Positive education: the four principles

POSITIVE EDUCATION

"Is it worth a child's tears learning what he can learn by laughing? If you were to pool all the tears shed across five continents over spelling mistakes, you'd get a waterfall that could be harnessed to generate electricity." Gianni Rodari, pedagogue, writer and journalist wondered why girls and boys in the school system should experience school in a negative way. In some schools around the world, and recently also in Italy, the concept of Positive education, a positive approach to teaching, which involves trust in students, motivation and praise, but above all which places the happiness and well-being of students at the centre of every educational path.

ALSO READ: Montessori, the educational model that puts children's freedom at the center

POSITIVE EDUCATION PRINCIPLES

• Trying to communicate with kindness, avoiding stress and tension, and taking into account the feelings of others. Each child must be respected as an individual and in their relationships with others.
• Be a point of support for the child, a reference and not a helicopter parentHelping him learn also means accepting his point of view, not being intrusive with our adult thoughts, teaching him the power of critical thinking.
• Example and encouragement. With these two key words, every teacher and parent can be a protagonist in positive education. Don't overdo your expectations, however.
• The positive parenting approach isn't punitive, but constructive. Everything, even mistakes, helps us grow.

TEACHING HAPPINESS AT SCHOOL

Thinking, observing, and exploring the world around us, rich in stimuli and opportunities, begins with the understanding that every child is unique and should be encouraged to express themselves differently. A positive education based on encouragement and trust, through praise for successes and appreciation and understanding for failures. In this way, students begin to believe in themselves and achieve better results in school and in life.

POSITIVE EDUCATION, SUCCESS STORIES

Raising happy and aware children will make them healthy and strong adults, capable of responding appropriately, not pre-packagedly, to life's stimuli. Even Harvard University, one of the most renowned international universities, has been teaching happiness as a curriculum since 2006, measuring its levels in relation to achievement. In Australia, Geelong High School has been basing its programs on happiness since 2007. course on positive education to promote student well-being and help them overcome stress and depression, as at the Lerchenfeld High School in Hamburg, where teachers have developed teaching practices and techniques with great success.

HOW TO RAISE CHILDREN TO BECOME HAPPY AND CONSCIOUS ADULTS

• Raising children: We're overprotective and overly anxious. And we raise children who aren't very independent.
• Child education: parents now go to school to learn
• Educate children about the value of money, even through stories and fables.
• The no's we must learn to say to our children, by talking to them again
• Co-sleeping: The benefits of sleeping with your children in their parents' bed. Up to three years old.
• Children and housekeeping: how to teach it without being harsh. In 5 highly effective steps.