ELT News Think Tank

This Month's Think Tank Panel

Marc Helgesen

Curtis Kelly

Peter Viney

Chris Hunt

Chuck Sandy

Panelists: Marc | Curtis | Peter | Chris | Chuck
Date: June 2005

Topic: "Can we teach our students to be happy?"

Curtis Kelly

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Oh, Marc.

What a wonderful thought: that our duties as teachers include bringing happiness to the world. I can almost hear the smiles in some corners, and see the smirks in others.

And yet, from my perspective, you are right on target. This is not one of our duties, it is the duty. It took me many years to come to the conclusion that the ultimate purpose of education is to give people better lives. We do so by helping them grow, and in a sense, that means making them happy. I do not mean a smiley button kind of happy, but the two kinds of higher happiness defined by Seligman, the leading researcher on happiness.

“Is it not our mission to give our learners skills that will help them accrue higher levels of happiness later in life?”

To paraphrase, he says there are three kinds of happiness. The first is pleasure: smiling, giggling, having a good time. The second is satisfaction from a job well done, or experiencing “flow” when engaged in it. The third kind of happiness comes from living a meaningful life, or as Seligman writes, “using your greatest strengths in the service of others, for something larger.” To wit, the first kind of happiness is a giggle, the second a sigh of satisfaction, and the third a gaze at the heavens. (For more on happiness, go to AuthenticHappiness.org/)

Then, is it not our mission to give our learners skills that will help them accrue higher levels of happiness later in life? Of course it is. English is a tool that will help them get better jobs, explore the larger world, and maybe even discover English as a counter-culture. We hope that in learning what we teach, our charges might someday find success in one form or another, and happiness as a result.

It is a noble mission. But it has a cost. We are forced to take away their pleasure now so that they can have higher levels of happiness later. “Banking learning” is really “banking happiness.” Each time we crack the whip, we reassure ourselves that we do so in order to help them in some later endeavor, such as passing a tough entrance exam or getting a higher score on the TOEIC. By keeping them alert from moment to moment, quiet, and looking at us, we increase their probability to learn.

Noble indeed, but maybe wrong. Research in brain studies gives us a different picture of what increases learning: the classroom happiness quotient might be even more important than the usual factors we rely on to estimate learning, such as the number of pages covered in the textbook or homework completion rates.

Why? Because, basically, learning represents a physical change in the brain. When new meaningful information is encountered, neurons seek out new axons to attach to. In this way memories are formed. When we experience worry or stress, however, our bodies release glucocorticoids in response. These hormones make us more alert, but they also impair our brains from forming new neural pathways. Over time these chemicals even have a toxic effect on neurons and memory. In short, by keeping anxiety levels high in order to make sure students are listening, we lower the learning potential.

If the anxious, attentive environment does not lead to learning, then what does? One answer is happiness, and here we are back at “pleasure” again, that lowest form of happiness. Enjoyable experiences cause our brains to release neurotransmitters that facilitate neurons in making new synapses. Something that makes us feel good causes positive feelings, and our sensory register stimulates our brain to be more receptive to the new information and add it to working memory. Success creates learning benefits too, but more in a long-term way. Situations that remind us of past failures or successes determine how receptive we are to these situations and new learning.

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