The Desirability of Positive Education Approaches in My Ideal Classroom

Positive education, according to Seligman et al., (2009), is a form of education that encompasses both the traditional skills (such as literacy and numeracy) and happiness as part of learning. This approach of has a number of characteristics that I consider a perfect synchronization with my ideal classroom, which encourages more learning and less teaching. I, thus, consider the adoption of positive education in my ideal classroom as a desirable step, only to the extent that the negative concerns about the approaches are addressed.

            One of the leading reasons why I find positive education desirable in my ideal classroom is that it aids learning and creative thinking. Csikszentmihalyi (1997) suggests that the success of the Montessori’s principle of guided play rather than structured teaching can be attributed to the traces of the concept of ‘flow’, which is an important concept in positive education. The concept of flow allows learners to focus more on what they are doing to an extent that they lose their self-consciousness momentarily (Csikszentmihalyi, 1997). Though my ideal classroom does not necessarily follow the Montessori principles, the idea of a guided learning process rather than structured teaching resonate well with my ideal classroom of less teaching and more learning. Therefore, if the concept of flow, as advocated by proponents of positive education, can work in such a learning environment, then I consider it very desirable in my ideal classroom.

            Furthermore, the characteristics of the ‘flow’ approach to positive education are also in line with the general objectives of my ideal classroom. As a teacher who intends to create an ideal classroom of more learning and less teaching, I consider the characteristics of flow as presented by Csikszentmihalyi (1997) as very desirable. Whilst there are a couple of features, the one that I consider very desirable is the immediate feedback of actions. When learners engage in creative learning where they are more involved than the teacher, getting immediate feedback is easy, thus, the desire to use the flow approach to achieve this objective.

            In as much the approaches to positive education seem quite interesting in my ideal classroom, it could also have a drawback if it is stressed. According to an article by The Independent, teaching learners how to be happy could actually distract them from doing activities that make them happy. The validity of this concern is not in question if you consider the fact that there are no measurable or solid evidence to support the success of this approach. However, I do not see this concern as having an overriding authority to discredit the reliability of positive education approaches in my ideal classroom, and thus, conclusively add that regulated positive education approaches are desirable in my ideal classroom.