Positive Psychology and The Curren Education System

Does our current education system really educate the whole child spiritually, emotionally, intellectually, morally, and physically? Or, is it too much focus placed on performance on standardized tests? Positive Psychology is the study of well-being of individuals and communities and what enables them to flourish and thrive. Out of Martin Seligman's development of the idea of Positive Psychology has developed the idea of Positive Education. Positive Education focuses on using individual talents, strengths, and intrinsic (personally meaningful) motivation to aid in learning. An emphasis is also placed on the importance of encouraging creativity in students. America's schools of the 21st century have much to do to transform into schools of Positive Education verses the one-size-fits-all view that is currently in place in the majority of schools.

Positive psychology refers to strengths as positive qualities we each have as individuals. There are a few base principles to remember when working on strengths. It is important to value and develop individual talents, maintain healthy relationships, reflect on successes, practice, and teach others. It is important to focus on strengths and manage weaknesses. Our schools of today need to find ways to promote students into using their individual strengths. In classrooms individual talents should be valued and developed. For instance, one student in a class may be very strategic who is able to see patterns and issues within a project. This same class may also have someone analytical who likes to search for reasons as causes. A teacher who was taught to look for and recognize these strengths could draw on the strategic thinker to share with the class the patterns and issues they see ...

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...ng math. But if that same child is having a hard time learning how to read, do not move them up with the other kids of the same age, but allow them to develop better skills with those that are younger. In other words just think how well our children could do if we came up with more personalized curriculum for each child and customized the studies to each individual's circumstances.

Many children in today's classrooms have been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorders (ADHD). If more people were to consider how intensely stimulating this world is today, and consider the affect this has on children, maybe this diagnoses would be reconsidered. This diagnoses has also risen with the implementation of more and more standardized testing. With standardized testing, there has become more sitting at a desk and less hands on activites than in the past.