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You might not be happy every day
Bouncebackability is your ability to quickly bounce back from disappointments and setbacks. The quicker you can bounce back, the quicker you can get yourself back on track to improve. Bouncebackability is not an innate skill you are born with. It is a learned skill that takes time and practice to develop. If I offered you… Continue reading You might not be happy every day
8 things about school culture
1. School culture isn’t fixed. 2. It is a set of living relationships oriented towards a common goal. 3. Everyone needs to know the goal. 4. Every relationship has to be valued and nurtured. 5. Everyone needs to be enabled to reach the goal. 6. Everyone has to play their part. 7. We are all… Continue reading 8 things about school culture
Why wellbeing matters
The reason I feel so strongly about wellbeing is because it makes me sad to see so many good people struggling (and even drowning) in their roles. I have worked with NQTs who quickly start feeling burnout and overwhelm with their new careers. I have spent time with experienced teachers who are struggling to adapt… Continue reading Why wellbeing matters
What is ZIP?
ZIP is you at your best. When you have ZIP, others around you catch on as well. You become a life force and a life giver. Through ZIP you are able to breathe life into others. It leaks out of you and into them, lighting others up and helping them reach the dizzying heights of… Continue reading What is ZIP?
26 things about education…
1. Schools are like factories. 2. Children are the products. 3. They are created in batches and time stamped. 4. They’re all measured and assessed by how well they perform in a test. 5. An expected behaviour for good learning is good sitting and listening. Usually at a table. 6. Those who do well on… Continue reading 26 things about education…
How NOT to be happy
-stay inside all day 🏠-move as little as possible 🛋-spend more than you earn money 💰-take yourself (and life) too seriously 😐-look for reasons why things won’t work 👎🏻-always find someone to blame 👉🏻-always consume, never contribute 🍔-be jealous of the lucky and successful 😠-never smile at someone first 😕-be unreliable 🤦🏻♂️ 🚀
The point of what I do
Teaching is a vocational choice – and often believed to be a lifestyle choice. As teachers we all want to believe that we have something special to give, that we can impact on and make a difference to children’s lives, and in our own small way we are helping to shape the future of the… Continue reading The point of what I do
What you say around children is just as important as what you don’t say
Children are not always the best at listening to you – but they are very good at becoming you. Those turns of phrases, gestures, and throwaway comments. They hear and see them, internalise them, and reuse them. Do you tut or kick the table leg when the SIMS register doesn’t load? Do you roll your… Continue reading What you say around children is just as important as what you don’t say
Ten things happy people do differently
1. Have a strong sense of community They are connected with family, friends and the local community. Strong connections to wider areas of life can provide a shield to depression. 2. Use their strengths regularly When you use what you’re good at more often, you’ll perform better, and be more motivated. 3. Are thankful. There’s… Continue reading Ten things happy people do differently
Responding to Covid-19: Have faith
Even though it feels like times will never return to normal or get better, I have faith in humanity that we will adapt, survive and go on to thrive. Humanity has come back from hardship, catastrophic events and Earth changing moments before. We will again. Being constrained inspires innovation. Great thinking isn’t done outside the… Continue reading Responding to Covid-19: Have faith
Performance management – but not as we know it
I love sport. I always have. Watching it, talking about it, taking part in it and writing about it. My particular favourite sport is football (cliché I know). I could go on about how it is known as the beautiful game and become all poetic and flowery. But for me, I believe it is the… Continue reading Performance management – but not as we know it
Why ‘clever’ is not a helpful word
We have discovered previously that the way we speak to ourselves can have a massive influence on our lives. Also the way we speak to others can have a huge impact on their life. I have spoken before about the word ‘clever’. At first glance it seems like it is a fairly innocuous word. Perhaps… Continue reading Why ‘clever’ is not a helpful word
The power of self-talk
I had never really thought about how I spoke to myself until I was stood on the first tee of my local golf course a few years ago. I had arranged this round of golf a few weeks earlier and my friends and I had all talked about how we were going to attack the… Continue reading The power of self-talk
How a toddler can teach you about failure
