Today, I want to begin with a story of two very good friends — Happiness and Learning. The friends went everywhere together. They were always seen in each other’s company. Children loved them and played with them often. You came across them in homes and in school classrooms and even waiting to greet children at the school gates. In fact, everything went quite smoothly until Learning began to be more favoured.

It began to get secret invitations and phone calls to give extra time to children. This led to its trying to avoid everyone who called it to work alone because that made it feel unlike its usual self. Learning felt quite lonely in the cold schools, quiet classrooms and dingy tuition centres. Things went to such an extreme that it developed a phobia of mothers and teachers who needed more to learn themselves and refused to let in Happiness with its serene face.

Meanwhile, the two friends tried to keep their relationship intact and continue like before. However, Happiness grew more and more despondent, seeing that no one cared for it anymore. This only worsened matters because you could see the sadness on the face of Happiness. How long could the relationship last then and it was only on rare occasions that the two friends were seen together. And wherever they were together, people noticed the sparkle in children’s eyes.

When a teacher asks a child a question like “Are you happy?” it shows that she cares about what he or she feels. The process of teaching, in fact, begins with helping the child feel happy and comfortable about everything that goes on in the classroom which should be an inviting, safe and productive place where the child’s true happiness is a central concern for everyone. In order to learn the students need to be in harmony with the people and things in the educational environment that include feeling valued, a desire to go to school, open to new ideas and guidance from others. The child should be willing to do difficult things, take risks and come up with new solutions. Such emotion approaches are essential for developing interest in learning.

A very good approach to this would be talking about happiness. This can be an eye opener and overwhelming experience even to the most experienced of teachers. Children not only learn new words to describe what they want to say, they also express their opinion by explaining personal things and things close to their hearts and while doing that they are becoming sensitive to what others want to say. It creates a bond, a silvery magic strand binding the students and the teacher in an unforgettable relationship for years to follow.

Dr David Rock of the NeuroLeadership Institute says that people experiencing positive emotions perceive more options when trying to solve problems. They collaborate and perform better overall. The benefits of loving to learn during the school years are many and pretty obvious, too, as such students are more likely to engage in schoolwork, do well and receive appreciation. This positive phase extends beyond graduation, covers the working years and enriches the retirement years.

Stress and anxiety take a big toll on students’ happiness. Not only do they affect their health but the learning process as well. It is due to stress that some children go into a survival mode. They feel threatened by an overwhelming cognitive task, a confusing text or when they are asked questions the answers to which they do not know or are teased by or mimicked by others or the teacher while the other children laugh. It becomes an impossible place to learn. Such a classroom is a room full of defensive behaviours (unhappy and dejected) and is a sad, unproductive place for teaching and learning.

True learning is happiness and guidance which comes from within in the darker moments of life. It is here that the positive nature of a teacher, a mentor, a mother directs with an invisible hand, consoles, leads with invisible footsteps and strengthens with words of encouragement washing away the negativity. The best thing about this is that it guarantees top marks in school and opens doors to success throughout life.

The writer is a teacher.