Elinor interviews primary school teacher and MiSP Associate Trainer, Chris Alekkou:

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Elinor interviews the founder of Teachappy and author of the award-winning Wellbeing In The Primary Classroom – A Practical Guide To Teaching Happiness, Adrian Bethune:

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Do you ever find yourself postponing a break until the next thing is done?

With the intense demands on education staff, intensified by the pandemic, it is no wonder that day after day involves driving relentlessly from one task to another.

In addition, as educators and carers, many of us have a habit of putting ourselves at the bottom of the ‘to do list’. Does that sound familiar to you?

On top of that, when pressures are high, and we are conscientious, it is often the nourishing activities that we let go of, to make more time for the ‘to do list’.^[i] ‘I’ll just . . ….’ is one of my favourite phrases and it doesn’t serve my health or wellbeing.

Rest is not just for holidays, it needs to be woven into everyday life. With winter coming, prioritising physical and mental health is essential. In the UK if you are working both sessions of a school day you are entitled to a ‘reasonable break’, twenty minutes at least.^[ii] Making time outside work to rest is important too.

We need to take care of ourselves in order to take care of others. 

Doing nothing is hard. When life is busy it takes time to slow down. I sometimes feel like a mechanical wind-up toy that keeps whirring away long after it’s stopped moving.

Rest doesn’t have to be doing nothing and mindfulness can help. Mindfulness isn’t stopping what we’re doing, it’s knowing what we’re doing and having our mind and body in the same place at the same time. It’s how we do things as much as what we do.

When you eat lunch, can you just eat lunch? What’s it like to sit down, engage your senses, notice textures and flavours, rather than squeezing in more tasks with lunch on the side?

If you have a warm drink what’s it like to pay attention to the warmth, weight and texture of the cup, the light reflecting in the liquid, the smell and flavour of the drink?

This ‘single-tasking’ in itself can give us a break.

Dr Saundra Dalton-Smith is a medic and a parent and specialises in helping people with their work-rest balance which, let’s face it, for many of us, involves a massive rest deficit. Dalton-Smith names 7 types of rest that we all need. Physical, mental, sensory, creative, emotional, social, spiritual.^[iii]

Mindfulness maps onto all 7 areas:

Physical rest – Mindfulness is an opportunity to listen to your body and respond skilfully to its messages. Many people notice sleepiness during practice, which can signal a need for rest and be a letting go. Sleep is a vital form of rest. Physical rest can also include gentle stretching or a massage. Can we make kind choices to take care of our body which does so much for us and others?

Mental rest – When we’re constantly busy ‘doing’, the chances are the mind is busy too. Switching off is hard and this can impact physical rest and sleep. The great thing about mindfulness is that we’re not trying to stop thinking. Stopping our thoughts is impossible and just creates struggle! We are learning to change our relationship with thinking, to step back from our thoughts, give them space and release their hold on us. Can we build regular times into the day, even a couple of minutes at a time, where we can take a break and just be?

Sensory rest – We are constantly receiving and processing information during the school day, and outside through continued connection to devices. Switch them off for a while! There is no need to switch off our senses though. With mindfulness practice we choose what we take in, how we take it in and rest in our senses, receiving their messages without searching or striving. We might lower our gaze or close our eyes, to reduce visual input. We might sit and receive what we see, colours, shapes and textures. The switch is from doing to being. Easier said than done but that’s why it’s called mindfulness practice!

Creative rest – You may find this in nature or knitting, painting or cooking or just choosing things you enjoy looking at, make music, listen to it, dance round the kitchen find whatever works for you. And can you, just for this moment, enter fully into the experience?

Emotional rest – Working in education, with so many who need care, involves holding how others are and holding back how we are. Mindfulness is self-supportive. It enables us to be a friend and mentor to ourselves, to recognise, acknowledge and care for how we are and our needs.

Social rest – We need people we trust, can be ourselves with and who lift us up rather than drain us. Mindfulness helps us notice the effect people have on us and make skilful choices in response. It helps us choose how we relate to others including setting boundaries.

