Accentuate the Positive (ATOM Study Guide)

Positive Education is designed to help children develop ways of becoming happier, more resilient people. But can children learn optimism in the same way they learn reading, writing and arithmetic?

Conceived by American psychologist Dr. Martin Seligman, the aim of Positive Education is to strengthen students emotionally and mentally so that they can develop a more optimistic approach to their lives. Guided by Seligman and his colleagues from the Positive Psychology Centre in the USA, Geelong Grammar School has implemented Positive Education to build strengths in their students, so that they can better cope with the demands of contemporary society. Accentuate The Positive, a documentary by Iris Pictures, examines the introduction of the program at Geelong Grammar School's Timbertop campus in the Victorian Alps.

In following the trials and tribulations of a diverse group of students at Timbertop, Accentuate The Positive explores not only a new approach to learning, but also potentially a new approach to living. Is this a starting point for healing some of the social and psychological ailments of our world? If these Year 9 students can improve their lives through developing resilience and optimism, perhaps there is a lesson for the wider community.

Accentuate the Positive is suitable for senior secondary students undertaking English, Health and Human Development, Psychology and Media.

Teachers may find the documentary relevant to units of work for middle and junior secondary students in the following areas of study:

• English
• The Humanities
• Physical, Personal and Social Learning

It will also be of interest to psychology students at the tertiary level.

Accentuate the Positive is also a useful resource for professional development sessions related to student welfare.

Accentuate the Positive has a running time of 55 minutes.