More from Christine Carter

Continued from last week, this was the last of Christine Carter’s suggestions for how to increase happiness in schools.

#3) Foster a culture of kindness

Apparently the research shows that you get a little squirt of dopamine in your brain every time to do things for other people. It boosts your immune functioning like an anti-depressant. Also, people who have received from others are more likely to give to others. This is all a very cursory overview, but similar to the way stress has harmful effects on the body and mind, positive emotions do too. The more students get out of the “fight or flight” mentality the more space they have to absorb the lesson of the day. Carter’s specific suggestions to use with students were:

 A) Show students how kindness can spread by modeling it. It can be small, like smiling at people a lot, giving up your seat on the bus, or tipping outrageously.

B) Help students broaden their giving vocabulary. Talk about different ways they can give (being forgiving, celebrating someone’s birthday etc.). Ask students: what kind thing did you do for someone else today? What is one kind thing that someone did for you?

Carter chose to present on the conceptual level rather than the research level and I’m glad because I was able to follow everything she said. I hope to read her book soon!