MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES FOR THE CLASSROOM

October 2017 (35)

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e-Teaching October 2017 (35) – researched and prepared for ACEL by Emma Clemens, Deputy Head of Primary, Emanuel School, Randwick. Think Teach Learn - http://www.emmaclemens.com

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I recently read a book called The How of Happi-ness by Sonja Lyubomirsky (2010). I was struck by the scientific evidence and incredibly practi-cal strategies for fostering happiness. As I read

the book I was constantly making connections to my educational context. This article is a summary of the key ideas in Sonja’s book, accompanied by applications I have drawn for teachers.

Sonya is a professor of psychology at the univer-sity of California. She begins the book by stating that the science of happiness is a serious, legitimate and worthy aim. The science of happiness is part of a growing body of research called ‘positive psychol-ogy’. The premise of the science of happiness is that we can develop a positive state of mind to live a happy and rewarding life. However, often we look for happiness in the wrong places. Scientific research has determined that there are three important fac-tors that determine happiness. These are represented in the pie chart below.

Your happiness set point is genetically deter-mined. This set point affects 50% of your happiness. The understanding of this phenomenon comes from research done on identical and fraternal twins. This research indicates that your happiness set point originates from your biological mother or father or

both. This creates a baseline for your happiness. Surprisingly, circumstances only determine 10%

of happiness. Life circumstances include whether you are wealthy or poor, healthy or unhealthy, married or single, etc. The hedonic adaptation is the scientific term used to explain that trying to become happier by changing your life situation has limited long-term

Growing happiness

What determines happiness

Circumstances 10%

Intentional activity

40%

Set point 50%

Your happiness set point only determines 50% of happiness. Intentional activity accounts for the remaining 40%

effect. Human beings are incredibly adept at quickly adjusting to psychological or sensory changes, for example cold or hot weather, smells or sounds. The ability to adjust applies to ‘hedonic shifts’ which in-clude relocations, marriages, illness and job changes. ‘Humans adapt to favourable changes in wealth, housing and possessions, to being beautiful or being surrounded by beauty, to good health and even to marriage’ (Lyubomirsky, 2010).

A study in the 1970s involved interviews with winners of $50 000 and $1 million in the Illinois State Lottery. Less than a year after winning the lottery, the participants reported being no happier than before their windfall. This explains why he-donic adaptation occurs. Firstly, rising aspirations mean that you experience a ‘creeping normality’ where you are no longer satisfied with your life circumstances and begin striving for more. Sec-ondly, social comparison means that you constantly measure and contemplate your situation in relation to others.

The remaining 40% of the pie chart is impacted by our behaviour based on intentional activity. Therefore, ‘the key to happiness is not in changing our genetic makeup and not in changing our cir-cumstances, but in our daily intentional activities’ (Lyubomirsky, 2010). This is a very empowering concept as it means 40% of our happiness is within our control. ‘Happiness consists in activity. It is a running stream, not a stagnant pool’ (John Mason Good).

Sonja proposes that there are five strategies that can be used to change your happiness levels using intentional activity:1 Practising gratitude and positive thinking2 Investing in social connections3 Managing stress and hardship4 Committing to your goals5 Taking care of your body and your soul.

1 Practising Gratitude and Positive ThinkingExpressing gratitude counteracts negative emo-tions. Those who express gratitude are relatively happier, more energetic and hopeful. They are also more empathetic, helpful, forgiving and less mate-rialistic. ‘Counting your blessings’ using a gratitude journal is a good strategy for cultivating positive thinking. This involves spending time each week to complete the sentence ‘This week I am grateful for…’. Research has shown that regular use of a gratitude journal increases levels of thankfulness and appreciation.

Similarly, savouring positive experiences can increase positive thinking. This involves taking pleasure and appreciating everyday life experiences as well as special moments and events. Expressing gratitude directly to one another is also a very powerful way to bolster positive thinking. This can be done face to face, through an email or over the

phone. It is important not to over-practise gratitude. For example, counting blessings every day in the same manner can create a sense of boredom and routine which detracts from the meaning. It is im-portant to be intentional with positive thinking, but there should also be variety in this practice.

Classroom ApplicationConsider how you can cultivate gratitude and positive thinking in your classroom. For example, you could start each day encouraging your students to express gratitude for something in their life. Or perhaps your students could write a letter of thanks to a friend, family member or teacher. Maybe you could establish a routine where students leave school by reflecting on something they are grateful for from the day.

