ApaCenter - Austin Psychology & Assessment Center

A recent article titled “More Compassion, Less Competition” by Richard Davidson presents the benefits of having a broader definition of education that focuses not only on academic growth but also overall emotional well being. Specifically, he argues that focusing heavily on competition and passing tests has resulted in teachers and students discriminating against those who do not achieve as well. In educational systems where teachers provide rigorous academic demands while focusing on the strengths of each student, children perform better academically as well as report higher levels of overall well being.  Furthermore, neuroscience experiments provide preliminary evidence that children who are in learning environments where kindness, cooperation and patience are taught as skills in the classroom show greater abilities to regulate their own emotions.  The article highlighted the importance of teachers and parents focusing on their own kindness and compassion towards others as the first step in modeling compassionate behavior.

Tags: academic achievement, compassion, education, grades, performance, school, teaching