No Classroom is an Island

Ask any parent what they wish most for their child and the answer will likely be ‘for them to be happy’. From the minute we become parents, our happiness is forever linked to the well-being of our child in a way they will never quite understand unless they too become a parent one day. However, that seemingly simple first wish for them becomes more elusive, more complicated with each passing year (and each eye roll!). What is happiness? How do they get it? How can they keep it?

The truth is, they have to grow it. And in a world where increasing numbers of adults have ‘lost their happy’ and so look for it in external things – their achievements, their status, their possessions, their appearance – how can we help our young ones to spot the little seeds of their happiness and nurture them until they bloom?

What is Happiness?

Well, the first step is to realise that what we think of as ‘happiness’ actually isn’t the same as long term ‘happy’. When we think of happiness, w...