{"id":454,"date":"2017-01-16T18:19:14","date_gmt":"2017-01-16T18:19:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cohort21.com\/ckirsh\/?p=454"},"modified":"2019-08-19T23:34:10","modified_gmt":"2019-08-19T23:34:10","slug":"book-review-the-happiness-advantage-by-shawn-achor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cohort21.com\/teachingtomorrow\/2017\/01\/16\/book-review-the-happiness-advantage-by-shawn-achor\/","title":{"rendered":"Book Review: “The Happiness Advantage” by Shawn Achor"},"content":{"rendered":"

Considering happiness in school, to some, might be akin to considering the colour scheme in the building or what flavour of juice is served in the cafeteria: a nice idea, but completely superfluous to the point of education. Sure it might be nice to pick the perfect shade of eggplant purple for the walls, but it doesn\u2019t really <\/span>matter<\/span><\/i> on a fundamental level\u2013\u2013certainly not as much as say, assessment, learning goals, or test results. Happiness is just not rigorous enough to pay attention to. <\/span><\/p>\n

But we are starting to discover that supporting the emotional lives of students can actually make them smarter.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, is being \u201csmarter\u201d really and truly the goal of school?<\/p>\n

Did anyone go to teacher\u2019s college with the sole purpose of making children smart? Probably not.<\/p>\n

Most of us get called to this profession with a deep rooted desire to help young people flourish.<\/p>\n

Enter \u201cThe Happiness Advantage<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been curious about positive psychology<\/a> for a number of years now. I\u2019ve read a few books, followed a few folks on Twitter, and dappled a little here and there with some strategies in my homeroom class. \u201cThe Happiness Advantage\u201d is without a doubt the most enjoyable read on the subject I\u2019ve discovered to date. Achor\u2019s writing is imbued with a charming sense of humour that opened me up to receiving the ideas and considering how the seven principles of happiness could relate to my own practice. <\/span><\/p>\n

I think many parents who chose to send their students to an elite independent school, believe on some level that they are helping to give their child a competitive advantage. That by exposing their child to outstanding teachers, fantastic resources, and a classroom of high achieving learners, they will boost their child\u2019s chances of success. I think if we probe parents a little more about <\/span>why<\/span><\/i> being successful is so important, after enough cycles of toddler-esque \u201cbut why\u201d, we will eventually burrow down to the idea that being successful will allow their children to be happier. <\/span><\/p>\n

But what if we\u2019ve all gotten it backwards?<\/span><\/p>\n

For untold generations, we have been led to believe that happiness orbited around success. That if we work hard enough, we will be successful, and only if we are successful will we become happy. Success was thought to be the fixed point of the work universe, with happiness revolving around it. Now\u2026we are learning that the opposite is true. When we are happy\u2013\u2013when our mindset and mood are positive\u2013\u2013we are smarter, more motivated, and thus more successful. Happiness is the center, and success revolves around it. p. 37<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I want my students to be happy. Not because it is fun, not because smiling is my favourite<\/a>, and not because I don\u2019t want my students to work hard. I want my students to be happy during their middle school years because their lives depend on it\u2013\u2013emotionally <\/span>and<\/span><\/i> academically. <\/span><\/p>\n

As Achor explores in his very digestible read, happiness (pleasure + engagement + meaning) is what helps students work through difficult situations, it is what makes learning sticky, it is what helps them be connected to those around them, and what helps them innovate and see new opportunities. In short, it is what will make young people successful.<\/span><\/p>\n

Positive emotions flood our brains with dopamine and serotonin, chemicals that not only make us feel good, but dial up the learning centers of our brains to higher levels. They help us organize new information, keep that information in the brain longer, and retrieve it faster later on. And they enable us to make and sustain more neural connections, which allows us to think more quickly and creatively, become more skilled at complex analysis and problem solving, and see and invent new ways of doing things. p. 44<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

As I was reading this book, I scribbled enthusiastically in the margins different applications to my work in the classroom: both through the social-emotional component in homeroom and academically as an English \/ Social Studies teacher. Things like: <\/span><\/p>\n