As an introvert I relate to his idea, as I read it, of happiness being a side effect of being absorbed in fascinating subjects, rather than dragged out into the open into the territory of explicit skills and learned with other people!

1. Just because something is ‘taught’ doesn’t mean it will be learnt (your example of ‘room tidying 101 is a good example). In an important sense learning is something the student does – it is not done to them by a teacher.

2. The best way to teach complex behaviour is by modelling and coaching. As you say we need the environment where teachers can model good relationships. Getting rid of managerialist idiocy would be a good start.

3. I suspect Furedi of being an extravert, perhaps not a nice thing to say. Only joking – though if he was willing to give space to and introverts attitude to life I’d find it easier to like him.

4. What we mean by happiness. There are layer here. I like to say that it is possible to have a kind of elated calmness that goes with us through (most) of our ups and downs. This is a deeper level of happiness that can go deeper than finding a parking spot when we want one.

5. Furedi does raise issues of the hidden curriculum. Classes in autonomy are contradictory – the content of self-determination is directly by the coersive nature of schooling and that the kids don’t get a say in the curriculum. This is a very good point. And is insoluble in the current system of abuse humorously referred to as ‘education’.

6. To have happiness (in the sense of social-individual flourishing) on the agenda would be fabulous I think. It would mean a less coersive approach to schooling – one that had something to do with education. It would involve allowing the kids to find what they were interested in and showing them the disciplines to get better at it. “Motivation” as a problem is usually a furphee. A child I knew was regarded as a problem student – too much energy and so disruptive. As soon as he got home: three hours on the computer – no problems focusing his energy at all. No motivation problems.

7. To do real education where the kids are valued does indeed take skill and planning. But of a totally different kind than currently employed. It would mean redesigning learning spaces and very different ways of relating between teachers and students. I do think we would observe – quickly, easily, graphically – how much happier the students would be. But not from inserting a happiness subject into the current lunacy.