Happiness Class: This is what inspired Melania Trump to visit a Delhi government school

• Melania Trump attended a ‘happiness class’ at a Delhi government school, today.
  
  
• Melania was welcomed with a traditional ‘arti thali’ and a ‘tilak.’

US First Lady Melania Trump on Tuesday visited a Delhi government school to attend a ‘happiness class’.

“Thank you for welcoming me. This is my first visit to India. People here are so welcoming and kind,” she said adding that the happiness curriculum ‘inspired’ her.

At the school, the students handed a bouquet to Melania and put a tilak on her forehead after being welcomed with a traditional ‘arti thali.’ The students lined up at the entrance of the school holding flags of the two countries in honour of the visiting dignitary.

What is Happiness Curriculum?

Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP Government’s flagship scheme of ‘Happiness Curriculum’ was launched in 2018. The scheme aims to ensure the well-being and happiness of students.

It aims to fierce competition in education and performance oriented teaching. It applies cognition, language, literacy, numeracy and the arts-based learning model.

At the launch of the scheme, the deputy CM Manish Sisodia said a team of 40 experts framed the curriculum, which includes meditation, moral values and mental exercises.

Divided into three groups

The ‘Happiness Curriculum’ is designed for students of classes nursery to the eighth standard. They are divided into groups and the Group 1 is for the students from nursery to Class II. The pre-schoolers attend these bi-weekly classes monitored by the teachers. The 45 mins session is full of mindfulness activities and exercises for the better mental health of the students.

Students in the first and second standard have a 45 minute session each week and involves the same curriculum set for group one.

The second group of students comprise the third to the fifth standard, whereas the third group is the batch of students from classes sixth to eighth. These students take part in the aforementioned activities.

The Curriculum

The curriculum is divided into four categories.

• Becoming mindful and attentive: The section works on developing increased levels of self-awareness, active listening and remaining in the present.
• Developing critical thinking and reflection: This section works on developing strong abilities to reflect your own thoughts and behaviour. It pushes to think beyond stereotypes and widely accepted assumptions.
• Developing social-emotional skills: The main aim of the section is to develop emotional skills for coping with anxiety and stress that might impact students’ life.
• Developing better communication skills: It builds a confident and pleasant personality with great communication skills.

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