#Teacher5aday: Because We Are All Worth It

Thanks to Martyn Reah for bringing the issue of teacher well-being to the forefront of our minds, as we start a new term.  It’s important to look after and care for the carers who give so much time, compassion and care to our young people.

This is my attempt to try to make a better job of looking after myself, so I in turn can look after others.  It’s difficult to give when you are exhausted and stressed.  Looking after yourself and each other should become party of our daily routine.

I connect in twitter and in the blogosphere and have started to meet up with some people who have become twitter friends.  I hope to continue this during the coming year and Northern Rocks 2015 might be a high point in my meeting calendar.  It’s 30 years this summer that I finished university.  One friend has already suggested that we should all meet up again in Liverpool one weekend to chat over great times: past, present and future.  Great idea.

When I look back on life it won’t be the blog I didn’t write or the tweets I didn’t send that will be my deepest regret but the time missed with my family.  They children are growing up now and are starting to move on.  I must keep in touch with them.  There is now more time for myself and Cath now, so I mustn’t waste the opportunity.

Eat my lunch in the staff room.

I love walking, particularly with Cath.  We call ourselves the Chorley Walkers as this is one of our pastimes and a way to keep fit.  We walk to as many places as possible.  Whilst it is a great form of exercise I tend to undo all the good work by invariably ending up at a coffee shop.  Coffee just isn’t the same without a cake!  It’s good to walk and talk, it’s when most of our discussions happen.

I’m going to the multi-gym at school.  The gym I have been attending for over a decade closed at the end of October, last year.  It’s a good way to get rid of the tensions and stresses of the day.  Must keep this up.

Sometimes I’m so busy being a human doing I forget to stop and be a human being.  It’s good to just be at times and allow the World to go by.  Life goes on around us and there is so much beauty to be seen: the people, the flora and fauna, the scenery and the sun and moon.  I came back from Australia with a load of pictures of people, flowers and animals plus the wonderful scenery.  I need to find a bit more time to just be, in the year ahead.

I still need to “learn” my new job.  It has disorientated me more that I thought.  Beyond that I intend to keep reading and see what happens.  I know this discovery approach to learning isn’t possibly the best way but I’ve no specific learning goals.  I’m current reading “Start With Why” by Simon Sinek and “The Chimp Paradox” by Prof Steve Peters.  I have “Finnish Lessons 2.0” by Pasi Sahlberg and “Teach Like a Champion 2.0” by Doug Lemov on order.  I’ll continue reading blogs and articles and hope to visit a number of schools this year.  I’ll also invite people to Blackpool to see the work we are doing.  These are opportunities for me to acquire new knowledge, understand different perspectives and then probably blog some thoughts out, once I organised them in my own mind.

I think I’ve lost the art of volunteering.  As a member of the Handicapped Children’s Pilgrimage Trust, for a number of years, and a member of the St. Vincent De Paul Society visiting people in hospital or their home I felt I gave something back.  Work and family life has overwhelmed me and taken all my time.  Maybe that is not surprising and is simply a product of life’s ebb and flow.  As time becomes available I need to give something back, I’ve lived a blessed life.  Whilst supporting a number of charities financially the giving of time is also an important part of life.  Not sure what yet but at least this has challenged me to think about the issue of volunteering again.

A copy of the graphics used in this post are available here.

If you want to have a look at the #5MinWellBeingPlan please click the graphic below: