Greater Good
So I was home yesterday watching some sort of local news program and caught a quick blurb about a researcher out of UC Berkeley who is the director of the Greater Good Science Center. Her website is devoted to how to teach our children to be happy and emotionally literate, and is based on research from the Greater Good Science Center and is collected from other studies completed outside the UC Berkeley system.
What I like: First off, the website grabs my attention, but also has good content, both in the form of writing and video clips. I like that the information she provides about teaching "happiness" has to do with things that I would consider "outward focused" instead of "inward focused", like how to be grateful or how to teach our kids about failure and how to deal with it. I also have asserted, like the author, that it really doesn't matter how smart academically a child is. If they can't make it socially, they have a tough time not just in school, but in life. Looking through the video clips, the author's advice makes sense - nothing really radical is being proposed. Sometimes, even if we know the right thing to do for our children, it still helps to hear it or read it again.
What I don't like: Studying "happiness" is subjective. Also, there is no easy way to access even a list of the research (not just links to articles) that the author alludes to on the website. I don't like to have things watered down or summarized for me. If someone mentions research, then I like to see the actual study to see the particulars and formulate my own questions and opinions.
What it made me think: It's hard to teach my child happiness because, even though I don't view myself as a sad person, I also am not overly joyful or bubbly. Kids learn how to cope not as much by what their parents talk to them about, but how they see their parents react to different situations. K has picked up some bad habits about how to react in stressful situations and I cringe when I realize how I have taught him these bad habits. It makes me realize the need to be hyper-vigilant in the area of my own emotional literacy if Jellybean is going to learn how to be a well adjusted person in this world.
What I like: First off, the website grabs my attention, but also has good content, both in the form of writing and video clips. I like that the information she provides about teaching "happiness" has to do with things that I would consider "outward focused" instead of "inward focused", like how to be grateful or how to teach our kids about failure and how to deal with it. I also have asserted, like the author, that it really doesn't matter how smart academically a child is. If they can't make it socially, they have a tough time not just in school, but in life. Looking through the video clips, the author's advice makes sense - nothing really radical is being proposed. Sometimes, even if we know the right thing to do for our children, it still helps to hear it or read it again.
What I don't like: Studying "happiness" is subjective. Also, there is no easy way to access even a list of the research (not just links to articles) that the author alludes to on the website. I don't like to have things watered down or summarized for me. If someone mentions research, then I like to see the actual study to see the particulars and formulate my own questions and opinions.
What it made me think: It's hard to teach my child happiness because, even though I don't view myself as a sad person, I also am not overly joyful or bubbly. Kids learn how to cope not as much by what their parents talk to them about, but how they see their parents react to different situations. K has picked up some bad habits about how to react in stressful situations and I cringe when I realize how I have taught him these bad habits. It makes me realize the need to be hyper-vigilant in the area of my own emotional literacy if Jellybean is going to learn how to be a well adjusted person in this world.
posted by Notta Wallflower at 9:28 AM
5 Comments:
I can see where you are coming from here. Yikes. I mean Kora is well adjusted and very social and always has been since she was very small. She has loved being around people but Brianna on the other hand likes people but she doesnt like being in crowds like Kora.
Well, Bri will learn ways to cope. Honestly, I'm social, but I hate being in huge crowds also. I've learned what my limit is and give myself pep talks before going into huge crowds. She can learn that too as she gets older. We all have our compensatory measures. :-)
The Greater Good website looks interesting. It's definitely something to surf when there's nothing going on at work. :) Thank you.
Ali - No problem. Hope you had a good Thanksgiving - looking forward to seeing you soon!
If you are looking for the actual research studies, there is a "references" button at the bottom of each posting that should take you to links to all of the studies alluded to in both the videos and the postings. Also, if you go to the blog home, there is a tab with all the references...
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