19. “Happy students” learn better
Although this is hardly a revelation for many teachers and students alike, we still find that some teachers (and parents) in Japan prefer unpleasant and downright dismal militant teaching contexts; play is reserved for after the test is passed. Playful breaks are often not allowed during study sessions for the risk of destroying diligent focus on studies. Contrarily, current studies show that happiness takes students further — they tend to achieve higher academic performance and more importantly, the motivation to study lasts longer. For better or for worse, unless you are are clinically depressed, humans have a built in positive bias that brushes off negative experiences as best as it can. This is good because it allows humans to cope well enough in dire conditions, however, it is because we have such positive biases that cope with stressful situations that allows for militant pedagogic practices to remain possible (and popular) in Japan. The upshot is that smiles are contagious, so a simple smile on a teacher’s face can go a long way towards fostering happy student life and positively charged learning contexts. These effects are reciprocal; happy students make happy teachers, too.
Q. How happy are your students? How would you know? Try discussing this maxim with your students as a part of 'learner training' exercise and perhaps a 'metacognition' exercise.
Although this is hardly a revelation for many teachers and students alike, we still find that some teachers (and parents) in Japan prefer unpleasant and downright dismal militant teaching contexts; play is reserved for after the test is passed. Playful breaks are often not allowed during study sessions for the risk of destroying diligent focus on studies. Contrarily, current studies show that happiness takes students further — they tend to achieve higher academic performance and more importantly, the motivation to study lasts longer. For better or for worse, unless you are are clinically depressed, humans have a built in positive bias that brushes off negative experiences as best as it can. This is good because it allows humans to cope well enough in dire conditions, however, it is because we have such positive biases that cope with stressful situations that allows for militant pedagogic practices to remain possible (and popular) in Japan. The upshot is that smiles are contagious, so a simple smile on a teacher’s face can go a long way towards fostering happy student life and positively charged learning contexts. These effects are reciprocal; happy students make happy teachers, too.
Q. How happy are your students? How would you know? Try discussing this maxim with your students as a part of 'learner training' exercise and perhaps a 'metacognition' exercise.