No teacher should have a half eaten lunch. There are only 2 suitable reasons for not being able to finish your sandwich:
- Mould found on your bread
- Someone brings in cake and now you are full
All other examples: playground drama, friendship fight and/or kids being mean to each other are NOT suitable reasons for a half eaten sandwich and only 3 nibbles of your apple.
And yet, sadly teachers across the country and world rarely stop eating their lunch due to mould. Enough is enough educators. You demanded more pay – BRILLIANT! What about your LUNCH?!
I know as teachers that you want to be there for your students. I too was once a primary school teacher with my own class. Full of love and admiration for the students. I was also witnessing first hand the consequences of not teaching and embedding meaningful social and emotional learning skills. Kids could not concentrate in the lesson post break because they were furious/upset/outraged by the actions of another kid in the class. Students would not allow me at times to start a lesson because of an injustice that had occurred minutes earlier on the basketball court, parents were calling and texting me full of concern that their child was being bullied or left out.
I wanted to take it all on. And I did. But I could also see that the kids who could problem solve, deal with conflict in a productive way and express their emotions in a healthy and helpful manner were thriving across all areas of school life. At the time, I could not find a wellbeing program that captivated the students and helped the teachers, so I left and created one with Kristina Freeman.
I believe that 99.9% of teachers want to be there for their students. Available to listen to. Ready to problem solve. But perhaps a better goal is for our students themselves to be all of the above and more. Let’s teach our students to be problem solvers not problem seekers.
*This flowchart is included in the PD package and as part of the Grow Your Mind School Program
What if we re-imagined the way we support our students?
Instead of putting out fires, refereeing talk-it-out sessions or delivering mini TedTalks to the entire class about being kind we could instead upskill our students to be able to make a good decision, problem solve, talk it out with each other (minus the cheer squad) and make amends in a way where authentic repair can happen. What if we created a culture of kindness where it was the first instinct of students to be kind, even when no one was looking, even without the promise of a certificate for being nice to someone? And we enabled students to understand permission, power imbalances and receiving a no with respect.
How?
Well I could tell you but I would have to kill you.
What the? Relax, the answer to completing your wrap lies in investing in our Growing Respect and Kindness PD package. Best thing is, you keep your life, your sandwich and you complete those teacher identified hours. Bonus, you do it without yawning and eye rolling your way through it. We pride on making our PD workshops engaging, thought provoking and helpful.
For a limited time this offering is available as a single user purchase.
As part of the package you will have access to print-outs you can display and use in the classroom. We will share our 6 golden rules of friendship that will help students to form healthy friendships and to step away from ones that are no longer helping them. We will also provide classroom examples of routines that inspire kindness and respect. We will help you feel confident to teach the nuances of permission so that kids can avoid unnecessary conflict.
If you aren’t convinced that learning these skills and sharing them with your students will actually make a difference. Please go to google scholar, you will find an abundance of research that highlights the impact of establishing safe connections with your students. E.g. A 2018 study found that welcoming students at the door increased academic engagement by 34% and reduced classroom disruptions 67%. A 2019 study concluded that prosocial activities like morning meetings can reduce disruptions by up to 75%. Or that lifelong friendships are the key to enduring good mental and physical health according to the world’s longest longitudinal study: The Harvard Study of Adult Development
Our Growing Respect and Kindness PD package consists of 3 self led courses that cover:
- Building Friendship Skills – 30 minutes
- Consent Education – 1 hour
- Inspiring a Culture of Kindness + Respect – 45 minutes
The Building Friendship Skills PD is designed for teachers in primary schools to create an environment where healthy friendships and positive relationships are at the heart of the learning environment.
Teachers will leave the PD knowing how to teach:
- What a healthy vs unhealthy friendship is
- Students to be problem solvers vs problem seekers
- Dealing with conflict productively
- Making amends respectfully
- Making and keeping a good friend
- Avoiding unnecessary conflict with emotional regulation
2 .Consent Education
Think of permission when you think of teaching consent. So take a breath! This is age appropriate consent education.
- Know the golden rules of consent
- Understand the building blocks necessary to be able to consent and ask for permission
- Become familiar with our scope and sequence and lesson plans
- Practice and play with some of the fantastic resources we have created
3. Inspiring a Culture of Kindness + Respect
The Inspiring a Culture of Kindness + Respect PD is designed for teachers in primary schools to create an environment that is friendly, inclusive, and kind. This PD aims to equip teachers with the skills to motivate their students to be kinder than necessary and to show respect regardless of differences.
Key topics explored
- Routines that build kindness and a sense of belonging in the classroom
- The place joy has in building a kind school, a simple classroom technique to allow time for it
- Kindness in action. Creating a be-of-benefit mindset
- Bullying, being mean or being rude? Spotting the difference and helping kids do the same
- How to inspire “a kind to all” attitude, not just your mates. Tips for encouraging kindness even when no one is looking!
Make a good decision yourself – follow this flowchart if you aren’t sure whether to invest in this PD package. It will lead you to the right outcome.
Now click here people:
