Advice to a fictional school board

As noted a couple of posts below, one of our assignments for this MAPP session is to think about how we might advise a school board interested in "integrating positive psychology into the curriculum."  Here are my notes:

Curriculum?  One word:  fuhgedaboutit!  Ok, ok, that's a little negative.  But, seriously, there are enough curriculum mandates floating around.  There's a better approach.

First, recognize that your system already has strengths.  School psychologists may know about this.   Some of your teachers may have read The Optimistic Child, The Happiness Hypothesis, Authentic Happiness, or Learned Optimism.  Some of your younger teachers may have even taken one of the Introduction to Positive Psychology courses now being offered in many universities.  So, find those strengths and set out to support and enhance them.

Second, model what you want.  If you want teachers to learn, be learners yourself.  Model how positive psychology can be applied in an organizational setting.  I'll be happy to participate in a book club with any of you who are interested, hold some discussion sessions, or whatever you think might help you learn and apply some of what we now know.

Third:  teacher-led instructional improvement!  Not a new program, but a new trust for teachers.  Help them learn and grow, make time for them to work together, and ask them to use what they learn to create better, healthier, more engaging schools for our students.  Then watch for ways to support the efforts that emerge.  You'll like the results.

That's it.  Three simple suggestions with a wealth of ways to implement.  Good luck and thank you.  I think you can do great things for our children.

Comments

[Tom]

I agree with #3. As a teacher, I have been highly disappointed in MNPS's professional development, especially that Drs. Garcia and Johnson have done away with the high school subject area workshop day at the beginning of the school year. Several dozen teachers would make presentations in small groups and we'd pick the ones we were interested in, or that fit our needs, and learn from each other. Now, we have little idea what other teachers across the system are doing.

Rumor has it that one year the social studies teachers took a walking tour of historic parts of Nashville and someone in central office found that unacceptable. Well, I disagree, but fine, give them guidelines rather than scrap the whole thing.