Happiness in schools has become a major concern for the global community. Students are becoming more and more stressed and unhappy about school life, which makes learning unbearable for most of them. Studies have shown that there is a positive link between happiness and better grades and the vice versa is also true – unhappy students do not get good grades. So, why are learning institutions reluctant to keep students happy to improve their overall performance?

Why are students unhappy in schools?

One of the reasons why students are unhappy is because of poor teacher-student relationships. Aside from a quick hello, most students do not receive any form of attention or recognition from teachers. As a result, they feel neglected and out of place. Teachers concentrate more on the brighter students and give them unbridled attention. It is no wonder that all bright students find school exciting and fulfilling, which positively reflects in their GPA. Consequently, the ones that are ignored are usually average performers at best. Without getting proper answers from their professors, they sometimes have to seek help from online tutors or writing companies, going through the best essay writing service reviews to find someone to solve their problems.

Another reason is that there is too much work with no play. Students have to go through a rigorous education system that sometimes runs throughout the year like in the case of South Korea. At the end of each semester, they have to take standardized examinations which further adds pressure to their already stressful lives. To add salt to injury, there are not enough extracurricular activities to relieve them of stress. A good example of a rigorous education system is the South Korean. Although it is highly praised as the most efficient school system on earth, its students are the most stressed and depressed.

Also, school is very predictable with the same structure, lesson plans and schedule year in year out. As we know, routine breeds boredom. Doing the same thing over and over again is unbearable for most students. Giving them something to look forward to each day will reignite the spark that fizzled due to boredom. The Finnish education system is the best example of a flexible education system. Not only do students have shorter school days (from 9.30am to 2.30pm), it is also the only system that has more recess and play time than study time. The fun school environment leads to team building skills (instead of cut throat competition) and also facilitates proper development of students’ individual skills and talents.

In addition, there is healthy teacher-student relationship, as teachers become mentors both in and outside school. There are also no standardized examinations except for the optional National Matriculation Exam that is done at the end of high school to allow students join the universities. As a result, students in Finland are ranked the happiest on earth and they also perform well within and outside school.

How to Incorporate Happiness in the Education System

In 2011, the United Nations General Assembly recognized the pursuit of happiness as a fundamental human goal. The following year, the UN designated March 20 as the International Day of Happiness. It goes without saying therefore that students just like all other members of society have a right to happiness. So, what constitutes a happy school? According to a survey carried out by UNESCO named the ‘Happy School Survey’, the criteria of a happy school is divided into three: people, process and place.

People

People refers to social relationships in the school system. For a school to qualify as a happy institution, there should be friendships and healthy relationships in the school community. It has to be an environment that respects cultural diversity and differences to foster harmony among students. Also included in this category are teachers, who have to have the necessary skills and attitudes to deal with kids without favor or prejudice.

Process

This refers to the teaching and learning methods. Teaching and learning should be fun and engaging, with reasonable and manageable workload. There should be teamwork and collaborative spirit among students and also between students and teachers to create a more intimate and unbreakable bond between all the elements in the school system. There should also be a plethora of extracurricular activities that will encourage student freedom, individuality and creativity, while the learning content should be useful, applicable in life and engaging.

Place

The place refers to contextual factors and not just the infrastructure of the institutions.  The learning environment should be warm and friendly to everyone, regardless of their background. It should be a secure environment free from social crimes, such as bullying and discrimination to promote positive discipline. The institution should also invest in open and green learning with a lot of playing spaces to promote fun learning. In addition, schools should have a sound vision and democratic style of leadership that is open to different views, opinions and suggestions.

While most people put most of the blame on teachers, there are many factors that contribute to lack of happiness among students. For instance, a rigorous education system that overworks students and an unfriendly school environment can both make students unhappy. It should be noted that teachers like students also face most of the challenges that students go through, which affects how they dispense their duties most of the times. Teachers are an integral part of students’ development and their general wellbeing. Therefore, if a teacher is happy, the happiness will trickle down to the students. However, when they are sad or demoralized, the ones who bear the brunt are the students.