Whole-Hearted Teaching

04/07/2023

Hello everyone I hope you are enjoying the freedom of the holidays so far!😃☀️🤍

I have decided it’s time for a little break myself…

Over the past 13 years, I have been working in teacher well-being & it has been nothing short of life-changing. What I have learned from you the teachers inside the walls of schools, education centres & retreat centres has altered the course of my life. To me, professional development in well-being that is worthwhile requires more listening than instructing, more empathy than explanation & more reflection on what I learn in that space than assuming I have all the answers. I have borne witness to debate & discussion in circles of both teachers & school leaders that have been dynamic in breaking the mantle in the narrative; the frustrations, the anger, the concern, the care, the joy & the sheer force of passion for teaching & making a difference. Each discussion ingrained in my psyche as a lesson for me as a teacher & researcher. For that has been my role; to facilitate these spaces so that teachers & school leaders could feel safe & supported enough to release emotion, to rest & recover & to feel they were not alone in navigating this unique role🤍

Without intention, those spaces then grew connections, friendships, bravery & positive change, both for you and for me too! I have done my best to walk into every space with an open heart & a vulnerability so that you might feel safe, supported & reignite that spark for teaching that can so often get lost under the rubble of the bureaucracy & overwhelm.

Over the past few years, as many of you know I have dealt with some health issues & within that I have been attempting to complete a PhD! I have battled the past in many ways & feel like I am finally coming to a point where I feel hopeful that good health & a bright future await. I am getting there thankfully but whilst I am reaching the final stages of my research, I feel I need to cocoon a little & move myself into a space that is dedicated entirely to you the teacher. My research will be of postage stamp size in terms of contribution but it is a contribution nevertheless, & I wish for it to represent you & your needs in the best way possible.

So I have made the decision to come away from social media for a few months so that I can come back to you with a more defined, more robust, evidence-based manifesto that will be of direct benefit both to you personally & at a systemic level also. Building & designing a suite of courses & retreats that can be more regular & more in tune with your needs is one of my goals for 2024/25 but in order to do that, I need to invest all of my time & energy into that research for now.

I will be checking in on the Page once a month so please do stay in touch if you need or want to. I will be delighted to hear from you😊

Thank you wholeheartedly for all of your support, both here & in-person. It means everything.

See you in a few months dearest colleagues & until then, go gently with the precious light you carry & with yourself ✨🤍🕊️

Love, Ann-Marie x

30/06/2023

HOLIDAYS HAVE ARRIVED!!!😄🩷

The weather may have changed but it’s still summer & your break starts here! Wishing you every good wish & blessing for what I hope will be a restful & enjoyable July & August for you💛🥂

Take a breath & take a nap! Then go start it all with a weekend of fun or maybe sleeping to recover!!😴😅🩷

Go gently dearest colleagues🤍

Love, Ann-Marie x

23/06/2023

A slightly different take on teacher well-being🩷

Would love to hear your thoughts?🤔

I hope you have a lovely weekend. The holidays are not far away now! Whatever you have been doing the past few weeks, let it be enough. You won’t get it all done and believe it or not, that’s ok!✔️😊🩷

Go gently dearest colleagues. You are almost there!

Love, Ann-Marie x

13/06/2023

To you the teachers teaching in June☀️…may you find pockets of space to rest (or collapse!) in the final couple of weeks of school.

School tours, school plays, getting final reports out…and there are always those last few incidents or situations that arise that you didn’t see coming…it’s certainly not for the faint-hearted!😬😅

Not long now my friends! Hope you can enjoy some parts of it along the way too💛

09/06/2023

A really useful guide from Teachingplans.ie listing all summer course providers. Well worth a look to meet all your EPV summer course needs!☀️🗒️

These are the main providers of primary teacher summer CPD courses. Sometimes you might have a specific topic or area in mind that you would like to learn about so you may want to look accross all of the different providers to see if there are any courses available. The ones I have listed here all provide online CPD that can be done from anywhere.

I have been told that Drumcondra Education Centre have published a booklet which lists every summer course in previous years, but it's not available yet.

The ESCI website is very handy as you can search through all of the courses that are being offered by the Education Centres. So you can specify online courses and keywords that you are interested in.

I have this list available in a blog post with hyperlinks to the relevant web pages here:

https://teachingplans.ie/teacher-summer-course-providers/

Let me know if I have missed any providers and I will add them to the blog post.

07/06/2023

Best of luck & many blessings to all students starting exams today🍀🩷

And to the teachers who have taught them, mentored them, guided them, reassured them, supported them & gotten them to today, much appreciation for all of your efforts & commitment above & beyond👏🏼

28/05/2023

TEACHER SUPPORT (PART TWO)🩷🌱🩷

It can often be underestimated by us as teachers how important it is to have a school leader that you can trust & that will support you🩷

What is emerging in my research 🧐 is that it isn’t JUST about the support a principal actually provides in a particular situation with a parent, a pupil/student or the inspectorate for example, but it is also about being a teacher walking into your school, around your school & coming home from your school each day KNOWING that you are valued, cared for, appreciated & that the support is there for you should you need it.

