Cultivating Positive Environments: Nurturing Growth in Students

Dr. Gretta Sequeira

Positivity is the practice or tendency to be optimistic in life.

When we are positive, we engage in positive thinking, we have positive emotions, and positive behavior like kindness, generosity, affection, love, care, etc. (eg) Rehan sharing tiffin with his classmate.

Developing a positive mindset toward the students or learners benefits 3 aspects of their lives: academic performance, relationships, and mental well-being.

This subsequently results in better thinking, greater resilience, and a general lifestyle.

How can one develop a positive attitude:

Your mind is a powerhouse. If you keep s positive state of mind, your attitude will greatly improve.

There are many ways to develop your positive attitude:

• Listen to your internal dialogue (eg) when faced with negative thoughts, turn them into positive thoughts.
• Engage and surround yourself with people who treat you and positively lift you.
• Help others, gives a sense of fulfillment and a good feel from inside. (eg) join an NGO, care center, etc.
• Allow yourself to laugh.. it will enhance your mood
• Meditate, remembering all good things and events that make you feel happy.

How schools can impart positivity to students:

Respect: respect the students as they are and what they are no matter what. Respect them for their abilities and talents. Engage them in what they are good at rather than forcing them to do what they hate or dislike. (eg) annual day, sports day, competitions, etc.

Appreciation Day: celebrate appreciation Day regularly. Students and adults both like it when they are appreciated. It boosts their morale. It encourages them to do something more and better. (eg) ask peers and teachers, parents, and principals to appreciate the students.

Affirmation: positive remark in the school diary. Instead, only has a Remark column. (eg) affirm the students for their good work or behavior. The feeling is awesome.

Open-house day: Always begin with a positive note and appreciate the student for scoring well in the subjects but require attention in the subjects that have poor scores. Give assurance and hope that the school and teachers will render extra attention to the student. Ask parents to cooperate and give quality time to their children. This will make the student realize that the open house is not only for the assessment disclosure but a positive interaction with the parent too.

Organizing Honors Day: in school, we can organize an honors day to honor all the students for their achievements, both scholastic and co-scholastic performances or activities. Students feel happy when they are called on stage to receive their awards as it is the recognition that they receive for their efforts throughout the academic year.

Bagless day: plan a bagless day for students more frequently. Once a month. That’s not too much to plan for. Completion of the syllabus will happen if correctly planned. So also, the bagless days can be well planned with innovative, creative, and fun-filled activities. (eg) magic show, film watching, hobby day, garden or park outing, visit the nearby orphanage or old age homes.. give your service there., in-house mini sports activities, treasure hunt, etc. exploring new challenges skill development.

Peer learning: Mentorship. especially with new admission students and weak students. (beginning of the year put them in groups with 1 mentor)

Guest Speaker: invite guest speakers to interact with students. Counselors, psychologists, career counselors, teacher-student talk. Etc ( eg) we have this. BINDAS BOL. Once a month. Both for girls/boys. Talk about anything freely without any inhibitions. You won’t be judged.

Value Education/Well-Being Period: allocate a class for value education and talk about the well-being of students. Interact with them, and find time to have one-on-one confidential talks. Plan activities. Make the class more interactive. So their stress and thoughts are touched upon.

Provide Opportunities/ Involvement: The school should treat the students as their consumers, as they are the ambassadors of our school for the present and future. Allow the students to make wise decisions and be responsible for them. Give them leadership roles. Let them fail or be unsuccessful, they will learn from this experience to be perfect and have 21st-century skills. Every individual has the right to explore, experience, and excel. When they fail or have not done work to perfection don’t demean them or humiliate them. They are not machines they are just little children trying to fit into our world. (eg) uniform selection.

How does the positive attitude benefit the students:

• It helps in achieving the goals/ good health
• Success is faster
• More happiness/energy
• Greater inner power/ strength
• Ability to inspire/motivate others and ourselves
• Ability to overcome any difficulties/ challenges
• Calms you down/ inner peace and satisfaction
• Look at the bright side/ stay optimistic

Takeaway: Positive thinking is more than just a Tagline. So always be optimistic and lead a positive life.

Dr. Gretta Sequeira