JOYFUL LEARNERS ARE THE WINNERS!!

Learning Leads To Happiness

Joyful Learning helps....

• .To provide students an opportunity to express themselves freely.
• To make students fit and energetic.
• To develop the spirit of healthy competition.
• To inculcate the values to respect others’ views and feelings.
• To Make students perfect in decision making.
• To develop a sense of ownership.
• To provide motivation for learning.
• Develop the spirit of leadership, diligence and punctuality .
• To draw best potentialities of the students.
• . To prepare students practically for future.
• Learning without burden.
• Not only content based learning.
• No class room instructions only.
• Demystify “How to Do”.
• Include no bag day in school system
• To replace.....3Rs( Reading, writing, Arithmetic) by Rs....( Rights, responsibilities, Recreation and Relationships also)
• All round development is possible only by creativity , joyful activities and child friendly environment.

Your mind may be the closest thing to the Holy Grail of longevity and happiness. Education has been widely documented by researchers as the single variable tied most directly to improved health and longevity. And when people are intensely engaged in doing and learning new things, their well-being and happiness can blossom.

This effect becomes even more valuable as we get older. Even in old age, it turns out, our brains have more plasticity to adapt and help us than was once thought. Old dogs, in short, can learn a lot of new tricks.

Students may be studying for classes they despise. They may have limited study skills as education tends to teach very conservative methods of studying like memorization, taking notes and reading over the same information again and again. Many students learn to enjoy or perhaps tolerate studying once they have alternatives to the methods named above.

Learning can be enjoyable when students are less aware that they are learning. Studying has to be fun or else it is just one more unpleasant part of life. I suggest interesting assignments, different mediums to assessment (say a mind map with illustrations and captions ) instead of the standard test and traditional thesis styled paper. Mix it up between the tried and true with an experimental approach. Have students take pictures with their phones and upload photos with take home assignments. Ask them to watch a video or listen to a podcast. There is so much out there.

I am not saying that students shouldn't read books, take notes and learn information. I just think educators have to get more creative if they want happier students in their classroom. A good education covers all the bases, not only the ones that have stood the test of time.

“I think most social scientists would put their money on education as the most important factor in ensuring longer lives,” says psychologist Laura Carstensen, director of the Stanford Center on Longevity. People with more education get better jobs that pay more money, are less physically demanding, and provide more enjoyment. They live in safer neighborhoods, practice healthier lifestyles, and have less stress.

In a paper published earlier this year by the National Bureau of Economic Research, authors David Cutler and Adriana Lleras-Muney reviewed education-longevity research around the world. “Education not only predicts mortality in India, it is also a large predictor of health in most countries, regardless of their level of development.” They cited research that 25-year-olds with some college education in 1980 could expect to live another 54.4 years, on average, whereas 25-year-olds with high school degrees had life expectancies of another 51.6 years, or nearly three years less. A similar study in 2000—only 20 years later—found that the life-expectancy gap between those with some college and high school graduates had increased to seven years.

Some studies attribute all or most of the education benefit to simply making more money, but not all researchers agree. “While income level best predicts how quickly people decline after they get sick,” Carstensen says, “education predicts whether or not people get sick in the first place.” People with more education tend to have better problem-solving skills and the tools to help themselves, she explains. They enhance their health and survival odds by making well-informed lifestyle decisions.

The income effect is important, “but I think it goes beyond that,” says Lisa Berkman, professor of public policy and epidemiology at Harvard University. One of Berkman’s students did an in-depth study of different school attendance requirements set by state laws 70 and 80 years ago. “If you lived in a state where the schooling laws made you go to school for a longer period of time, you had better cognitive functioning later in life,” Berkman says. In other words, irrespective of income or other variables, just being in a classroom for more hours boosted mental health in later life.

In terms of happiness, a close companion of learning is the degree of engagement people have with tasks that provide them knowledge and fulfillment. People who are intensely absorbed in a task can lose track of time and place. Hours pass like minutes. They may be tired by the task but emerge energized and happy. This condition is known as “flow,” a name coined 30 years ago by psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi.

Flow is easily associated with creativity and the image of a musician or artist “lost” in near-rapturous pursuit of their craft. And Csikszentmihalyi says in some respects, society has come to value and support the arts and sporting pursuits precisely because of their flow benefits. It’s why we like to do them in the first place. “The real challenge,” he says, “is to take something that you have to do that has purpose and meaning” and figure out how to induce a state of flow while doing it. “It’s possible to experience your job and your family life as flow, and that to me is more important than that we provide opportunities for flow in art and sports.”

