Site Updated :
6 July, 2008
The Libraries
Of Interest~
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Child Development What do parents want for their children? Most would put it simply. We want our children to be happy. But how do we ensure happiness for them, when we don't even know how to ensure it for ourselves? Happiness is a quality that's hard to define and therefore hard to attain. After all, if we don't know exactly what we're looking for, how do we find it? Scientists often define happiness in terms of 'pleasureable feelings' but most people instinctively know there is much more to happiness than mere sensations interpreted by the brain as good feelings. While we are not going to plumb the depths of the concept of happiness completely, we do want to explore one aspect that contributes to attaining this quality. This concept may be best described as a love of learning. According to British behavioural biologist, Paul Martin, "Education in the broad sense plays a major role in fostering happiness and health." In other words, he says, "Education helps to make happy people." Martin explains that it does this by endowing our children with social skills and emotional experience which can increase our wisdom and understanding. Learning emancipates us from fears and superstitions and helps us think critically. But is there one acceptable method of accomplishing happiness through education? If so, what is it? If not, what are the nuances involved? Martin levels some criticism against the most prevalent modern methods of educating children. His disapproval stems from the fact that most educational institutions don't understand the fact that the happiness and education circuit flows both ways. Learning promotes happiness, but happiness also promotes learning. Unfortunately, says Martin, "Making happy people is rarely an explicit aim of education. Schools are geared up to deliver measurable academic achievement, not something fluffy and intangible like happiness. Given the huge effort that goes into raising academic standards, surprisingly little attention is paid to how happiness affects children's performance in the classroom." The first key to promoting happiness and success in the classroom, according to Martin, would be to "promote a lifelong love of learning for its own sake." But this worthy endeavor is not one that should merely be left to teachers and schools. Martin underscores the importance of a love of learning as a family value. He says, "Research shows that the extent to which children are intrinsically motivated to learn...depends on their home environment as well as their school. Children with a mentally stimulating home background, in which learning is valued, are found to have greater intrinsic motivation in school, even after taking account of other factors such as their parents' socioeconomic status." In this library, we will take this advice to heart and work to provide articles and information that are geared toward promoting a foundation of happiness in children as well as toward their intellectual education. We don't want to forget those children who may have special needs either, so you'll find links and articles tailored to the happy education of every type of individuality, from autism to giftedness, and all their combinations.
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 Article Archives The Homework Debate Childhood: The New Age of Anxiety Is It a Cheetah? Lean on Me: When a Child Needs Your Shoulder When Baby Makes Chaos
~K. Patricia Cross
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