Martin Seligman - Positive Education
Summary
TLDRMartin Seligman, a psychology professor at the University of Pennsylvania, introduces the concept of positive education, which integrates well-being and happiness into traditional academic subjects. He highlights that while schools focus on literacy and numeracy, they often neglect students' life satisfaction and happiness. Positive education teaches happiness skills, which are measurable and teachable, without compromising academic performance. Research shows that students who learn these skills not only have higher well-being but also perform better academically, suggesting that happiness and academic success can coexist.
Takeaways
- 🎓 Martin Seligman, a professor of psychology, introduces the concept of positive education.
- 🤔 Parents generally want happiness, health, and meaning for their children, but schools traditionally focus on literacy, numeracy, and discipline.
- 🔄 There's a perceived zero-sum game in education where teaching well-being might seem to detract from traditional academic subjects.
- 🌟 Positive education aims to integrate teaching of subject matter with the promotion of well-being, life satisfaction, and happiness.
- 📈 The skills for happiness and well-being are measurable and teachable, contrary to beliefs from 30 years ago.
- 🏫 Positive education can be applied in any classroom, enhancing both academic learning and personal development.
- 🧐 Research by Alejandro Adler shows that teaching well-being in schools does not detract from academic performance but enhances it.
- 📚 In a study involving 694,000 children in Peru, those who learned positive psychology along with traditional subjects showed higher academic achievement.
- 📈 Happy children, who have learned the skills of well-being, perform better academically.
- 👨🏫 Teachers now have the opportunity to not only teach subject matter excellently but also to increase the well-being of their students.
Q & A
Who is Martin Seligman and what is his profession?
-Martin Seligman is a professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania.
What is the main focus of traditional education according to the parents' responses?
-The main focus of traditional education, as per parents' responses, is on literacy, numeracy, science, discipline, and conformity.
What does Martin Seligman suggest schools should also teach besides academic subjects?
-Martin Seligman suggests that schools should also teach well-being, life satisfaction, happiness, and meaning.
How has the approach to teaching happiness and well-being changed in the last 30 years?
-In the last 30 years, it has been discovered that positive emotions, engagement, good relationships, and meaning are measurable and teachable, which has opened up the possibility of teaching these skills in schools.
What was the initial concern from school principals and ministers of Education regarding the introduction of positive education?
-The initial concern was that introducing well-being and happiness education would require cutting out other essential subjects like science, literacy, and numeracy due to the zero-sum game nature of education.
What does the research by Alejandro Adler indicate about the impact of positive psychology education on academic performance?
-Alejandro Adler's research indicates that children who learn positive psychology skills not only have higher well-being but also perform better academically, as evidenced by higher scores in national standardized exams.
In which countries has Alejandro Adler conducted his research on positive education?
-Alejandro Adler has conducted his research on positive education in Bhutan, Mexico, and Peru.
How many children and schools were involved in the study in Peru?
-In Peru, 694,000 children in 700 schools were involved in the study.
What was the experimental setup in the study conducted in Peru?
-In the study in Peru, half of the schools continued with the usual curriculum, while the other half received the same curriculum plus positive psychology education.
What is the implication of the study's findings for teachers?
-The study's findings imply that teachers now have the power to not only teach their subject matter excellently but also to increase the well-being of their students, leading to higher well-being and improved academic performance.
Outlines
📚 Positive Education: Bridging the Gap
In this paragraph, Dr. Martin Seligman, a professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, introduces the concept of positive education. He highlights a discrepancy between what parents wish for their children's lives, such as happiness, health, and meaning, and what traditional schools typically teach, focusing on literacy, numeracy, and discipline. Dr. Seligman posits that educators can integrate well-being and happiness skills into their subject matter teaching, such as geometry or English, without detracting from academic goals. He discusses the evolution of positive psychology, which has identified happiness skills as measurable and teachable over the past 30 years. The paragraph concludes with a challenge to traditional educational paradigms, suggesting that incorporating positive psychology can enhance both students' well-being and their academic performance.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Positive Education
💡Well-being
💡Happiness
💡Meaning
💡Literacy
💡Numeracy
💡Science
💡Positive Psychology
💡Zero-sum game
💡National standardized exams
💡Academic goals
Highlights
Martin Seligman introduces the concept of positive education.
Parents and schools have different priorities for children's development.
Positive education aims to teach both subject matter and well-being.
Happiness skills were not teachable 30 years ago, but are now.
Positive emotions, engagement, good relationships, and meaning are measurable and teachable.
Integrating well-being into education does not require sacrificing traditional academic goals.
Alejandro Adler's research shows that teaching well-being improves academic performance.
In Peru, 694,000 children in 700 schools participated in a study on positive psychology.
Children who learn positive psychology have higher national standardized exam scores.
Happy children perform better academically.
Teachers have the power to enhance both academic learning and well-being.
Positive education can lead to higher well-being and academic success.
The importance of aligning school curriculum with what parents want for their children's lives.
The potential for every classroom to build life satisfaction and happiness skills.
The challenge of integrating well-being into a curriculum that is already focused on literacy and numeracy.
The surprising finding that schools focusing on well-being also see improvements in traditional academic metrics.
The role of positive psychology in enhancing both personal well-being and academic achievement.
The transformative potential of positive education for teachers and students.
Transcripts
[Music]
foreign
[Music]
my name is Martin Seligman I'm professor
of psychology at the University of
Pennsylvania
because you're a teacher I wanted to
tell you about positive education
I've asked thousands of parents two
questions the first is in two words or
fewer what do you most want in life for
your child
and the answer is things like
happiness health
civility life satisfaction contentment
and meaning
and then I asked parents in two words or
fewer what the schools teach and they
say
literacy numeracy science discipline
conformity
notice how little overlap there is
between what schools teach and what we
most want in life for our children
now I want you to imagine the notion of
positive education that you as a teacher
can both teach your subject matter
geometry English
football and you can at the same time
teach well-being life satisfaction
happiness and meaning
30 years ago we didn't know how to teach
the happiness skills but in the last 30
years we've found that positive emotion
engagement good relationships and
meaning are all measurable and teachable
so this opens up a wonderful possibility
for every classroom that you can both
teach your subject matter and
engage
the skills and lessons for building
well-being
when we first put this notion forward to
school principals and to ministers of
Education they said well look school is
a zero-sum game you want to teach
well-being and happiness but school is
about science and literacy and numeracy
what are you going to cut out
so this is the important question of
whether happy children children who have
learned the skills of well-being do
worse better or the same in the
traditional goals of Education
and so Alejandro Adler has gone around
the world to Bhutan to Mexico and to
Peru
and in huge numbers of children
in Peru 694
000 children in 700 schools half of them
get
school as usual the other half get
school as usual plus positive psychology
the skills of happiness and well-being
Alejandro then comes back a year and two
years later and finds first that the
schools in which the kids have learned
well-being have higher well-being but
most importantly the schools in which
the kids learn positive psychology their
National standardized exams are higher
so it turns out that happy children do
better academically and as a teacher it
is now within your power both to teach
your subject matter in an excellent way
but also to increase the well-being of
your students resulting in higher
well-being and most importantly in
higher traditional academic goals
thank you
[Music]
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