Flow may appear a lofty goal of achieving total absorption in a task or activity. If so, think of various stages of engagement as forming a path toward flow that also provide satisfaction and happiness. To derive these benefits, researchers have found, the tasks involved must be sufficiently hard to really challenge us. It’s that challenge that draws us in and it’s overcoming that challenge that produces health and happiness. These conditions have been given a name as well: “just manageable difficulty.” Like Goldilocks’ porridge preference, our challenges have to be “just right” for us to thrive.

The benefits of learning and engagement are particularly important in promoting healthy aging. “Your mind is really like a muscle, and using it is a key” to lifelong mental health, Berkman says. There has been a surge in attention to mental exercise as a way of preventing Alzheimer’s disease, for example. While the link between such efforts and disease prevention has not been definitively established, most scientists believe there is a beneficial relationship between lifelong learning and staying socially active with mental well-being and happiness later in life. Older people who become isolated can lose the activities that trigger their minds to engage in enjoyable and stimulating activities.

Jacquelyn James is the director of research at the Sloan Center on Aging & Work and has been overseeing an ongoing study of the benefits that older people derive from continued work. Across a span of activities—paid work, care giving, volunteering, and education—the levels of engagement people experienced were strongly related to their enjoyment and benefits from the activity. Just being involved in an activity does not produce the benefits of engagement. And engagement needs to be connected with a sense of purpose and achievement to produce happiness.

“As we get older, it is more important to find things to do that light up our lives,” James says. Our minds are central to this effort, and thrive when we are finding new things for them to do. Whether it’s acquiring a new skill or language (very high on the list of mental acuity benefits), joining a new group and meeting new people, or finding ways to continue using existing skills, successful aging and longevity are built upon patterns of lifelong learning.

We've all heard of the fight or flight response. We go into survival mode when threatened by something or someone. We either put up our dukes (literally or metaphorically) or take off running (literally or metaphorically). Students often go into survival mode when they feel threatened by an overwhelming cognitive task or confusing text, or when they are called on and don't know the answer, or are confronted or teased by another student (or a teacher!) Can one even learn in such a setting?

It's a question that deserves our full consideration.

As teachers, we also know that when students' affective filters or defenses are sky high, fight or flight responses will be modus operandi. A room full of defensive behaviors (withdrawn, angry) is a sad, unproductive place to teach and learn.

Now let's flip it and take a look at how much more we are able to learn when we are in harmony with the people and things in any given educational environment. Being in harmony means feeling safe, feeling valued and a necessary part a group, and in this case, a learning community.

Hearts and Minds in Sync

What does research show to be the opposite of the brain's fight or flight response? It shows that when we don't feel threatened at all, we have a willingness to be vulnerable, to be open to new ideas and guidance from others -- the ideal learning scenario!

Co-founder of the Neuro Leadership Institute Dr. David Rock says this:

" Engagement is a state of being willing to do difficult things, to take risks, to think deeply about issues and develop new solutions. ...Interest, happiness, joy, and desire are approach emotions. This state is one of increased dopamine levels, important for interest and learning."

Unfortunately, the hyper focus on standardized testing has gravitated many public schools so very far away from whole-child teaching and learning. Less time is spent on social-emotional, behavioral activities that help create and sustain an inviting and engaging classroom environment. And we know that to engage students in deeper learning -- those times we really stretch their thinking -- there is a certain vulnerability they must surrender to. It's a magical mix of willingness and curiosity. So how do we get them there?

Let's go back to Dr. David Rock:

"There is a large and growing body of research which indicates that people experiencing positive emotions perceive more options when trying to solve problems, solve more non-linear problems that require insight, [and they] collaborate better and generally perform better overall."

In the Classroom

Of course this is great news from the research of Dr. Rock and others. So before challenging students with those high-level cognitive demands such as problem-solving, we need to cultivate a safe and harmonious learning environment that invites vulnerability and genuine inquiry. Here are a few essentials for doing that:

Essential #1: Be Sure to Community Build All Year Long. Routinely include strategies and activities in your lessons, such as Save the Last Word for Me, that allow students to express who they are, their thoughts and ideas, build relationships, and practice collaboration. This will help grow and maintain a feeling of emotional and intellectual safety in your classroom.

Essential #2: Design Group Guidelines Together. We have all felt fear (or some anxiety) when working in a group: Will they like me? Will my contributions be valued? It's important students have a say when creating the guidelines so they feel connected to and ownership of them. They will also be more on board with adhering to them. "One Speaker at a Time," "Respect all Ideas," "Listen With Your Whole Body" are valuable norms when students collaborate. Make suggestions but let them decide on wording for the norms.

Essential #3: Have Non-Negotiables. Along with classroom rules and procedures, students must know non-negotiables right out the gate. My biggest non-negotiable: name-calling. This resulted in an immediate consequence (a call to the Dean and/or removal from the classroom that day). We have to tackle such things as name-calling and teasing head on or else kids won't feel safe to be themselves, let alone learn.

