Teachers expend a lot of emotional energy besides the physical energy in their teaching. Standing up for six hours a day in front of a class is just one of the minor difficulties. Concern for the students extends to checking their Facebook pages and dealing with parents along with the daily class load.
The last section of her article is on a talk given by Technology, Entertainment and Design (TED) a nonprofit group that spreads worthwhile ideas throughout the world and the writer brings to the attention of her readers: What Makes a Good Life? Lessons from the Longest Study on Happiness. This is what teachers are wanting to do and she shows her readers what a teacher's task should be.
The study that is being used began in 1938 and for this report went to 2015 and continues. The millennials were asked what were their goals in life: 80% said it was to get rich and 50% wanted to be famous.
The study followed two groups of men. One were students at Harvard when the study began and a group was from one of the poorest areas of Boston Mass, where many lived without cold and hot running water.
These individuals entered many different walks of life. They became factory workers, lawyers, bricklayers, doctors, some developed alcoholism, a few schizophrenia, some came from the bottom to the very top, and some went the other way.
What did they learn during the study? It was very simple: Good relationships keep us happier and healthier. Period.
Those who were in good relationships within the family, friends and community were happier and healthier than those who did not have that relationship. Social connection is good for us and loneliness kills. Secondly, the quality and not the number of the relationships is important. The third lesson was that these relationships don't only protect the body and spirit but also the brain.
She concludes the article hoping that the parents will be conscious of the importance of relationship in maturity and see 'after service' as an important part of the formation of their children. Relationships once broken are very difficult to renew.
