We spoke to Claudia Díaz, headmistress at the Montessori British School: a cutting-edge school that stands out for its academic excellence and the happiness program it implements in its classrooms—which can be accessed anywhere in Colombia at: www.mind.driver.com
Claudia, why do you believe that this phenomenon is growing among young people from high strata?
This phenomenon has increased in teenagers due to the way our generation is raising their children. Today's parents have the desire that "their children not suffer what they suffered" and they overflow them with all kinds of things so that they do not lack anything. All the while, they have forgotten something supremely important: how to tell happiness from pleasure. Pleasure implies feeling good momentarily, enjoying something for a moment; an example would be eating an ice cream, and the pleasure lasts as long as the ice cream lasts. Happiness is something totally different and has nothing to do with pleasure; on the contrary, it has to do with effort. Happiness is sustainable and lasting, and, in this same example, happiness would be not eating the ice cream, but being happy with the body we have.
What kind of children are vaccinated against suicide?
Children who are happy, and not overwhelmed with pleasure, are vaccinated. Happiness resides in children who study, who allow themselves to be challenged, whose neurons and brains are constantly growing. The Montessori British School’s students are children and teenagers confident in their abilities, who know that they can conquer the world by winning multiple competitions and traveling with scholarships every year in representation of Colombia. Our students do very well in national and international standardized tests, such as Cambridge, YCT, DELF, ICE, etc…, but what is most important is their holistic development in all areas—including music, dance, art, and a solid program based on happiness—. Our students know what happiness is and they know that they have it in them, quite the opposite of the students who have given over to leisure in schools with little academic demand, always enjoying the pleasures of chatting and social networks that numb their minds.
What should parents understand to prevent suicide?
Parents must understand the difference between pleasure and happiness, and ensure the balance that prevents the overflow of pleasure. Unfortunately, in many cases, students enjoy chatting all afternoon, talking on social networks, and doing little to nothing. Parents forget about rigorousness, and find in several schools in Colombia the answer they are looking for. Then everything becomes pleasure, both for students and parents: the former because they take a break from studying, and the latter because the school is constantly calling them to warn them about their child's poor performance. Time passes, and then they want to reap the harvest of what was never sown. Then comes the trauma of non-admittance to university; or if they manage to be accepted by some random choice of fate, they realize that while others can "lift the weight" of what it means to study, they can no longer do so because they’ve damaged their mental muscle. These students are dedicated to choosing careers that are easy, instead of pursuing their dreams and passions; they get frustrated with everything, they don't know how to get out of problems or get up and they don't know what effort is. That is why, unfortunately, some fall into suicide: to solve their problems.
What should parents do?
Never take the easy way. Teach your children that happiness is in the effort, and make them understand that through it we can achieve all our goals. Don't give up either, especially when students become teenagers and their interest is diverted from studying; especially then you have to keep demanding: not by waiting for grades to arrive, but by accompanying their processes daily, creating new routines and strategies, and having the firm conviction that the children will soon be back on track.
What specifically do they do at the Montessori British School, apart from being a school of high academic excellence?
We run a happiness program. Accordingly, we teach our children and young students that happiness does not find us, but that we find it ourselves. Albeit created by the Emotional Intelligence Area, it is an extensive program the curriculum of which extends to all subjects. Students learn that what they think, what they feel, and what they do must follow the same direction; they learn to take care of their body, nourishing it physically and mentally to nurture and harmonize it. We provide an education that goes beyond academics and focuses on the being.
Education, then, plays a very important role in this matter, doesn't it?
That's how it is. For me, it represents the mental aliment of my students. Their future will depend on their preparation and their everyday diet.
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