Essential #4: Post Student Work Everywhere. This one is simple and easy. When displays of essays, poems, projects, and exams dominate the walls, there is a sense of belonging for the students in the room. When they look around and see their own writing and thinking, they certainly experience a higher level of comfort than if they see store-bought posters. That said, if informational posters are needed, ask your students to create them.

Offering children an education that motivates them in their first years of life is a decisive factor in their future. At Happy Way, our team of educators and educational psychologists have developed a unique and advanced educational project that has been approved by the Generalitat de Catalunya, with the aim of stimulating multiple intelligences from the first moment. Our qualified educators use games, exploration, music and sport to exercise the emotional, intellectual and psychomotor capacity of each child. The project is completed with the teaching of positive personal habits to foster the children's perception of themselves, their confidence, self-esteem and empathy. This enables them complete the first cycle of Primary Education with skills and knowledge that are above average. The school has higher safety standards than those required and is decorated with care and good taste. If you are in the difficult process of choosing a school for your child, we offer you a list of 5 aspects where we stand out to help you make the right decision.

Happiness is a profound emotion, one without real cause or definition. Happiness is more than a state of mind; it is a constant ebb and flow, so learning how to put yourself into a happier state is crucial to living life to its fullest potential.

Knowing what gives you happiness is a life-long quest that is achieved through observing the smallest things in life. While surprise birthday parties, or winning the lottery are significant events that give you happiness, there are thousands of little things that happen around you that can give you satisfaction.

Feel happy every single day with these simple tips:

  1. Reflect on your day at night, what did you achieve, and what can you do better?

2. Take a walk, not only does exercise release hormones that give us that “happy” feeling. Taking in some fresh air and watching leaves fall, water ripple over rocks, or even small animals playing can provide us with a moment of joy.

3. Be grateful for what you have. While this is a relatively common recommendation, being satisfied with what you have will help you see that you may have everything you wanted, right in front of you.

4. Do good for others, and it will come back to you. Helping someone out does give you that giddy feeling, you did a great thing by helping them out of what ever situation they may have been in.

5. Be creative! One of the most overlooked way to achieve happiness in a person’s life is being creative. Finding an outlet where you can dedicate yourself for just a few minutes per day can give you something to look forward to, and have a finished product to be proud about. From writing to drawing, reading or wood sculpting, find an activity that you want to immerse yourself in.

Being happy does not take a lot of efforts. Even though some days it certainly feels that way, appreciating the small aspects of life and realizing you are a healthy person is sometimes all it takes. Happiness is infectious, once you make a conscious effort to be happy; it will come easier, and the people around you will slowly begin to do the same (talk about passive-aggressive!). You don’t even need to devote hours to this quest – just a few moments out of your day is all it takes.

HAPPY LEARNING

T O PROMOTE ACTIVITY BASED LEARNING.

TO BREAK THE MONOTONY CREATED BY CONTINUOUS STUDY PERIODS.

TO PROVIDE STUDENTS AND TEACHERS A PLATFORM WHERE THEY CAN SHOW THEIR SKILLS

TO CREATE STUDENT FRIENDLY ENVIRONMENT IN SCHOOL.

TO RECOGNIZE AND PROMOTE THE SKILLS OF THE STUDENTS.

TO MAKE THEM LEARN IN A JOYFUL MANNER.

TO ACHIEVE OVERALL OBJECTIVES OF THE EDUCATION

CONNECT KNOWLEDGE TO LIFE OUTSIDE THE SCHOOL.

ENSURE THAT LEARNING IS SHIFTED AWAY FROM ROTE METHODS.

OVERALL DEVELOPMENT OF CHILDREN RATHER THAN REMAIN TEXTBOOK CENTRIC.

RECOGNIZE THE CHILD AS A NATURAL LEARNER, AND KNOWLEDGE AS THE OUTCOME OF THE CHILD’S OWN ACTIVITY.

CHILDREN LEARN IN A VARIETY OF WAYS THROUGH EXPERIENCE, MAKING AND DOING THINGS, EXPERIMENTATION, READING, DISCUSSION, ASKING, LISTENING, THINKING AND REFLECTING, AND EXPRESSING ONESELF IN SPEECH, MOVEMENT OR WRITING.

Role of Teacher in Joyful Activities

To Plan Activities Systematically.

To prepare suitable time table for activities.

To Give more opportunity to child while performing activities .

To be a innovator to invent new activities.

To act like Director, Recorder, Evaluator, Manager, Decision Maker, Advisor, Motivator, Coordinator and Facilitator.

To relate activities to his or her subject.

To Clear the guidelines of the activities.

To plan such activities as are most appropriate for students.

To supervise and guide the students during the activities.

To evaluate and keep record of the activities.

To expose the activities on social media.

---