S1 Ep54: Wellbeing or academic success…and can we teach kindness? - Book Launch Panel 4 Part 2
For Flourishing's Sake
In the second half of the final For Flourishing's Sake book launch discussion, we discussed where the priorities should lie, between dealing with mental health and wellbeing in the context of Covid-19 and the Black Lives Matter movement, or ensuring children “catch up” academically if they have fallen behind. We also had a fascinating conversation about whether kindness can be taught, and if so, how, and ended the discussion by sharing each of our dreams for the future of education.
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S1 Ep53: Wellbeing or academic success…and can we teach kindness? - Book Launch Panel 4 Part 1
For Flourishing's Sake
In this first half of the fourh For Flourishing's Sake book launch discussion, we shared our definitions of positive education, discussed whether educating for character and wellbeing are the same thing, and whether they come at the expense of academic progress. Finally, we shared our thoughts on and examples of whether Positive Education works anywhere, in any setting, with any age group.
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S1 Ep52: A whole school approach to education for good citizenship - Book Launch Panel 3 Part 2
For Flourishing's Sake
In this second half of the third For Flourishing's Sake book launch panel discussion, the panellists share their thoughts and experiences, with examples, of elements required for a whole school approach to positive education. They particularly focus on the important role that staff training and leadership play. And finally, they share how it feels when you get it right - when it goes well - and their hopes and dreams for the future of education.
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S1 Ep51: A whole school approach to education for good citizenship - Book Launch Panel 3 Part 1
For Flourishing's Sake
In this first half of the third For Flourishing's Sake book launch panel discussion, the panellists discuss their interpretation of positive education, character education and the role of wellbeing in education, particularly in relation to educating for good citizenship and promoting inclusion, diversity and social justice.
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S1 Ep50: Practical Examples of Character and Positive Education - Book Launch Panel 2 Part 2
For Flourishing's Sake
Another chance to hear part 2 of the 2nd panel of fantastic educators during the For Flourishing's Sake book launch. Panellists discussed their interpretations of a whole school approach to character and positive education, then moved onto discussing how we “catch” character and wellbeing behaviours, before progressing to a great discussion about bringing people on board that don’t understand what we’re trying to do.
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S1 Ep49: Practical Examples of Character and Positive Education - Book Launch Panel 2 Part 1
For Flourishing's Sake
Another chance to hear a panel discussion between great educators and school leaders. In this half of the discussion, the panellists shared their definitions of positive education, character education or wellbeing in education. They quickly moved on to some concrete examples of implementation in their schools, from specific staff wellbeing initiatives and their impacts, to whole school approaches and their effects on the entire school community, including parents.
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S1 Ep48: The what and how of Positive Education - Book Launch Panel 1 Part 2
For Flourishing's Sake
Today's episode features the 2nd half of the 1st panel discussion as part of the For Flourishing's Sake book launch events. Panellists discuss putting teacher wellbeing first and sharing a language for wellbeing in schools. The role of Appreciative Inquiry processes and Action Research are also touched upon to support empowering staff and creating lasting change. Panellists also address cost, and the role of Positive Education in the context of Covid-19 and the Black Lives Matter movement.
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S1 Ep47: The what and how of Positive Education - Book Launch Panel 1 Part 1
For Flourishing's Sake
Over the coming weeks, For Flourishing's Sake will feature extended podcast episodes, where you will be able to listen to the replays of the book launch events. Today's episode is the first half of the first panel discussion.
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S1 Ep46: Positive Education - from individual happiness to the greater good
For Flourishing's Sake
Is Positive Psychology all about individualism and selfish happiness endeavours, or does it support societal flourishing and encourage us to connect with and support one another? What role do schools play in this? In this episode, I explore some of the criticisms levelled at Positive Psychology and invite you to consider the opportunity we have as educators to change the world for the better.
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S1 Ep45: Flourishing Despite Fear
For Flourishing's Sake
In this week's "For Flourishing's Sake", I share how we can flourish and thrive despite experiencing fear. Not by eliminating the fear, but by flooding our system with happy hormones from positive emotions, to counteract the negative effects of the fear. Learn to use Positive Psychology to your advantage so you can experience wellbeing even at times when you are feeling fear and uncertainty.
info_outlineWelcome to Episode 45.