Spiritual rest – What gives you a sense of connection that enriches you? A walk in nature? Community engagement? Spiritual rest nourishes us, connecting us to something beyond ourselves. It doesn’t have to be anything big. Can you find beauty in the little things? Notice colours, sounds, scents of the changing season? Appreciate the journey the food you are eating has made from field to fork?

Which form of rest would you find most nourishing today?

If there are activities you are already doing; could you reframe your approach, give them your full attention and rest in the process?

[i] Mark Williams and Danny Penman, Mindfulness Finding Peace in a Frantic World, p.211.

[ii] Graeme Hornsby, ‘Directed time: entitlement to breaks’, The Key for School Leaders.

[iii] Dr Saundra Dalton-Smith, The 7 Types of Rest that Every Person Needs.

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Our theme ‘Including All’ was chosen to reflect conversations that have been going on in communities across the world, and it was wonderful to hear the thought leadership and lived experience from the practitioners, teachers and academics who generously gave us their expertise and their time.

Here are some of the recurring themes that our speakers brought to the day:

Ubuntu: ‘I am, because we are’ – we are all connected

There was a real emphasis on the interconnectedness that we have as individual human beings, with each other and our environment. We exist in relationship with each other within communal, social frameworks that we can effect and impact, and which effect and impact us.

Inclusion is a process

Inclusion is not a one-time activity that we ‘do’ and ‘complete’. It is a process over time which encourages continual collaboration and the development and expansion of relationships, and we can all promote inclusion.

I am an agent of change

We were invited to reflect on what it is in an environment that makes us feel welcome, included and able to thrive? What is the ‘flavour’ of inclusion, and how might we create this in our schools? What one thing can I do, however small, to support and foster a community of inclusion? And within this, what are my own biases and assumptions? The practice of mindfulness helps us identify and come to terms with our own cultural backgrounds and experiences.

Walk gently with others to go further

And then, how can I work with others to support them becoming a better friend to themselves for the good of our whole community? When we emphasise our common humanity, we can normalise diverse experience and reduce self-criticism, shame, fear and prejudice, and help promote inclusion. We can bring kindness and compassion to that work to have more impact on our journey.

Identify barriers to participation

Inclusion is concerned with the identification and removal of contextual barriers to participation. By adopting a ‘quizzical social mindfulness’ we may become more aware of our own social conditioning and preferences, and be better able to see social and political norms that create and preserve exclusive monocultures. Let’s notice and interrupt dominant powers that lead to suffering.…

Create safe spaces for dialogue

By creating spaces where we can really engage in dialogue with each other. When we successfully encourage individuals to participate and engage, where their voices are valued, heard and included, we can develop authentic relationships with the young people and adults in our schools.

Co-learning through co-creation

Let’s also recognise that we must learn too. Adults in schools can, and must, also learn from their students. This can be achieved by co-creating lessons, activities, and being in dialogue with children and young people to develop a unifying language and to connect with all members of the community.

Bridging the gaps between people and cultures

Mindfulness can help us move from ‘me’ to ‘we’, bridging social differences and creating alliances and shared experiences. It sits outside differences of religion, class, gender, sexual preferences and other social divides as a tool, accessible to all people from all backgrounds and traditions.

Release from the powers of habit and conditioning

Mindfulness brings ancient wisdom that enables us to become aware of our habits and our conditioning, and release us from the power they have over us. This enables us to promote and protect the value and dignity of each individual.

Conference slides and videos will be available for free for all Hub members.

Join us at our Guest Workshops to hear more from some of our speakers.

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For 5 years I taught College Success Skills at a local community college. It was my personal determination to include Mindfulness in the existing curriculum. There was resistance on many levels, mostly due to the lack of familiarity with Mindfulness work in this geographic region. I was determined, so I pushed on.

The demographics of my classroom were:

• 50%  younger than 25, 35% 25-45, 15% 45 – 70
• 80% urban,
• 35% Military
• 10% People who had been previously incarcerated (we have a 2^nd Chance program in VA)
• 70% POC (predominantly African American)

Each semester I would ask the students to rate in order of importance 4 diverse qualities, from most important to least important, as they pertained to their degree choice or area of study:

Smart – Wealthy – Creative – Caring

Once they rated these qualities the class would play a game where we would guess the major, based on how the qualities were categorized. For example; Caring-Smart-Wealthy-Creative might be a nurse. Smart-Wealthy-Caring-Creative might be an accountant. Creative-Wealthy-Smart-Caring might be a Videogame designer. Over time I got pretty good at guessing their majors. This game incorporates Mindful Listening, but on the down-low.

