How happy are the children you teach? I’m guessing this question is never far from your mind. According to research, young people’s happiness is the lowest it’s been since 2010.1 And teachers, who are on the front line, are facing this every day.
So what to do? Experts tell us that when people set themselves goals that contribute to the wider world, it has a significant impact on their happiness.2
But how can teachers start to bring this into every day life for their students?
Global Action Plan have come up with a course to help make this happen. The Goals for Good toolkits are suitable for teachers of all age groups and totally free.
Goals for Good
Goals for Good draws from research into positive psychology and is designed to help young people explore the things that genuinely make them happy - and the things that don’t.
Are likes on social media the be all and end all? What about spending quality time with friends? And, yes, shopping is fun to some extent, but are there other ways you’d like to spend your free time?
Goals for Good has been put together with experts from the fields of wellbeing, values, motivation and sustainability. It consists of four, one-hour sessions to help participants:
- Challenge traditional notions of success, such as likes on social media and material wealth
- Explore the Five Ways to Wellbeing and the science of what really makes us happy
- Find meaning and purpose by considering the effect of their goals beyond themselves – how will this make others feel?
- Build up and use their strengths to help achieve their goals.
Don’t just take our word for it…
Goals for Good was originally piloted in 2018 and it went down a treat. Paddy was one of the first to try it out, which resulted in him volunteering for Cocktails in Care Homes - as the name suggests, serving drinks and spending time with elderly people in care.
“Goals for Good was great at showing me what I really found important,” says Paddy. “Taking time out on a regular basis, to appreciate people I normally wouldn’t spend time with, I could think about what really made me happy.”
Now we’re rolling out the course to schools, where it can be used to support SMSC development. The toolkits are free and can be downloaded from the Global Action Plan website
So go on, why not spread a little happiness now?
Looking for the right school? Search jobs now
Kendal Archer is a Change Manager at Global Action Plan. Global Action Plan is an environment charity that helps people live more sustainable lifestyles. We do this by making connections between what’s good for people and good for the planet too.
www.globalactionplan.org.uk
@globalactplan
References
[1] The Children’s Society. (2017). The Good Childhood Report 2017. London: The Children’s Society.
2 Seligman, M. E. P. (2011). Flourish. Nicholas Brealey Publishing.