Kids Taught Happiness in Britain

I came across this recent item from a London paper and was so taken by it, it got me to thinking about happiness, which my young children give out like candy. At Wellington College just west of London (one of Britain's top schools), the head mistress announced that they'd been focusing too much on academics and missing something far more important, so they introduced classes on happiness to combat depression caused by materialism and celebrity obsession. Pupils ages 14 - 16 will be given one lesson a week, learning skills such as how to manage relationships, physical and mental health, negative emotions and how to achieve one's ambitions. A psychologist will oversee the pilot teaching program.

"Celebrity, money and possessions are too often the touchstones for teenagers and yet these are not where happiness lie" said the head mistress. "Our children need to know that as societies become richer, they don't become happier -- a fact regularly shown by social science research."

It's so important that we teach our children of happiness within instead of 'buying' into the world of materialism which divides us into the haves and have nots. What a fantastic gift to turn out young men and women who are happy and secure! Now there's a useful overhaul of the education system...