I was always amazed at the high percentage of students that considered themselves, non-creative. To them creativity meant not only being artistic but having artistry at the level of professionalism. They seemed to carry no awareness of how we all use creativity on a daily basis.

In my experience it’s not uncommon to hear people voice their lack of confidence when it comes to creativity. It’s an interesting phenomenon that is worth exploring but for the purposes of my discussion I will only make note of the commonality.

When I would implore further discussion, it would take some time before the idea of Creativity appearing in multiple genres became more fluid and accessible. Examples included the unique designs of presentations and projects, finding a cure for an illness, a solution to ecofriendly urban housing, or even how a room is arranged. Once they blew away the walls and boundaries surrounding their definitions of creativity, they became more excited, including things like the color of their car or outfit, what their music playlists looked like, even the way they set up their study spaces, which is an important skill for college success.

I wanted them to begin to see how Creativity is actually an inherent component of our existence. I wanted to get away from the traditional and number one definition listed in most dictionaries. Creativity: the use of the imagination or original ideas, especially in the production of an artistic work. I wanted to explore a broader definition.

Creativity: the act of turning new and imaginative ideas into reality. It is characterized by the ability to perceive the world in new ways, to find hidden patterns, to make connections between seemingly unrelated phenomena, and to generate solutions.*

And with that revised outlook the discussions then began to expand, as they started exploring ways Creativity could be brought into their particular majors and areas of study. Frequently, I was told that looking at their majors through this lens actually made the majors more interesting.

Creativity is exercised continuously in our lives. It is the manifestation of choice, choices that line up and aggregate. These choices describe our individual uniqueness. Further, the choices (creativity), of multiple individuals, collectively impact and influence Culture. Culture: the customs, arts, social institutions, and achievements of a particular nation, people, or other social group. Once again I want to step back and look at the idea of Culture from a broader perspective.

Culture is the characteristics and knowledge of a particular group of people, encompassing language, religion, cuisine, social habits, music and arts. … the characteristic features of everyday existence (such as diversions or a way of life) shared by people in a place or time

I have an interesting experience that reflects this point of recognizing Culture. I was going to the UK each summer supporting an Inward Bound Mindfulness Education (iBme) Teen Retreat program. My post retreat senses were heightened, having just left a weeklong retreat. As I walked down the airplane ramp to catch my return flight I noticed two teenagers walking a few yards ahead. I smiled, as I knew I was headed home, by the way they walked. They were “walking American”. It stuck out so much more than usual. I was experiencing a strong sense of my own cultural tags.

On another occasion I sat with my sister in Kingston, Jamaica’s town center round-a-bout. We both marveled at how differently they walked from our own African American culture. They stood more erect. We had a long heartfelt conversation pondering what caused the difference in our gaits. Physical movements, body posture, walking, give clues to culture and can be further divided into subcategories, i.e., the stride of a Manhattan-ite, versus a Texan, ballerinas vs. football players etc. etc. etc. There is culture being displayed in each of these instances. Yes, other aspects are also present, but culture is being strongly displayed.

Culture is the glue that connects community. Community expresses our co-lived experience through our culture and creativity. It’s dynamic, in a constant state of flux, yet at the same time it’s old and ancient.

Community: a feeling of fellowship with others, as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests.

Community used to be a more static idea based on location and geography but through the work of educators and psychologists the notion of geography as the sole or paramount definer has changed. Seymour Sarason is considered, by many, to be the founder of Community Psychology. In contemporary culture Community Psychology is the branch of psychology at the forefront of community social justice work.** Sarason began to define community as a psychological conceptual space coining the term “sense of community”. He initiated the idea and research into Test Anxiety in the 1950’s. Sarason started his work back in the 1930’s and lived until 2010. Impacting the field throughout his life.

