VOA常速英语:Delhi’s Public Schools Put Happiness at Top of Curriculum

Armed with a handbook for happiness, the teacher asks these sixth graders to close their eyes for a few minutes to learn how to spend time in the moment.Then he relates an inspirational story.Students participate enthusiastically and soon it is time to move on to a fun activity playing with a mock ball.After five months the class of happiness that starts the day at public schools in Delhi has made school less stressful for many.“We had to immediately take out our books, concentrate on the blackboard and try to grasp lessons.It was irritating to jump straight into studies.Now after the happiness class I feel calmer and I can focus better on studies.”
拿着一本快乐手册，这个老师让这些六年级的学生闭上眼睛几分钟，学习如何度过这段时间。然后他叙述了一个励志的故事。学生们积极地参与进来。很快就开始了一个很有趣味的活动，学生们假装在玩球。快乐课堂已经开始五个月了，从开始的那一天起，德里的公立学校教学任务轻松了很多。“我们不得不很快就拿出书，集中精力看黑板，紧接着上课。直接进入学习让人感到烦躁。现在快乐课堂让我感到更加平静，能够更加集中精力去学习。”

But the happiness class will not lighten the pressure to get good grades.School bags, the symbol of a highly competitive system are so heavy that the government recently introduced a way to restriction.The cheers to make it two prestigious universities begins early. “After school I study for a half hour then attend coaching classes then play for a while in the park then study from 8 to 10 and then have dinner.”
但是快乐课堂并不能减轻取得好成绩的压力。学校的书包，就是象征着这个竞争机制是那么的激烈，以至于政府最近推广了这种方式。两所知名的学校最先开展了这个活动。“放学后，我会学习半小时，然后参加补习班，然后在公园里玩一会，然后从8点学习到10点，再吃饭。”

Delhi’s Education Minister who spearheaded the project in a rigid education system hopes the new class will provide balance.“All over tension, all over burden, examination, anxiety, tension, then failure, success, all these key words keep buzzing around in our minds and there was no happiness at all. The happiness class has no grades or tests besides providing tools to cope with stress. It also aims to inculcate values such as telling the truth or not stealing.The story this teacher relates encourages students many of whom come from disadvantaged backgrounds to keep faith in themselves.
德里的教育部长是这个活动的发起人。他希望在僵化的教育制度中，快乐课堂能够带来平衡。“所有的紧张，所有的压力，考试，焦虑，不安，失败，成功，这些关键词一直在我们脑子里盘旋着，根本就快乐不起来。”快乐课堂没有考试，但是有提供解决压力的方法。它的目的就是灌输价值观，比如要说真话，不能偷盗。这个老师讲述的这个故事就鼓励了很多来自贫困家庭的孩子相信自己。

Five months on, Kedar Singh has noticed a change.“They tell fewer lies. They have stopped skipping class. They sit down and focus better on studies. They also get less angry.They used to complain habitually to teachers about each other but that has reduced.”More educators agreed that the focus and emotional well-being was long overdue for a generation coping with new challenges.The scale of the project makes Minister Sisodia optimistic.“The volume is like one million students every morning in twenty thousand classrooms together, do meditation,discuss about the happiness, discuss about the relationship, emotional science. It will help a lot.”But educators caution that the project’s success will depend on how individual teachers reach out to students.
五个月过去了，Kedar Singh已经注意到了一个变化。他们很少说谎了，他们已经不逃课了，他们能坐下来集中精力学习。他们也不再容易感到愤怒。以前他们习惯性地向老师抱怨其他人，但是现在已经很少这样了。”越来越多的教育者同意这种集中精力和健康的情感对于这一代人处理新的挑战已经是姗姗来迟。Sisodia 部长对于这个项目的规模感到乐观。“这个规模大概是2万个教室的100万学生参与进来，进行冥想，讨论快乐的意义，讨论关系，情感科学。这有很大的帮助。”但是教育者提醒这个项目的成功将取决于老师如何教育学生。

Angelina Swicher for VOA news New Delhi
美国之音记者Angelina Swicher新德里报道。