Happiness in schools 'starts with the head teacher
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Loading... - LISA KENDRICK
- 23 Nov 2020
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Andy Cope, who's aiming to become the UK's first 'Doctor of Happiness', says a happy head teacher can lead to a happier wider community.
The author of 'The Art of Being Brilliant', Mr Cope said there were several techniques that head teachers could follow to help encourage a positive environment in schools.
Speaking to the Telegraph, he said the '10/5 principle', which requires participants to smile at anyone who comes within 10 feet - and say 'hello' to anyone who comes within five feet - was a good place to start.
He also highlighted the 'four minute rule', which gets followers to be their "best selves" for four minutes, as, according to Mr Cope, this is the amount of time it takes for people to catch how you are feeling.
He said that, especially in the modern world, effort must be made to think positively, as happiness can spread quickly.
"As senior leaders in education, heads are in a pivotal role to inspire happiness," he said, "because if they’re not feeling it on a Monday morning in November, then the staff won’t feel it and the kids won’t benefit from it.
"Your happiness is bigger than you individually," he continued, "it reaches three degrees of people removed from you, so if you’re really happy and positive, then every single person you meet during that day is going to be a minimum of 16 per cent happier, just because they met you.
"As a head teacher, if you think about the number of people you will come into contact with, then all the kids could be 16 per cent happier, all their parents could be 10 per cent happier, and the communities the parents live in could be 6 per cent happier, simply because the head teacher has decided to be happier and positive."
He added that "putting happiness off until the weekend, Christmas, or retirement" meant people risked letting moments pass them by.
"Everyone is manic busy all the time, we are all sinking under the weight of emails," he said, "but all we have got is now, so enjoy the moment.
"Happiness isn’t real, it’s not a thing that you can put in a wheelbarrow and cart around, it’s an emotion, it’s in your head," he continued. "You are only ever one thought away from happiness."
He said: "One of the biggest things you can do to get back to being happy again is, first of all, get out of bed in the morning and appreciate that you don’t have toothache, secondly, list 10 things that you appreciate but normally take for granted."
