GET ADDICTED TO HAPPINESS

 

It is believed that the more economically prosperous a society is, the happier people should be. However, there is increasing evidence showing that this is not necessarily the case. 
There are some alarming trends such as increased school violence, depression, bullying, loneliness, teen suicides, eating disorders and high level of stress among students which suggest that happiness in schools should be one of the most important areas for the future of education. Amidst the rush to meet standards and to raise test scores, many educators don’t have much time to bring up issues around students’ happiness. Furthermore, this lack of social and emotional wellbeing has a profound negative effect on our societies and European community.
Recognizing the situation as difficult, teachers from 6 European schools (Croatia, Spain, Turkey, Poland, Italy and Portugal) have decided to cooperate in order to improve the situation and to work out common actions to raise pupils` awareness of them being responsible for living a happy life. At the same time, the project`s team wants to enhance students` motivation to find strategies how to deal with life misfortune and to see failure as a learning experience.