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Living a Life of Joy
3 credit hour Iowa license renewal course (What's this?)
Course Dates: June 14th to July 28th
(Registration is open!)
(Registration is open!)
We hear about death and destruction every day. We are surrounded by personal, professional, societal, and global problems. Sometimes we can barely listen to the news. Can we make sense of everything and still keep our sanity? Absolutely! There is joy and with joy comes an inner peace.
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
courage to change the things I can,
and wisdom to know the difference
~Reinhold Niebuhr
courage to change the things I can,
and wisdom to know the difference
~Reinhold Niebuhr
How do we get to this point? We may not be able to change the world, but we can change ourselves. This class covers the elements of living that can bring joy to our lives:
Gratitude
Generosity
Forgiveness
Kindness
Compassion
Patience
Generosity
Forgiveness
Kindness
Compassion
Patience
We will end the class with an examination of what it means to be joyful and how it can be achieved. We will look at how laughter fits in with joy. Nothing is easy and developing habits of joy means developing habits of intention and practice. The participant will be provided the meaning of each element and how it can be brought into their lives. Practices, meditations and suggestions will be given.
Organization
This course is presented in a modified, self-paced format. Participants are expected to access the course and post regularly (at least once a week) and make reasonable progress, but there are no due dates attached to individual assignments. Instead there are 2 absolute due dates (mid-term and the last day of class) to provide flexibility and to better accommodate participants' busy schedules.
Course Objectives
By the end of the course, participants will...
1. Understand gratitude and how to practice and achieve it.
2. Understand forgiveness and how to practice and achieve it.
3. Understand kindness and how to practice and achieve it.
4. Understand generosity and how to practice and achieve it.
5. Understand compassion and how to practice and achieve it.
6. Understand patience and how to practice and achieve it.
7. Understand how each of the above elements bring joy into our lives.
How Does This Course Support The Iowa Core?
Teachers and students should have a good understanding of student health (health literacy) both mental and physical. These essential skills, needed to maintain mental and physical well-being, provide the 21st century citizen with the tools necessary to live a happy, healthy and productive life.
Students and teachers who build strong, healthy relationships are better at critical thinking and problem solving and are more curious and willing to take on leadership roles. They also work well with others. Research has shown that good coping skills during times of sorrow help with executive functioning and provide everyone with ways to cope in a tough world. Joyous teachers tend to be more effective teachers. More effective teachers produce better learning and achievement in their students.
This falls in line with the Iowa Core that states school preparation should produce the following:
1. Students who are college and career ready in reading, writing, speaking, listening, and language.
2. Students who are proficient in English, language arts, history, social studies, science, and technical subjects in all grade levels.
3. Students who are proficient in 21st century skills such as critical thinking/problem solving, curiosity, collaboration and leadership.
Course Topics
Grading
This is a 3 credit hour Iowa license renewal only course. Grading is Pass/Fail. Students are required to participate in and complete all assignments and/or activities. Participants must earn scores of 80% or better to receive Pass score and receive credit.
Required Materials
All materials are provided online.
This course is presented in a modified, self-paced format. Participants are expected to access the course and post regularly (at least once a week) and make reasonable progress, but there are no due dates attached to individual assignments. Instead there are 2 absolute due dates (mid-term and the last day of class) to provide flexibility and to better accommodate participants' busy schedules.
Course Objectives
By the end of the course, participants will...
1. Understand gratitude and how to practice and achieve it.
2. Understand forgiveness and how to practice and achieve it.
3. Understand kindness and how to practice and achieve it.
4. Understand generosity and how to practice and achieve it.
5. Understand compassion and how to practice and achieve it.
6. Understand patience and how to practice and achieve it.
7. Understand how each of the above elements bring joy into our lives.
How Does This Course Support The Iowa Core?
Teachers and students should have a good understanding of student health (health literacy) both mental and physical. These essential skills, needed to maintain mental and physical well-being, provide the 21st century citizen with the tools necessary to live a happy, healthy and productive life.
Students and teachers who build strong, healthy relationships are better at critical thinking and problem solving and are more curious and willing to take on leadership roles. They also work well with others. Research has shown that good coping skills during times of sorrow help with executive functioning and provide everyone with ways to cope in a tough world. Joyous teachers tend to be more effective teachers. More effective teachers produce better learning and achievement in their students.
This falls in line with the Iowa Core that states school preparation should produce the following:
1. Students who are college and career ready in reading, writing, speaking, listening, and language.
2. Students who are proficient in English, language arts, history, social studies, science, and technical subjects in all grade levels.
3. Students who are proficient in 21st century skills such as critical thinking/problem solving, curiosity, collaboration and leadership.
Course Topics
- Getting started on the Path to Joy
- Being Grateful
- Being Generous
- Being Forgiving
- Being Kind
- Being Compassionate
- Being Patient
Grading
This is a 3 credit hour Iowa license renewal only course. Grading is Pass/Fail. Students are required to participate in and complete all assignments and/or activities. Participants must earn scores of 80% or better to receive Pass score and receive credit.
Required Materials
All materials are provided online.