2 Investing in Social Connections‘Relationships constitute the single most important factor responsible for the survival of homo sapiens’ (Bercheid, 2003). Social connections and relationships are central to cultivating happiness. Research has shown that happier people consistently do altruistic acts such as caring for someone who is unwell or upset, doing a household chore, helping someone to carry a heavy object or making a special meal for a family member. Those who regularly perform a high variety of altruistic acts report higher levels of happi-ness. Whereas those who perform the same altruistic act or do not sustain a regular pattern of doing kind acts for others report lower levels of happiness.

When you are kind or generous to others, you are more likely to perceive them in a positive light. Acting kindly can also alleviate distress, guilt or frustration with others. Furthermore, when you commit acts of kindness it can have a positive impact on your own self-perception. You may begin to perceive yourself as a more positive and kind person. Positive acts also enhance positive social consequences. If you are proactively helping others, they are more likely to appreciate you. They may also express gratitude towards you which satisfies the human desire to connect with others and feel valued in relationships.

Social support is critical in times of challenge, stress and trauma. Sharing problems with others is an incredibly vital coping strategy. It is also import-ant to delight in the success of others. This involves celebrating the wins, achievements and good fortune of those around you rather than allowing jealousy to creep in. A proactive step in celebrating the success of others is to actively and constructively praise and encourage others and express joy in their good news. Another key to social relationships is effective management of conflict. Avoid harsh start ups in conversations, criticism, contempt or defensiveness. All relationships will be met with conflict at some point. The important factor is how this conflict is managed.

Those who ex-press gratitude are relatively happier, more energetic and hopeful. They are also more empathetic, helpful, forgiving and less materialistic

Classroom ApplicationConsider being strategic in the way you encourage students to invest in relationships. Explain why it is critical to make time for relationships. Help students understand the importance of investing in relation-ships in and out of the classroom by having meaning-ful conversations, working collaboratively, being kind to one another and playing together. Use every oppor-tunity to invest in relationships with your students. Talk to them individually so you can ask them about their passions and interests in order to understand more about their unique personalities.

3 Managing Stress and HardshipIt is inevitable that everyone will undergo stress, adversity and crisis at some point in their life. It may seem contradictory to talk about stress and hardship in relation to happiness. However, becoming a happier person means rising above your happiness set point. Coping and forgiveness are two key strategies for managing challenges in life and influence the 40% of happiness that is impacted by intentional activity.

CopingCoping is used to alleviate hurt or stress caused by a negative situation or life event. In psychology, there are two methods for coping. ‘Problem focused’ is where you focus on resolving the situation. ‘Emotion focused’ is about managing your emotional reactions. Both ‘problem focused’ and ‘emotion focused’ coping can be valuable; it is dependent on the person or situation. Constructing benefit from trauma is when you see value or gain from a negative life event. This is a very effective coping strategy. For example, there might be a relational gain, increased maturity, en-hanced resilience or a renewed sense of meaning. As Friedrich Nietzsche said “That which does not kill me, makes me stronger.”

Classroom ApplicationConsider what coping strategies could be used with your students when they hit life’s bumps and roadblocks. Social support through friends, family and teachers is important for providing comfort in times of strain and distress. Expressive writing is another technique to overcome hardship as it facilitates letting go of emotions. Disputation is a strategy used in cognitive therapy for depression. This involves challenging pessimistic thoughts. With children, you can use the terminology of ‘detective thinking’. In difficult situations, we are often overwhelmed by negative emotions that can then catastrophise the situation. Disputing negative thoughts and beliefs allows you to look for more optimistic explanations. Encourage your students to ‘think like a detective’ to examine the evidence around them and see if their negative emotions are based on facts and if there is a more positive outlook they could take.

ForgivenessStress and hardship is often associated with being wronged, hurt or attacked by someone. Forgive-ness can disrupt unhelpful patterns of avoidance, vengeance or revenge and instead replaces these attitudes with more positive feelings or be-haviours. Forgiveness has two elements; forgiving yourself and the one who has wronged you. For-giveness doesn’t always mean that you will restore the relationship with the offender, but those who have forgiven are more able to re-establish relationships. Long term hostility and resentment ultimately hurts us emotionally and physically. Forgiveness creates a shared sense of humanity and a greater desire to help others.

