive Mental Health programs available in BC and across Canada that focus on: Mental Wellness Plans, free emotional support, crisis management, how to deal with bullying, teaching suicide awareness etc….all with the end goal of regenerating todays youth in need into mentally health and productive individuals, I believe that happiness as a core competency is perhaps skipping over some areas of education that are at the top of the needs charts. Investing effort into teaching a child to be happy when there are underlying mental health concerns that have not yet been or are being addressed perhaps may be overlooking their needs. You are correct that there are many things in our daily lives that are within our control, however as we all know, there are often many others that are not, especially in children. It makes me wonder if happiness ratings can be used as an evaluation tool instead of incorporating happiness as a core competency, rather an assessment of positive mental health to help determine needs on an individual basis. Much like learning plans, it would be great to have each child’s happiness levels evaluated and to create an individual positive mental health plan for each of them, help identify their needs and specifically what makes them happy, then zone in on happiness awareness and the ability to identify and seek out what makes them happy. Starting to teach about happiness with a strong foundation of each child would in my opinion create a more well-rounded sense of self-awareness. You’ve done some critical thinking on this subject that is clear and your podcast brings to light some needs in our system that have not been met.