What Makes You Happy?
‘Tell me something about yourself’, is perhaps one of the most difficult questions asked during an interview. Do you remember a time when your teacher asked you a question that helped you to look within? I spent a large part of my evening talking to my best friend. I got a call and I could sense that something was wrong. My friend was confused about his life. He is a lawyer with a big law firm and makes a good living. He has been working for the last two years after graduating from a top law university. But somehow he did not feel satisfied. So I asked him this question, ‘what makes you happy?’ Instead of solving his issue, I added more to the confusion. He was unable to answer this question. I would hold schooling responsible for this. We spend roughly around twenty-one years going to school, college and then finally landing a job. We are so busy lecturing kids that we forget to teach them the most important thing- to learn more about themselves. As an educator, I feel the most important thing we can give to an individual is the ability to get a deeper understanding of themselves. Sometimes, in the race to compete with deadlines, we forget to ask important and difficult questions to our students. Like, ‘What makes you happy?’, ‘What makes you angry?’, ‘ What kind of things do you wish to have?’ ‘What do you understand about life?’, ‘ How do you want to live life when you grow up?’, ‘What do you understand about jobs and careers?’. My friend did not get the opportunity in his classrooms to sit and look back at what he learned and reflect on how he could improve as a learner. The need is different in today’s time. Every Wednesday, our Personal and Social Development (PSD) lessons have been curated keeping these needs in mind. We provide opportunities for our students to reflect and get a better understanding of themselves. I cannot stress enough the importance of emotional health. I am grateful that as we set out to create Global Citizens, we are able to keep these conversations at the forefront of our pedagogical approach. I will leave you with this question, ‘What makes you happy?’ Jitendra Pandey MYP Coordinator |