I am saddened but not surprised to read this article that says in a recent study South Korean children finish last in a happiness survey. While I don't feel overwhelmed by the unhappiness of my students (in fact, I think they are pretty happy!) I am surrounded by a greater culture that puts far too much emphasis on academic achievement over personal happiness.
One of the reasons I started my blog and gave it the name I did was because I was asked to speak with students from every grade level about the college admissions process. I know that the parents who requested this meeting were simply looking to start early - although kindergarten is pretty early - and they were using their own cultural example as a model to guide this discussion. Still, the parents at my school have enrolled their children in an international school setting with an eye on going to college in the United States. Since college admissions is so different in the US - holistic rather than test based - I felt that talking about happiness was the only way to approach these meetings and these parents.
Happiness is everything...
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