Happiness at School Week came to an end on March 22, 2024, so we wanted to take a look back at this very important week for the Lab School team!
For the third year, Lab School Network and ScholaVie have contributed to Happiness at School Week (March 18-22) with a booklet of activities based on scientific research that are easy to implement in the classroom.
This week got off to a great start for the elementary students at Lab School Paris, who created a Tree of Gratitude, where students were able to write some of these excerpts:
« One of my proudest memories is winning a card tournament ».
« My happiest memory is the day I held my cat in my arms for the first time ».
« My best memory at school is the day we became friends ».
« The thing I love most in the world is myself ».
« The person who inspires me most is my mother ».
« My ideal day at school would be watching a movie while eating donuts ».
And during an exercise to discover cardiac coherence:
« I feel soothed, calm, happy, quite tired ».
« I feel less excited now ».
« It was as if a sweeper had come to sweep away my thoughts ».
« The images brought back good memories ».
Lab School 9th and 10th graders were lucky enough to take part in a workshop at EHESS with high school students from Val de Reuil, focusing on the theme of well-being.
Over the course of the day, the students were divided into small groups using a ScholaVie game, with the aim of creating psychosocial frescoes on well-being.
Each group had the opportunity to design its own fresco, drawing links between emotions, predictors of well-being and behaviors, based on their personal experiences and their understanding of the various cards provided. Afterwards, the students had the opportunity to share their experiences and exchange views on the role of education in relation to well-being.
Here's a testimonial from Camille, a teacher in Portugal, who spent a week immersed in Lab School:
« During the day at EHESS, what struck me most was the maturity of the students, their ability to reason and express themselves clearly and calmly, listening to the opinions of others but arguing their point of view (with research to back them up).
The students seemed to have confidence in their teachers, felt encouraged, supported, listened to, and so on. And some of them were able to make comparisons with their previous middle or high schools.
I also liked the speech given by the maths teacher, who explained how teachers see each other and the institution in relation to the marks awarded to students. The fact that the grade locks you in, not just as a bad/good student, but also as an average student.
It seemed pretty clear to me on this example of grades, and during this day in particular, that if you involve students in the decisions taken by the school, if you explain them to them, with research to back it up, you create understanding, confidence and an ability to argue a point of view afterwards. I don't know if the teachers had explained to the students why they were not graded, but it certainly seemed like it, given the students' support for this choice.
Getting teenagers to take part in a day like this, with their teachers, with researchers to put things into perspective, is bound to be very interesting for everyone, and everyone wins when you broaden your perspective. »
The students were very enthusiastic about the exercises proposed during the Happiness at School week. We're delighted with the results!