Last week, the director general of the Knowledge and Human Development Authority, Dr Abdulla Al Karam, urged schools and educators to place greater emphasis on student happiness and well-being. Dr Al Karam eloquently hit the nail on the head saying: “Happiness leads you to success, not the other way around.” He contradicted the widely held notion that if we push students hard enough, they might succeed academically and find happiness.
Dr Al Karam is far from alone in challenging this flawed notion. Speaking at the World Innovation Summit for Health, held this year in Doha, former UK health minister, Lord Darzi, argued that many schools are operating as “exam factories”, with little or no concern for the psychological well-being of pupils. I call this situation “sick school syndrome”. In their worst incarnation, sick schools actually heighten the psychological distress of students and then fail in their duty of care to provide an appropriate number of adequately qualified emotional counsellors (career counsellors don’t count).
Within our current “exam factory” model, ever-greater pressure is being placed on our children to excel, make-the-grade and gain acceptance to the best universities and graduate programmes. Academic success has always been highly valued, but our current obsessive overemphasis on academic achievement has driven many students to despair. All children are hardwired to love learning, but after a few years in an exam factory they come to loathe it – this is the true tragedy. We talk about lifelong learning, while simultaneously extinguishing the innate passion in our young people to pursue knowledge.
The pressure of the exam factory is evident in other ways too. Academic dishonesty has, in some countries, become rampant. Studies of US college students report rates of cheating, such as plagiarism, to be as high as 90 per cent. Many of the cheats are no doubt good-kids-gone-bad, individuals who felt compelled to cheat so as not to get left behind. Similarly, the use of so-called “smart drugs” is clearly on the rise. Childline, a UK charity providing a telephone helpline for stressed youngsters, reported that calls related to exam and workload stress more than tripled in 2014.
For all of our setting higher standards, introducing new targets and adding more exams, we don’t really seem to be seeing much improvement. If anything, the overzealous push of the exam factory is serving only to make our children ill. A recent survey by the UK’s Association of Teachers and Lecturers found that three-quarters of the educators surveyed thought that the stress faced by students resulted in low self-esteem, while more than 60 per cent felt it contributed to problematic levels of anxiety, a lack of motivation and an inability to concentrate. Perhaps more worrying still, around 62 per cent thought that today’s students were under more pressure than they were just two years ago.
For Dr Al Karam and many others, the solution is that we must develop a culture of well-being and happiness within our schools. Cultivate joy and a joy of learning, and academic success becomes a natural by-product rather than an all-consuming goal.
Neuroscience and allied psychological interventions have made huge advances in understanding human emotion in the past few decades. There are now numerous techniques that have proven highly effective in terms of improving happiness and well-being. We also know that a key component of long-term happiness (frequently experiencing, and appreciating, positive emotional states) is the acceptance, if not the appreciation, of sadness (negative emotional states) too.
Teachable techniques exist that can simultaneously promote well-being and prevent psychological disorder. The question isn’t: “Can we teach happiness?” Rather, the question should be: “Why aren’t we?”
