Now more than ever, as teachers we need to be developing Character Education in our classrooms and supporting our students in developing tools that will provide lifelong emotional well-being and eliminate negative traits such as insecurity, selfishness, jealousy and a sense of entitlement. One of the best ways to do that is by showing gratitude.
Here are 5 reasons why teaching your students to show gratitude will dramatically help their well-being and make for a much happier classroom:
Here are 5 reasons why teaching your students to show gratitude will dramatically help their well-being and make for a much happier classroom:
1) Eliminate envy
With the world of social media that we are living in, feelings of jealousy can be rife, especially with people publicly broadcasting their lives on sites such as Fakebook... I mean Facebook! As adults, most of us realise that people just tend to show the "highlights" meaning what we are seeing is actually a false reality. Sadly, our young people can still be very naïve and impressionable, so being bombarded with images of the "perfect life" increases the threat of comparison and envy. However, by encouraging our students to show gratitude on a consistent basis, they will become more appreciative of their blessings and will spend less time focusing on what is apparently "missing" in their lives.
With the world of social media that we are living in, feelings of jealousy can be rife, especially with people publicly broadcasting their lives on sites such as Fakebook... I mean Facebook! As adults, most of us realise that people just tend to show the "highlights" meaning what we are seeing is actually a false reality. Sadly, our young people can still be very naïve and impressionable, so being bombarded with images of the "perfect life" increases the threat of comparison and envy. However, by encouraging our students to show gratitude on a consistent basis, they will become more appreciative of their blessings and will spend less time focusing on what is apparently "missing" in their lives.
2) Show empathy and think of others
When we encourage our students to reflect on when someone does something nice for them and then think about how good it makes them feel, this will lead students to start thinking about how they can show kindness towards others. We all know the domino effect of kindness and how wonderful that is for a classroom community!
When we encourage our students to reflect on when someone does something nice for them and then think about how good it makes them feel, this will lead students to start thinking about how they can show kindness towards others. We all know the domino effect of kindness and how wonderful that is for a classroom community!
3) Take control of their lives
By reflecting on good things that happen to them, it encourages students to think about why they think these happened and what actions they took that may have caused them to take place. They can then start consciously doing more of these actions resulting in even more blessings!
By reflecting on good things that happen to them, it encourages students to think about why they think these happened and what actions they took that may have caused them to take place. They can then start consciously doing more of these actions resulting in even more blessings!
It's not joy that makes us grateful, it's gratitude that makes us joyful.
4) Develop maturity
A person's maturity is developed through their gratitude as it brings about feelings of happiness, forgiveness and patience. These are the kind of qualities we want our young people to be displaying!
A person's maturity is developed through their gratitude as it brings about feelings of happiness, forgiveness and patience. These are the kind of qualities we want our young people to be displaying!
5) Build confidence
When students get into a habit of showing gratitude on a consistent basis, a shift starts to happen. Over time, instead of always focusing on what everyone else has or what they feel is lacking in their own life, they begin to recognise that what they have is pretty wonderful already and they are not "failing" at life after all!
When students get into a habit of showing gratitude on a consistent basis, a shift starts to happen. Over time, instead of always focusing on what everyone else has or what they feel is lacking in their own life, they begin to recognise that what they have is pretty wonderful already and they are not "failing" at life after all!
So that's it, 5 reasons why showing gratitude is so important for our students and our classroom community!
Do you currently teach gratitude and good character to your students? If you're interested in an easy and effective way of doing this, check out this Gratitude Journal that will easily enable you to develop gratitude within your students and thus nurture their emotional well-being so they become more confident, happy and kind!
Do you currently teach gratitude and good character to your students? If you're interested in an easy and effective way of doing this, check out this Gratitude Journal that will easily enable you to develop gratitude within your students and thus nurture their emotional well-being so they become more confident, happy and kind!
