Who leads wins

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Another report is being reported on, this time about a government advisor's opinion on how to make children happier - or at least, less depressed. Apparently two to five per cent of British children are clinically depressed, and they will only get better if they have therapy at school.

I'd be the very last person to denigrate the benefits of psychotherapy, but I do question whether mass therapy carried out by teachers will do the trick ; for the problem that schools have given our children is not that they have deprived them of the ability to be cheerful, but that educationalists have robbed them of the sure opportunities to find (or make) true happiness - that happiness which is best found in working rather hard for something that is rather difficult to get - and succeeding.

What the experts offer them instead is a somewhat easy ride where there are prizes for everyone and top prizes for most. For most children there is not the great challenge in schoolwork and, importantly, there is little risk. The most able children have exams too easy, and so gain little satisfaction from passing them brilliantly ; while the least able find the exams too difficult, and do not even enter for them. It is common knowledge now that this state of affairs has arisen because the educationalists have progressively lowered standards so as to maximize pass rates and - guess what? the children know that! So the root causes of children's unhappiness lie in a lack of leadership from the generality of teachers - and also from many parents.

It is not the children who need therapy, but the teachers who must be shown how to lead effectively. A useful starting point for this project is to impress on them that leadership is not about being 'nice' to people but about achieving worthwhile objectives ; for it the attainment of objectives that give rise to real happiness. A leader can be pretty harsh, but as long as the team win their aims, that leader will be respected and obeyed, and a virtuous cycle is established.

And, of course, a good leader tends to generate other good leaders - almost without trying.

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