I feel this next component, Contemplation, is crucial as it is our work as Mindfulness Educators. I feel compelled to explain that in my universe, Mindfulness falls under the broad heading of Contemplative Practices. Please take a look at the Contemplative Practices Tree diagram. There is a myriad of activities considered contemplative. ***

I’m a drummer, poet, storyteller, dancer, gardener, meditator, etc. All of these are located on the Contemplative Practice Tree. Considering this perspective, contemplative practices are universal, broadly found in cultures and communities on all continents. Our rigid definitions can make us blind to their existence much like my College Success class that felt only professional artists were creative. Perhaps this analogy will help. New students often comment, “I can’t drum I have no rhythm.” I usually respond with, “You have a heart and it beats. It’s the first drum. Yes, you do have rhythm you just need a guide to help show you how to access it.” I would say that is the same in Mindfulness education.

I find most of the definitions we use for Contemplation and Contemplative Practices to be rigid, reflecting Western Lineage concepts. They ignore the way Mindfulness/Contemplation are practiced in all cultures. It may be unintentional however this definition seems to rest in the notion of thought, i.e., “Mind-Full-ness” as “me”. I perceive it differently, there is more to add to that definition. Contemplative Practices do not dwell predominantly in thought but equitably in awareness and feelings encompassing “me as we”. As we continue to practice, this understanding deepens. The definition I find closer to my experience is “awareness” in place of “thought”. Awareness of self in all its complexities, from the most intimate, to as far out as the concept of self is able to achieve, ever deepening, growing, and expanding.

Contemplative Practice: expressing or involving prolonged investigation. Awareness

Contemplative Practices, often partnered with Creativity, are used inherently by all communities to transmit teachings, morals, hopes and dreams. Visual art, games, music, storytelling, and play are excellent tools for delivery as

1) one generation passes their history to the next

2) younger generations introduce new concepts on ways of being

3) various diverse groups within a community bring about change in patterns, traditions and beliefs. (e.g. Blues, Rock & Roll, Rap, miniskirts, bell-bottoms, “my bad”, Queer, Me Too)

Contemplation enhances and deepens the awareness of the dynamics of culture, creativity, and community. Contemplation can go beyond being aware, expanding to find diverse ways to teach concepts. Taking it a step further, coupling contemplation with creativity provides flow, breaking and loosening traditional roles, ideas, and hierarchies, increasing the opportunity for equanimity. It supports divergence and alteration, aka evolution. The Mindfulness Educator sits, stands, walks, and dances in the eye of this beautiful Creative Contemplative Cultural storm.

I am calling these the 4 C’s.

Creativity – Culture – Contemplation yield Community

So…

When I go in the classroom to teach Mindfulness or other contemplative practices my first notion is to find out who I am, within the community, and why I have been asked to come? What aspect of the community am I being asked to attend to? Even if I am the initiator, the same question remains, “Why am I here?”

I believe win-win situations work best for all involved, therefore my next question follows, “What am I getting out of this? What is my benefit? This may be due to my cultural heritage as an African American, but I have low trust in anyone who comes into my community and expresses they are there, just for me and it’s all from the goodness of their heart. If that is the case, then what is their incentive to stay until the work is done? What stops them from just dropping out? This cycle has been repeated generation after generation in many communities. By sharing my goal(s) and transparency, I invite them to participate in its achievement just as I seek to add value to the community with my work. This is a co-creation. Whatever the response, the community will provide crucial information. Where are they with this?

Having this information, I check into my toolbox. Well… maybe it’s a fashionable briefcase with rolling wheels. It contains the Mindfulness Practice skills I have been trained to teach. It also contains my culture as well as the parts of me that I bring to share, my gifts, vulnerability and curiosity. I seek to set the stage for reciprocity whether boardroom, substance abuse counseling agency, athletic team, dance group, teen retreat, yoga teacher training or multi-generational Dance Drum & Meditation workshop.

Though the tools that we teach across the Mindfulness Education genre are pretty universal the method I use to deliver the tools is dynamic and shape-shifts depending on the community I serve. I must be aware of the

1. Community – the individuals/collective in the space,
2. Culture – the way they are collectively expressing their identities,
3. Creativity – through their choices of expression.