Nearly four months after the UK - where I live - went into lockdown due to Covid-19, and as last week more businesses, such as hairdressers and pubs, have been allowed to re-open and plans for the full re-opening of schools in September were announced, my levels of fear are higher than ever. Higher, even, than when a global pandemic was declared and I realised this was serious. As more people resume their previous routines with some semblance of normality, I feel less in control of my own and my family’s safety on the rare occasions we need to venture into public enclosed spaces, such as shops and pharmacies, for essentials. This fear, I know, is not something I am unique in experiencing, though everyone experiences it uniquely and at different levels.
Fear is a powerful emotion. It is one of the six basic emotions identified by Ekman in 1999 (1). It is an essential emotion as, without it, we would struggle to stay alive. We need fear to alert us to danger and elicit the so-called ‘fight or flight’ response. It can also, quite commonly, cause a ‘freeze’ response, where we are incapable of doing anything. I am not a virologist or epidemiologist, so I am not going to dispense advice or opinion in this podcast on what we should each be doing with regard to Covid-19. This is also not the place for political debate. I would like to, however, share some of the ways you can deal with your own levels of fear so it does not become debilitating to the point where you cannot do your job or look after yourself or your loved ones. One way or another, we need to be able to continue to function, despite the current situation, despite the fear. This is something I’ve been working at increasingly hard for some time now and perhaps you have, too. I’d like to offer you some positive psychology tools to help, for you and your children, so you can not only continue to function, but thrive and flourish, despite the fear.
In episodes 25 and 26 I mentioned the work of Barbara Fredrickson on positive emotions (2). According to her ‘broaden and build theory of positive emotions’, if we experience more positive than negative emotions, we can experience improved relationships, perceive and grab more opportunities, achieve more success in our personal and professional lives, and have more fun. We can experience ‘upward spirals of positive emotions’, where as a result of experiencing the ‘broaden and build’ benefits of positive emotions, we experience even more positive emotions, leading to more benefits, and so on. Fear, of course, can be a positive emotion - think about the thrill of a fairground ride or a gripping thriller, for example (though of course those are not enjoyable thrills for everyone!). But in the context I started this episode with, of the global pandemic we are living with, for those of us that experience fear, we are experiencing it as a negative emotion.
Positive psychology does not advocate eliminating negative emotions. All emotions are valid and serve a purpose. But we can improve our lives by not letting those emotions take over and generating more positive emotions for ourselves to counteract the effects of those negative emotions. All of the interventions and activities I have mentioned in past episodes do this to some extent. Last week, I suggested self-kindness bingo, for example, as a way to do activities you enjoy for 30 days. Last year, in episode 9, I shared the importance of gratitude for wellbeing. In other episodes we have explored savouring, curiosity, and a whole host of other wellbeing activities.
So my message in this episode is a simple one: Explore wellbeing activities that will boost your positive emotions. Make a list of as many of these as possible that you can do within whatever level of risk you are prepared to take and is allowed where you live with current restrictions in place. And ensure you do as many of these activities every day, every week, as possible. These won’t make the fear go away, but they will reduce the impact of the fear on your wellbeing by bombarding you with feel-good hormones and allowing you to experience all the benefits Barbara Fredrickson talks about.
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For Flourishing’s Sake is available on iTunes / Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts and Deezer.
The book, by the same name, came out on Kindle on 18th June and will be out on paperback on 21st August. You’ll find it on all major online book retailer sites. It’s jam-packed with evidence-based strategies for whole school positive education with case study examples from a wide range of schools from around the world. So why not order your Kindle copy now, or pre-order your paperback so you’ll receive it as soon as it’s published?
If you’d like to get in touch with questions or comments, or to contribute to a future episode, please contact me via Twitter at @FlourishingED. You can also leave comments on individual episode pages right here at www.forflourishingssake.com (see bottom of this page).
I look forward to hearing from you, and until next time, For Flourishing’s Sake, have a great week!
References
(1) Ekman, P. (1999) ‘Basic Emotions’, in Dalgleish, T. and Power, M. (eds) Handbook of Cognition and Emotion. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons Ltd., pp. 45–60.
(2) Fredrickson, B. L. (2001). The Role of Positive Emotions in Positive Psychology: The Broaden-and-Build Theory of Positive Emotions. The American Psychologist, 56(3), 218–226. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066x.56.3.218
Everyday Hero - 60 second version (Corporate, motivational, you tube, podcast) Music by Pond5