I remember hearing it around my daughter’s first birthday. She had just started to walk and the phrase reared its head. It comes from relatives, friends and sometimes even strangers. “Aren’t you a clever girl?” I know. It sounds like I am belittling the milestone event of my daughter successfully walking for the first time.… Continue reading How a toddler can teach you about failure
What Kenya taught me about happiness in a bottle
A few years ago I went on holiday to Kenya. We flew into Mombasa, went on a bizarre ferry ride, and then drove for hours to our hotel in what I can only describe as a broken van. It is a different world. The living standards are so far removed from what is considered standard… Continue reading What Kenya taught me about happiness in a bottle
How desire lines can help you be happier
There’s a moment in a popular blockbuster TV show where Kit Harrington looks up, broods down the camera and says “The dead are coming.” Well, you know what, Jon? I think they might already be here. Have you ever really looked at people commuting to work? There’s a whole load of ‘the dead’ dragging themselves… Continue reading How desire lines can help you be happier
Dealing with negativity (and how a barrel of water can help)
I got married in July 2015. When we booked the date we believed we were in for a beautiful summer wedding filled with glorious sunshine. We had planned to hold our drinks reception on the patio of the venue and play lawn games in the gardens. However, despite its summer setting, it turned out to… Continue reading Dealing with negativity (and how a barrel of water can help)
Dealing with habituation
Remember the fleas? From each passing moment we can set behaviour for the future. Set behaviour for a few minutes and it can last an hour. Set if for a few hours and it can last all day. Set it for the day and it can last all week – and so on and so… Continue reading Dealing with habituation
Don’t become society: Do you want to be ordinary or extraordinary?
Fleas are funny old creatures. They might seem small and insignificant. But if you look at them closely. And I mean really closely. You might see that we can learn quite a lot from them. Their life expectancy isn’t much more than around 3 months. Even that is assuming they are living in the right… Continue reading Don’t become society: Do you want to be ordinary or extraordinary?
How to journal gratitude
What is gratitude? It’s easy to say thank you. Almost too easy. There is a difference between saying thank you and being thankful. Gratitude is the quality of being thankful. When you say thank you, it is something you do. When you feel thankful, it is something you are. How to let more gratitude in… Continue reading How to journal gratitude
Pushing back against entropy
Entropy is a measure of disorder. Imagine throwing a whole pack of playing cards up in the air. The chance of them landing them in order is statistically possible – but highly improbable. The outcome of them being in order is one outcome amongst a sea of other disorderly outcomes. The idea of entropy applies… Continue reading Pushing back against entropy
How to get motivated
What is motivation? Motivation is defined as “the reasons for acting or behaving in a particular way.” Often the reason we want to get motivated is because we want to avoid something else. For example, we become motivated to lose weight to avoid health issues, we become motivated to read more to avoid mental stagnation,… Continue reading How to get motivated
The A to Z of Wellbeing
A is for AttitudeYou can choose to your attitude and it impacts on everyone around you. B is for BotherednessBe bothered to care about your life and everyone in it. C is for ContagionPeople can catch your positive vibes and spread them to others. D is for DeterminationBe committed and determined to achieving something in… Continue reading The A to Z of Wellbeing
5 things we already knew about education that the pandemic impact has confirmed
1The National Curriculum is out of date already. It is designed for children to survive in a world of the past. It needs to be for children to thrive in a changing and challenging world. 2We should always be listening to the experts. Never believing we know better. Never assuming because of our status we… Continue reading 5 things we already knew about education that the pandemic impact has confirmed
Some thoughts about the impact of the virus on children’s education
There’s a lot of concern children will fall the below age related expectation for their year group because of a lack of curriculum coverage and teacher input. But the last thing they need upon returning to school is interventions, catch up programmes and additional work to keep up. No generation of children have had their… Continue reading Some thoughts about the impact of the virus on children’s education
5 ways to develop your own wellbeing
1. Understand what wellbeing is and isn’t Wellbeing isn’t cakes in your staff room, delicious soap in the staff toilets, or a duvet day. It isn’t being able to clock off early, yoga after school, or an anonymous mug of chocolate treats left in your pigeon hole. The dictionary definition of wellbeing is: a state… Continue reading 5 ways to develop your own wellbeing
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