Schools in Gurugram include happiness programme, promote socio- emotional learning

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Private schools in the city are increasingly trying to weave in discourses on happiness in their pedagogy through various interventions that seek to improve the emotional well-being of students. While some schools have incorporated social-emotional learning as part of their curriculum since last year, many others have started initiatives centring around mindfulness and happiness.

The Shriram Millennium School in Sector 64 has an ongoing happiness and kindness programme. As part of it, the school has designated the current academic year as ‘The Year of Kindness’. “A special kindness calendar has been given to each parent and teacher. It has 12 themes with activities that can be taken up by children in the school and outside. They are aimed at creating a kinder, happier environment for the child,” school director Uttara Singh said.

Giving an example of the activities undertaken by the school, Singh said, “Children in junior classes recently made happiness jars. The focus is on involving children in activities that help them recognise their virtue.”

Aiman Bhalla, who studies in Class 7 at the school, said the kindness calendar played an important role in reinforcing the values that the school wanted children to inculcate. “Sensitivity was one of the themes. We did little things—give someone a hug, a high-five, or express love by giving a book—throughout the month. At home as well, the calendar reminded us of these values and how we could incorporate them in daily life,” he said.

Salwan Public School in Sector 15 is also striving to achieve the ‘Happy School’ tag this session onwards. “We believe that happiness needs to be cultivated as a value. So, we have started focusing on the spiritual and mental well being of children through daily sessions where mindfulness is encouraged,” principal Rashmi Malik said.

Other schools in the city are adopting globally recognised concepts such as ‘Circle Time’ which encourages dialogue among children and allows them to voice their concerns. The school has classes on Circle Time, where students practice and discuss a new social-emotional skills or concepts. The students are encouraged to apply and practice these social-emotional skills and concepts they have learned. Also, the class content is adjusted to include topics fertile for social-emotional learning, such as global affairs, social movements, stereotypes and discrimination.

Heritage Xperiential Learning School has been catering to the emotional wellness needs of students through a socio-emotional learning curriculum that was introduced last year.

“Our focus is not just on happiness, but emotional well-being and conflict resolution in a constructive manner. A singular focus on happiness somehow gives the impression that other emotions are bad, which is not true. We want to help our students understand all their emotions,” Ariana Abadian Heifetz, the designer and facilitator of socio-emotional learning curriculum at the school, said.

Shiv Nadar School in DLF City has also introduced circle time as an activity conducted by the teachers and counsellors. The school has a ‘Happy Room’ and a ‘Heart to Heart Room’ that promotes good mental health.

Prof Janaki Rajan of Jamia Millia Islamia said the concept of happiness classes and curriculum came into the limelight after Delhi’s Aam Aadmi Party government introduced it in government schools last year. Rajan, however, said that it was a fad inspired from Western countries. “A lot of private schools are jumping on the bandwagon and introducing classes for happiness. Private schools are dependent on fee and their goal is to keep children happy. One does not need classes to create a happy, non-discriminatory environment. An overhaul of the education system and ways of imparting education needs to change for the better,” Rajan said.