Busyness VS Creativity- What is your priority as a school?

When we make the decision to go into teaching and begin our training, we are sure every single person goes in wishing everyday as a movie; perfect pupils, engaged and absorbing every golden nugget of learning, applying it beautifully.

(As we write this, we imagine Sound of Music-esque smiles and laughter as we bond with a perfect soundtrack in the background to complete the picture.)

In reality, we know it’s a different picture, managing pupils from different walks of life, varying socio-economic backgrounds, a range of personalities, needs and abilities.

As we come into the job fresh faced and raring to go as an ECT, we are determined to make a difference and shape the children’s lives in the best way we can. We throw our all into our work (often tipping the balance to work over life) but we do it as we want to change the world one learning objective at a time.

We have seen this time and time again in our careers in Education and we are interested to know when the shift occurs. We have seen first-hand teachers eager to learn and share, shifting to becoming closed off, stressed and burnt-out. Head Teachers and Teachers taking endless piles of work home with them but even worse, taking home the job in their head as they feel like they are failing the pupils in front of them.

Every day in the classroom they feel they are giving their all but yet the pupils are not respecting them the way they hoped, they are not appreciating and understanding the lessons planned for them and the slow build up juggling classroom management and workload takes its toll.

For many, the pandemic was a chance to press pause and reflect on prioritising what serves them best, but for Teachers around the globe it was quite the opposite. Working double the usual amount due to the navigation of in-person and home-learning, teachers didn’t get the pause and many are NOW working more than ever before.

Why? Well, we are creatures of habit and in schools, it is easy to feed the energy of being busy and stressed when you are all in the same picture but let’s step away for a moment…

Take a deep breath and feel the SPACE...

Busyness is the enemy of creativity.

When we have space to breathe, new ideas and creations flow, sparking joy in both the Teacher and Pupils. When you prioritise activating the release of the 4 main chemicals of the brain into the body you will:

• Maximise absorption and processing of knowledge

• Boost retrieving information long term

• Build self esteem, self awareness and self worth

• Enhance the collectives morale, bond and energy

That is modelling positive, conscious education.

Encouraging an environment where the staff and pupils breathe together, make space to pause and connect, strengthening their bond and opening up to ideas for discussion, writing, creating and inquiring.

When a teacher is inspired and empowered to teach how they do best, pupils are magnetised to the energy evoked in the room and engagement flies high.

That is where the magic of a classroom really shines and becomes the place you always envisioned.

Megs and Bry x

Thought of the day:

A Pupils behaviour is often a mirror of their Teacher's energy, so we invite you to ask yourself, What reflection do you want to see everyday?