Impact of Longevity Project for Teachers
As teachers, our focus is necessarily on the development of our students
with respect to educational goals in reading, writing, mathematics, science, history, computer skills, music, art, etc. We feel successful when we see students with a high capacity for learning, easily and successfully acquiring knowledge and skills in the subject areas we teach.
We admire those who are able to think through and solve academic problems and perhaps navigate expertly through social situations with peers and teachers. These are valuable life-skills after all.
But, do we sometimes tend to think or expect less of those students who are not so endowed intellectually; perhaps average students who must persevere in order to do acceptable and unremarkable work in school?
How do we feel about students who remain in the background for the most part, content to revolve around the circumference of the classroom rather than be the cog turning the wheel?
And what is our attitude toward the student who buzzes around the room like a mosquito, looking for a sweet place to land and take a bite out of some unsuspecting soul? All of these and more are in a typical classroom, and even with years of experience in education we can be drawn into arriving at certain conclusions which may or may not be correct about the futures of these children.
The important part of this scenario is that our perceived attitudes toward these boys and girls can either lift them to higher levels, or sadly discourage and even demolish their efforts in the classroom; especially if their home life is far less than ideal, and they arrive already bearing a very heavy load.
“The Longevity Project” though not a “how-to book” for teachers, has some findings and implications we ought to consider:
- High IQ and advanced degrees have no direct connection on longevity.
- Persistence and ability to accept challenges in life are good predictors of longevity.
- Conscientiousness is the best childhood predictor of a long life.
- Cheerful students do not live as long as their serious-minded peers; their “no holds barred” attitudes often lead them to make unhealthy or unwise choices.
- A pattern of persistence, prudence, hard work and close involvement with friends and community are behaviors which produce a well-organized person.
- Parental divorce is the strongest predictor of early death in adulthood and the most traumatic and harmful event for a child.
- Children with dark dispositions, who overreact to disappointments as though they were catastrophes were most likely to die sooner as adults.
- Children who lived the longest tended to be highly active physically, to give back to their communities, have thriving and enduring careers, healthy marriages and a good family life.
- Children with strength of character and resiliency to deal with reverses and challenges; even divorce, loss of a spouse, career disappointments and even war lived long lives.
How does this study affect me as a teacher, you ask? I recommend that you take some time to look beyond this current school year with regard to your students.
- Fight the tendency to look on those with high IQs or bubbly personalities in a preferential way, while not giving adequate value to the “less showy” individuals in your classroom.
- Look for, value and acknowledge the skills, abilities and personal strengths of each and every one of your students.
- Make every effort to instill values such as forethought and purposefulness in your students particularly the bubbly and happy-go-lucky students.
- Cultivate in your students a positive attitude toward set-backs and disappointments, seeing them as an opportunity to build strength and endurance.
- Teach them to think kindly of themselves and others even when they haven’t been successful in an area or effort; there is always another chance to do it better the next time.
- Focus not only on the body of academic objectives, but on building the character traits of persistence, conscientiousness, prudence, hard work and goal-setting.
- Encourage appreciation for family, friends and community.
- Make your classroom a haven for those unfortunate students who have little love, stability or acceptance at home, and especially for those from broken homes.
You have the capacity to positively affect your students in so many ways; academically, socially, personally, both now and in their adult lives. Be a positive agent of change, success and inspiration for them. They will not only remember you, they will never forget the investment you made in their lives.
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