I can remember stories of how slave women would tie their head kerchief’s, in a special way on Sundays, their day off. It was their creativity being expressed in a recognized community cultural form. It was a small but very important expression. Today African American women are known for their hats, headwraps (or geles), loc jewelry, and various hair adornments. What one does with one’s hair and coverings is still a highly honored expression harking back to African ancestry.

A possible Mindfulness lesson in a community with these roots would be to facilitate a session on the Art of Head Adornments. I would have everyone bring or create a head ornament.

Exercise:

Using Mindful Seeing, ponder a person’s headwrap for thirty seconds and write every descriptive term you can think of. The person with the most descriptors, rings the bell for the mediation at the end of class. (note: the person ringing the bell has power over time).

Questions for self-observation/contemplation:

• What was going on somatically while doing this exercise?
• While observing another?
• While being observed?

As the teacher: What information do I learn about this community as they share. Information that can be used as I move forward in preparing other lessons.

As the Mindfulness teacher I am in exchange/interchange with the community I am serving.

• How can I be aware of identity(s) in this community?
• How can I engage all members of this community?
• Where are the cultural intersections that I can plug into? I want to become a member or at least a welcomed guest.
• What part of my culture can I share with them?
• How can I bring out the Mindfulness (contemplative) aspect of our cultural connection(s) and intersections?
• How can I present Mindfulness as being relevant and of value to their community?
• How do I facilitate this community teaching me their Cultural & Contemplative practices
• Including designing our own version of teaching the basic Mindfulness Contemplative practices, thus creating a revised version of this community of which I am now included?

Weaving together Mindfulness practices, games of inquiry, safe space establishment, deep curiosity, respect and appreciation I then embark on a journey with this community, curious to discover where we meet on the other side of this learning experience. This curiosity is even more heightened if I am with a group that I have trouble finding intersections (i.e., it’s a group I would normally not hang out with). This means I must go even deeper in my own Mindfulness practices to gain that sought-after awareness.

For the Mindfulness Educator this journey is the Ecstasy of teaching that Bell Hooks discusses.

…The classroom, with all its limitations remains a location of possibility. In that field of possibility, we have the opportunity to labor for freedom, to demand of ourselves and our comrades, an openness of mind and heart that allows us to face reality even as we collectively imagine ways to move beyond boundaries, to transgress. This is education as the practice of freedom.****

There are jewels waiting to be discovered by those willing to take the road and go through the trials of discovery. I ask myself, “How does this particular community express itself? How can I share Mindfulness with the unique individuals as well as the collective community? My trusted companions are the search for culture and the creativity I use to connect with it. My objective is authentic expression that creates value.

So, my last story to share is from a student in my Mindfulness for Yoga Teachers course. The students’ assignment was to find a way to express creativity. Each person had their own unique expression of the assignment. One person came up with a vision board. Another, a daycare owner, talked about a challenge her center was facing. She ran a Before Care center. Children of different ages were dropped off in the mornings before school. Her oldest were eight, nine, and ten, “tweens”. Her youngest were toddlers. Apparently, these older girls were really going through it. She said their hormones were flowing, creating arguments, power plays, bossiness, tears, the full gamut. She needed a way to have her center much more calm before these children were taken to their respective schools. Starting off each day with such chaos wasn’t good for anyone. She kept sitting in mediation seeking an answer. Then one came to her. She made those “tweens” the greeters. They would greet and help the younger students find their places, take off their coats, get their morning snack and all done with joy and full attention. She was amazed at the change in culture of her Daycare community. I asked her where she found the model she was using. I asked all the students. They looked quite puzzled. Perhaps she remembered it from some book, or using the extracurricular model in schools, or it was just in her mind.

I asked about the model possibly being a universal. Could this set-up be found in many communities where the older children often take care of the younger ones, especially in group settings. Everyone’s face widened, “Of course.” “Perhaps through your Mindfulness you tapped into your own innate remembering.” Sometimes we feel to do this work we have to read it somewhere. But there is an abundance of information right in our own lives or right beside us in the community, an ally, advocate or if we’re fortunate enough, an elder. We just need to find a way to listen, i.e., Contemplation, Meditation, Mindfulness.