Classroom ApplicationThink about how you can model forgiveness in your classroom. Firstly, encourage students to

Forgiveness creates a shared

sense of hu-manity and a

greater desire to help others

appreciate when they are forgiven. Next ask them to seek forgiveness from others, whether it is a past or present wrong. We can ask for forgiveness in per-son or through a letter of apology. Recognising and accepting when you are in the wrong creates greater empathy to then in turn forgive others. Psychologists also recommend imagining forgiveness where you mentally and emotionally rehearse the process before seeking forgiveness in person. When asking for forgiveness, ask your students if they are ruminating on past hurts. Remind them instead to think of times they’ve been forgiven.

Practising empathy towards others and taking pro-active steps to repair and rebuild relationships are also key strategies in forgiveness. If students need to ask for forgiveness, encourage them to consider what they can do to continue to restore the relationship and create deposits in the emotional bank account of trust with the person they have hurt.

4 Committing to GoalsThose who strive towards achieving a project or ac-complishment of personal significance display higher levels of happiness than those without clearly defined aspirations. Goals provide a sense of purpose, struc-ture and control. They also elevate self-esteem and confidence. Goals enable us to cope with trials and difficulties and encourage us to connect and engage with others. Intrinsic goals are personally driven and individually rewarding. When you are intrinsically motivated you have a greater sense of satisfaction and meaning. There is also a sense of authenticity in that the goal is very personal. Approach goals are directed towards a desirable outcome such as increasing your reading or developing greater fitness. Avoidance goals are less effective and focus on avoiding an outcome.

Classroom ApplicationHow can you encourage your students to set goals that are personally significant and meaningful? Help your students to focus on intrinsically motivating and approach goals. Initially students may have difficul-ty identifying a list of goals. It can be advantageous to have students write a personal mission statement where they picture themselves at their 18th birthday or finishing school and think what they would like to be known for. Students should also consider the value be-neath the goal. It can be hard to find motivation to ‘do more homework’. Therefore, identifying the underlying value of ‘being my best learner’ is more motivating. Use your students’ goals to motivate and encourage them, so that they become self-fulfilling prophecies. As a student begins to succeed in a goal they will be more motivated to set further goals. Breaking a goal into smaller achievable steps is also advantageous in increasing student motivation.

5 Taking Care of Your Body and SoulHappiness is a significant derivative of taking care of

your body and soul. The psychological benefits of physical activity are staggering. Physical activity reduces weight, fatigue, stress, depression, anxiety and risk of disease. It also increases confidence, enhances sleep and protects against cognitive de-ficiencies. The sense of self-esteem and mastery in physical activity also gives a sense of control and achievement. Physical activity offers opportunity for ‘flow’ as a positive distraction that mediates daily worries and concerns.

Mindfulness and meditation are also incred-ibly beneficial for dealing with stress, pain and discomfort in life. ‘Mindfulness is about being fully awake in our lives. It is about perceiving the exquisite vividness of each moment’ (John Ka-bat-Zinn). Acting with positivity is another way to take care of your body and soul. It can be helpful to focus on physical manifestations of happiness such as smiling, using open body language or speaking with an upbeat voice tone.

Classroom ApplicationCan you identify opportunities to increase physical activity during the school day? Find times for your students to run around the oval, do star jumps and squats or simply go for a walk around the school. Consider incorporating physical exercise into your homework scheme where students are encouraged to do 30 minutes of exercise either through organ-ised sport or going to the park for a run.

Can you incorporate mindfulness activities into your daily routine to encourage students to nourish positive thoughts and increase happiness? We can all recall special moments or celebrations that make us feel happy. A happiness or grati-tude journal is a wonderful strategy to mindfully focus on positive emotions. There are also many mindfulness breathing practices that you can use with your class to provide opportunity for them to become more present and aware so that their response to adversity is not reactive, but rather proactive and intentional.

Finally, are you modelling positive physical manifestations of happiness to your students? Be-come aware of your body language and whether it is open and positive in order to impart happiness to your class. Seek to maintain calm and positive facial expressions and greet your students with a smile every day.

ReferencesLyubomirsky, S 2010, The how of happiness, Piatkus, London.Berscheid, E 2003, ‘The human’s greatest strength: Other humans’, in LG. Aspinwall, UM. Staudinger (Eds.), A psy-chology of human strengths: Fundamental questions and future directions for a positive psychology (pp.37-47), American Psychological Association, Washington, DC.Kabat-Zinn in Palouse Mindfulness MBSR, available at https://palousemindfulness.com/MBSR/week0.htm

Approach goals are directed towards a desir-able outcome such as increas-ing your reading or developing greater fitness