Justin Thomas is an associate professor of psychology at Zayed University and author of Psychological Well-Being in the Gulf States
On Twitter: @DrJustinThomas
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CHELSEA'S NEXT FIVE GAMES
Mar 10: Norwich(A)
Mar 13: Newcastle(H)
Mar 16: Lille(A)
Mar 19: Middlesbrough(A)
Apr 2: Brentford(H)
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Jigra
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
RESULTS
Bantamweight
Victor Nunes (BRA) beat Siyovush Gulmamadov (TJK)
(Split decision)
Featherweight
Hussein Salim (IRQ) beat Shakhriyor Juraev (UZB)
(Round 1 submission, armbar)
Catchweight 80kg
Rashed Dawood (UAE) beat Otabek Kadirov (UZB)
(Round-1 submission, rear naked choke)
Lightweight
Ho Taek-oh (KOR) beat Ronald Girones (CUB)
(Round 3 submission, triangle choke)
Lightweight
Arthur Zaynukov (RUS) beat Damien Lapilus (FRA)
(Unanimous points)
Bantamweight
Vinicius de Oliveira (BRA) beat Furkatbek Yokubov (RUS)
(Round 1 TKO)
Featherweight
Movlid Khaybulaev (RUS) v Zaka Fatullazade (AZE)
(Round 1 rear naked choke)
Flyweight
Shannon Ross (TUR) beat Donovon Freelow (USA)
(Unanimous decision)
Lightweight
Dan Collins (GBR) beat Mohammad Yahya (UAE)
(Round 2 submission D’arce choke)
Catchweight 73kg
Martun Mezhulmyan (ARM) beat Islam Mamedov (RUS)
(Round 3 submission, kneebar)
Bantamweight world title
Xavier Alaoui (MAR) beat Jaures Dea (CAM)
(Unanimous points 48-46, 49-45, 49-45)
Flyweight world title
Manon Fiorot (FRA) v Gabriela Campo (ARG)
(Round 1 RSC)
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
India squad for fourth and fifth Tests
Kohli (c), Dhawan, Rahul, Shaw, Pujara, Rahane (vc), Karun, Karthik (wk), Pant (wk), Ashwin, Jadeja, Pandya, Ishant, Shami, Umesh, Bumrah, Thakur, Vihari
Third Test
Result: India won by 203 runs
Series: England lead five-match series 2-1
Scorebox
Sharjah Wanderers 20-25 Dubai Tigers (After extra-time)
Wanderers
Tries Gormley, Penalty
Cons Flaherty
Pens Flaherty 2
Tigers
Tries O’Donnell, Gibbons, Kelly
Cons Caldwell 2
Pens Caldwell, Cross
Know before you go
- Jebel Akhdar is a two-hour drive from Muscat airport or a six-hour drive from Dubai. It’s impossible to visit by car unless you have a 4x4. Phone ahead to the hotel to arrange a transfer.
- If you’re driving, make sure your insurance covers Oman.
- By air: Budget airlines Air Arabia, Flydubai and SalamAir offer direct routes to Muscat from the UAE.
- Tourists from the Emirates (UAE nationals not included) must apply for an Omani visa online before arrival at evisa.rop.gov.om. The process typically takes several days.
- Flash floods are probable due to the terrain and a lack of drainage. Always check the weather before venturing into any canyons or other remote areas and identify a plan of escape that includes high ground, shelter and parking where your car won’t be overtaken by sudden downpours.
Brief scores:
Toss: Sindhis, elected to field first
Kerala Knights 103-7 (10 ov)
Parnell 59 not out; Tambe 5-15
Sindhis 104-1 (7.4 ov)
Watson 50 not out, Devcich 49
THE SPECS
Aston Martin Rapide AMR
Engine: 6.0-litre V12
Transmission: Touchtronic III eight-speed automatic
Power: 595bhp
Torque: 630Nm
Price: Dh999,563
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.0-litre, twin-turbocharged W12
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 626bhp
Torque: 900Nm
Price: Dh1,050,000
On sale: now
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
How tumultuous protests grew
- A fuel tax protest by French drivers appealed to wider anti-government sentiment
- Unlike previous French demonstrations there was no trade union or organised movement involved
- Demonstrators responded to online petitions and flooded squares to block traffic
- At its height there were almost 300,000 on the streets in support
- Named after the high visibility jackets that drivers must keep in cars
- Clashes soon turned violent as thousands fought with police at cordons
- An estimated two dozen people lost eyes and many others were admitted to hospital
Bournemouth 0
Manchester United 2
Smalling (28'), Lukaku (70')
THE SPECS
Jaguar F-Pace SVR
Engine: 5-litre supercharged V8
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Power: 542bhp
Torque: 680Nm
Price: Dh465,071