The 4C’s just like Mindfulness are inherent qualities that we (and communities) already possess. As Mindfulness Educators we are the guides, the archaeologists, anthropologists, the adventurers exploring ancient paths that have been long forgotten but not erased and are being re-discovered by and in the work we do.

Creativity – Culture – Contemplation yield Community

The differences between people need not act as barriers that wound, harm and drive us apart. Rather, these very differences among cultures and civilizations should be valued as manifestations of the richness of our shared creativity. Daisaku. Ikeda

*(Please see the Introduction, Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. By Betty Edwards © Notice how the word Mindfulness can be substituted for the artistic terms. It even discusses how meditation is actually using the same areas as creative/artistic work)

** What is Community Psychology (you may need to copy url into your search bar)? https://www.scra27.org/files/2913/8991/6304/What_is_Community_Psychology_Handout.pdf

*** Please see handout: Tree of Contemplative Practices http://www.contemplativemind.org/practices/tree)

**** Ecstasy, Teaching and Learning Without Limits from Teaching to Transgress, Education as the Practice of Freedom by Bell Hooks ©1994

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Our vision is that every child and young person should have the opportunity to learn mindfulness skills to help them manage difficulty and be able to flourish. We are currently recruiting for two exciting new posts. If you’re passionate about implementing mindfulness in schools and have the relevant skills and experience for these roles download the details to find out how to apply.

Please note that the deadline for applications is 23:59 on Tuesday 25^th May 2021 and interviews will be held in the week commencing 7^th June 2021.

Thank you for your interest in our charity.

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On Thursday 11^th February 2021 we hosted the fourth of our ‘Inviting the Experts…’ series of webinars. This is a series of CPD sessions which we have set up recognising the incredible work that is going on in schools right now in particularly challenging circumstances and the need for school staff to have access to informative, practical advice from experts.

The session was delivered by Gillian Ashley, Head of Training and Chief Development Officer from the British Dyslexia Association, who gave an expert introduction to dyslexia and the practical support that schools can provide. Here are some key items from the session:

What is dyslexia?

How common is dyslexia?

What are schools legally required to do?

How can schools help with reading?

How can schools help with writing?

How can schools help with spelling?

Using Assistive Technology

Key messages

We are very grateful to our supporters Towergate and The Education Broker, whose support enables us to provide these sessions for free, and who are committed to improving the health and wellbeing of young people and staff in the education sector. Please visit their websites to learn more about what they do or call on 01438 739626 to discuss your insurance, risk management and health and wellbeing requirements.

If you are a member of our Hub you can view the recording of this webinar.

Not a Hub Member? Find out about the benefits of membership.

We hope that you can join us at the next webinar in this series.

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On Thursday 14^th January 2021 we hosted the third of our ‘Inviting the Experts…’ series of webinars. This is a series of CPD sessions which we have set up recognising the incredible work that is going on in schools right now in particularly challenging circumstances and the need for school staff to have access to informative, practical advice from experts.

The session was delivered by Rebecca Rolfe from The Children’s Society, who provided an insightful overview of the challenges facing Young Carers and the actions schools can take to support them. Here are some key items from the session:

Who are Young Carers?

What do Young Carers do?

What challenges do Young Carers face?

What can schools do to support Young Carers?

Further Information

We are very grateful to our supporters Towergate and The Education Broker, whose support enables us to provide these sessions for free, and who are committed to improving the health and wellbeing of young people and staff in the education sector. Please visit their websites to learn more about what they do or call on 01438 739626 to discuss your insurance, risk management and health and wellbeing requirements.

If you are a member of our Hub you can view the recording of this webinar.

Not a Hub Member? Find out about the benefits of membership.

We hope that you can join us at the next webinar in this series.

The post Supporting Young Carers in Schools appeared first on Mindfulness in Schools Project.

by Liz Lord

In the second of our series of blogs looking at the essential qualities of school mindfulness teachers, Liz Lord questions the constant and never ending ‘to do’ lists and offers an alternative…

I worked for almost 20 years as a teacher, SLT member, SENDCO, CAMHS link and lead for mental health and wellbeing, and for most of that time I constantly had a ‘to do’ list on the go. It seemed an infinite stream of tasks with a life of its own, causing endless stress.

