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Some boast being environments that emphasize traditional education, others progressive. But what is meant by traditional education, after all? How does one define a progressive school? How do their goals differ in terms of student outcome, achievement and habits of heart, mind and body? What Defines American Education? On a number of occasions during the last 10 years I have been invited to speak to principals, teachers and students in Shanghai about the most promising aspects of American education. These invitations came as a result of the Chinese government's efforts to improve education in Shanghai, to make it more effective and rigorous, while at the same time promoting greater happiness and creativity among students and teachers. In grappling with the differences between the examination-driven focus of Chinese education, often with classroom settings of upwards of 40 to 50 students, and our own, I found myself time and again returning to the question of how rigor and happiness are balanced in the American independent classroom setting. These opportunities afforded me the chance to get beyond the day-to-day experience of a school leader, and to think about what practices in American education define us at our best. And how interesting, I observed, that as the Chinese government was moving educators in the direction of creating environments dedicated to greater creativity and happiness, here in the United States our impetus seemed to be more in the direction of testing and concrete measurement of achievement and outcomes. If the rigorous school finds its expression in contemporary education's effort to measure achievement and effectiveness of pedagogy, what would, or should, schools dedicated to happiness provide? What, in short, would constitute a happiness agenda for American education? The Happiness Agenda Let me suggest that in thinking about the role of happiness in schools, and its relationship to rigor, we must consider several major issues: the giftedness of each child; intelligence and assessment; the quality and attributes of those who work in our schools; purposeful use of time; and encouraging goodness and community. We must start with an essential, but often controversial, premise: Each child is gifted. No, not in the way that gifted education programs define gifted, complete with IQ scores, academic achievement and testing scores, and the like. Independent school teachers should accept as an article of faith that each child possesses unique gifts that it is the responsibility of teachers and parents to cultivate, nurture and promote. The accepted academic definition of "rigor" fails to take into account the plethora of gifts, talents and abilities that each child possesses. The model of this giftedness is akin to what psychologist Howard Gardner has called multiple intelligence. In his pathbreaking work, Gardner posits the existence of eight different types of intelligence: Spatial; Bodily- Kinesthetic; Musical; Linguistic; Logical-mathematical; Interpersonal; Intrapersonal; and Naturalistic. (He has also proposed that there is evidence of a ninth intelligence: Existential.) These intelligences cross cultural and national boundaries and challenge us to build schools that recognize each child's strengths. A school devoted to happiness finds its grounding in what good teachers have known for eons: The human mind is so supple and varied that what constitutes rigor for one child may indeed be an irrelevant or unfair test for another. The happy school boasts opportunities and programs that meet the needs of all children's intelligences. No school can be complete without offering a range of programs, including the arts, music, physical education, language, science and mathematics, history, and curriculum that encourages psychological wellness through leadership and community building. Nowhere do these insights challenge us more than in the area of assessment. For the last two generations, authentic assessment (focused on contextualized tasks, rather than standardized tests), seen best in the work of Jay McTighe and the late Grant Wiggins, has taken its place as a movement for educational reform. And here is where we as educators are challenged to recognize in our assessment of performance the multiple intelligences, perspectives and abilities before us. The extent to which a school depends upon only traditional forms of assessment tells us the extent to which it honors the intelligences and learning styles of its students. Happy schools honor the dignity of children, at root, by recognizing who they are, their strengths, their talents. And they design curriculum that engages children in understanding their universes in age and developmentally appropriate ways. 46 / TREVOR MAGAZINE SUMMER 2022–2023

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