Sometimes, I seem to recall, it would include items written in a hurry, such as ‘sort out Kate’ (a pupil!). How on earth do you do that? And yet, that was the nature of working with children and young people, especially in the area of wellbeing. Time and the system wasn’t on my side and I had little control of the influences surrounding the young people I was working with. ‘Banging my head against a brick wall’ often came to mind when dealing with my ‘to do’ list. Or to use another more northern expression – it was like plaiting fog.

My task list was never ending and it ultimately robbed me of the energy and enthusiasm that those young and impressionable individuals deserved. Does any of this sound familiar?

I attended a training event at work where staff shared their aspirations and long ‘to do’ lists. My heart sank: more ‘to do’s! As I listened, I realised that not one person mentioned any of the personal qualities that, as we all know, can make such a difference to any situation. It was a moment of clarity for me. Eureka! It shouldn’t be just about a ‘to do’ list but a ‘to be’ list!  How do I want to be in the world, in my classroom and how can this shift in emphasis bring a greater sense of fulfilment to my work and life? In many contexts this was the only thing that I had any control of. ‘How can I be in this situation?’

So I decided to try it out. My ‘to be’ list consisted not just of general things such as, be kind or caring or loving, but more specific things like; make time and space for people, allow people the time to express themselves, listen more carefully, show kindness in small ways (with cups of tea, opening doors, smiling!), appreciate conversations, write more ‘thank you’ emails, notice things outside myself, notice things inside myself. This is not the exhaustive list but it gives you a flavour. All of these things were not to be ticked off a list, like obligations completed, but rather they were about spending time cultivating a sense of interest in the people around me and helping me to value and appreciate a deeper sense of community in the classroom and the school.

I wanted to move away from glorifying busyness, rushing and skimming over things to something more wholesome.

I remember a lovely passage that used to help me when pupils or staff came to my door, especially if I was ‘busy’, had a deadline to hit or a lesson to plan.  It was taken from a book I had read by Henri Nouwen, a Jesuit priest and writer. It had always struck a chord with me and left a lasting impression: “My whole life I have been complaining that my work was constantly interrupted, until I discovered that my interruptions were my work”.

I love this little saying. Often, when I just stopped and let those interruptions develop into something more meaningful, real connections were made, helping to initiate change and create new perspectives. In a sense, there are no interruptions, simply life unfolding in its own way.

Am I saying that focussing on my ‘to be’ list reduced my ‘to do’ list? I’m not sure about that but it certainly helped me to experience more ownership of the things I could change. A sense of acceptance and awareness was brought to the smaller interactions which, in turn, had an effect on me and my ability to appreciate things and experience connections more fully. I felt a certain ‘lightness’ which may seem a bit vague but it is the only word I can think of to describe the sense that came from regularly appreciating the small things that were happening in my day. Something definitely shifted as I more consciously cultivated and fostered a greater sense of awareness and appreciation for whatever or whoever crossed my path

2020 has seen such uncertainty, with so much around us that we cannot control or even predict, and the year ahead will have its own challenges and trials. So over this New Year, if you write a ‘to do’ list for 2021, why not try writing a ‘to be’ list as well and see what happens?

Read the first article in this series: The Lost Qualities of Teachers – Finding a Way Back with Mindfulness | Mindfulness in Schools Project

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In this first of a series of blogs looking at the essential qualities of school mindfulness teachers, Liz Lord tracks the explosion in popularity of the children’s book, The Lost Words, by Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris, and explores the lessons we can learn from their experiences.

I first learned of the story of The Lost Words from my daughter, Annie, when she excitedly showed me a beautifully presented children’s poetry book written by the wonderful Robert Macfarlane, and illustrated by the equally wonderful Jackie Morris. I must admit, as with lots of things, the real impact of it didn’t hit me till a few months later when I went to a concert at the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) featuring this book. Possibly, the mix of these beautiful poems or ‘spells’ as they are called, and the authentic folk music, resonated more deeply with me in that setting. I was fascinated by the origins of this book and how it had captured the very heart and soul of the nation.

Robert Macfarlane, a most gifted author and Professor of English at the University of Cambridge (and for the record, a truly beautiful man with a gift for nature and words), heard that the editorial team at the Oxford English Dictionary had replaced some words that they deemed no longer part of children’s vocabulary. Every time I mention these words to others for the first time, I have a similar reaction: disbelief or surprise, followed by expressions of sadness and despair.

The words, including; acorn, adder, bramble, otter, dandelion, and skylark have been replaced by such things as bitesize and files. “How can children not need to know what an acorn is?” was a common response. How is it that childhoods in the techno-age have lost their groundedness in the natural world and environment?

Robert responded to his own alarm at the situation by writing a poem (‘spell’) for each of the words that had been “lost” from the dictionary. Together with the immensely talented artist Jackie Morris, they produced a book called The Lost Words.

This large (A2 size) book, captures in each page the real meaning and essence of the words in both prose and artistry. As news of this book has spread, and especially in the light of current concerns about both global and local threats to the environment, there has been a call for all primary schools in the country to have a copy on display in an attempt to reconnect children with the awe and wonder of landscape and the earth. Something would certainly be ‘lost’ if we didn’t help our children resonate with this vital elemental aspect to their lives.

There were stories on twitter of people rowing the book over to remote schools in Scotland, campaigns to fund the book being sent to all corners of the UK. Heart-warming and inspiring stories of passionate people on a mission to help children re-engage with these ‘lost words’.

A commission was granted to fund some of the finest traditional folk musicians to collaboratively produce music and songs to illustrate these ‘lost words and spells’. The result was a collection called ‘spell songs’, and a few concerts were set up around the country to share these interpretations.

Hence my attendance at the RNCM concert last year. It was a most moving experience, deeply connecting me to the meaning and essence of the words and the sentiment behind their important place in our rich vocabulary. The evening was a beautiful mix of prose, music and art, simultaneously being expressed on stage to nurture a deep resonance with the audience.

I was several times brought to tears.

The whole experience of that concert was a feast of the senses. The purity of voice and instruments, watching Jackie Morris expertly craft an otter on canvas during the ‘otter song’, and also the fact that I had gone with a family friend, Anna and her sister Grace, who herself was a young, enthusiastic and talented primary teacher. All these elements of the evening seemed to tap into a deep personal conviction of wanting to pass goodness and beauty to the next generation through children and schools. A common cry of many a schoolteacher I know.

The sentiments of that conviction disturbed me when I later reflected on the pressures and workload, draining the energy, creativity and vibrancy of current life in the classroom and the pressures that are being placed on both the teachers and children alike with a relentless testing regime.

These reflections brought with them a deep sense of sadness and helplessness for the profession that I love and deeply care about and I wrote this in response;

Just as words can slip away from the pages, become obsolete in many eyes, and are lost,

So too can qualities slip away from our being, be left unnoticed, not appreciated and perhaps in time abandoned…

I reflected on all the qualities of the teachers I had known and loved over the years. Colleagues that have been kind, loving, creative, funny, knowledgeable, empowering, delighted, connected, resonance, expecting my best, knowing me fully, taking the time and so much more!

Are we in danger of losing these qualities in the young teachers we are forming? How are we fostering these qualities and how have we let more measurable things like attainment targets and statistics overtake the very qualities we know are important to help our children and young people flourish? We hear of so many difficulties with mental health and wellbeing. Could this be an attempt to address the very qualities we want to be surrounding our young people as they grow and mature? We are responsible as teachers and leaders for forming the children and young people in our care.

What are The Lost Qualities of our teachers and school leaders? How can we express the importance of these qualities so that they are fully present in our schools? How can these words be celebrated and used in the training of our young or new teachers in what is important as a foundational set of qualities to be at the heart of our profession?

Mindfulness in Schools Project is committed to supporting teachers and all those working in and alongside schools. Visit the new areas of our Hub to see information on:

• Supporting Your Practice
• Supporting your Teaching
• Supporting Your School

We are here to bring mindfulness to more schools. Email: support@mindfulnessinschools.org

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