That alone is a huge contributing factor towards feeling secure & content. Having that ‘hand at your back,’ safe in the knowledge that you can continue to grow & learn in your role means that you can focus on your pupils/students & the job of teaching & supporting them! 🌱🩷

This is cyclical then as it will also feed back into you the teacher feeling cared for enough to feel motivated in contributing to the school itself & in supporting your school leaders in whatever way you can. That mutual respect & care allows for that to be seeded & hopefully to flourish 🌺

Wishing you many blessings for the week ahead & a speedy finish on all grading & report-writing!✍🏼 ✔️😬

Go gently🤍🩷🤍

Love, Ann-Marie x

24/05/2023

Some evaluations from our recent ‘Whole-Hearted Teacher Support Webinar’ in April Laois Education Support Centre & Kildare Education Support Centre 🩷

Don’t forget you can still register for our in-person ‘Whole-Hearted Teacher Restore & Support Day’ on Saturday June 17th in Laois Education Support Centre in Portlaoise town where I will be offering you a calm, soothing, supportive space in the midst of this crazy time of year to retreat, rest, restore & revive in mind, body, heart & spirit🩷🕊️

Last year, teachers reported that they really enjoyed the day at this time of year to come together with like-minded teaching souls to reset and to recover so they could enjoy the summer holidays!☀️ So maybe make a weekend of it & stay overnight with a teaching friend or colleague in the many local hotels!🍷🍽️ 🛌

Hope to see you there x

To register, click here ⬇️

https://www.laoisedcentre.ie/cpd-courses/primary-courses/2749-whole-hearted-teacher-restore-support-day-retreat-recover-renew-revive-17-6-2023.html

21/05/2023

WHAT DOES TEACHER SUPPORT ACTUALLY LOOK LIKE⁉️(PART ONE)

I have seen many posts lately on social media about ‘what needs to go into our schools’ but unless we support our teachers efficaciously & provide the resources (both within our schools & the external supports where pupils & students are referred to), then loading the education system with more is only going to lead to more & more teachers being driven into burnout or out of the job altogether.

🤔It’s time to look at what effective support actually looks like on the ground.

🌸Teacher well-being courses are wonderful & can be really beneficial (I run them myself!) & we have restorative practice coming into many schools too which is evidence-based & can have a hugely positive impact.

However, these practices are not hitting at the central root causes as to why teachers are chronically (& sometimes silently), burning out & not just near exhaustion, but overwhelmed & considering other occupations even when they do love teaching & do not wish to leave at all😢😔

Support looks like:
🤍Us as an educational community fully naming & acknowledging the huge gaping holes & deficiencies in our system once & for all. We know school staff are doing amazing work & will give everything they have to those in their care. But at what cost? Acknowledgement of the issues, along with supports must be our first priority.

🫣😬No it’s not a popular discussion to have and yes it is uncomfortable but my research indicates that we are not being honest enough about the issues at hand & are still relying on the ‘goodwill fuel’ of school staff. A system is only as healthy as those who work within it🩷

At the end of the day, if teachers are adequately supported through internal & external resources, they can:

🤍Work safely in the knowledge that when (not if) a child/young person requires extra support, that they can avail of it within a reasonable amount of time (imagine that impact on teacher well-being!)
🤍And…they can get on with the job of teaching!

Go gently dearest colleagues.

Love, Ann-Marie x

14/05/2023

Hey everyone I hope you got some sunshine into your bones over the weekend☀️😊

Well we all know this time of year can be challenging to say the least. The sheer amount of what goes on both inside the classroom & in the school itself can be exhausting & overwhelming
🤯😐😳😰

So just a few support practices to try to remember as we go into the final six weeks or so. They may seem simple, but sometimes that’s what we need in order to ground ourselves in the midst of a busy & challenging situation.

Go gently dearest colleagues & many blessings for the week ahead💗

Love, Ann-Marie x

08/05/2023

Hello everyone I hope you had a lovely weekend💕

I have been seeing a lot of posts lately about ‘tips & strategies’ for teacher well-being & whilst many are really helpful & may indeed be useful & beneficial, it sometimes worries me that we are at times, reducing teacher well-being down into a ‘quick-fix’ phenomenon🤔

There are of course many daily practices that I recommend on my webinars & courses as I truly believe daily routines are absolutely vital to staying well in the role & they need to be knitted into your life as you go. However, all of these practices tie into one piece…making space to tend to our nervous systems & our hearts❤️

When we do this…when we create a ‘breathing space’ to pause & simply be with ourselves, our nervous systems know exactly what to do. They are built to know. And then love & compassion come in & bring up what needs to be processed. We then have a choice as whether to feel it & process the emotion or not (cry, journal, talk it through or simply name it).

Going into a space at least once a day, even if only for a couple of minutes where we feel safe & held (and by held I mean in a comfortable chair or in nature…wherever you feel safe & calm) to just breathe & be changes absolutely everything. Our nervous system then knows it has a space to calm & regulate. The rest will just happen 😊❤️

I have been talking about this for years on courses & retreats….& I have seen these very simple spaces change people’s lives over time for the better as they bring those spaces into their own life & make them their own🤍

For me, this provides a deeper practice & a greater chance at long-term rooted, sustainable well-being where we get to understand, & stay connected to our nervous system through the breath & through these precious spaces…that can be created anywhere in our lives🪑🌳🛏️ 🚘

Let’s give our nervous systems the chance to do what they are built to do. Let’s heal them, regulate them, befriend them & most importantly, let’s recognise that sometimes we need to process emotions to feel better. Let’s not run away from that. Love is a powerful force that isn’t just connected to relationships…it is within us & within our physical systems; a compassion that is simply waiting to be tapped into. And then the physical body being so inherently connected to it all, responds & goes about healing in many many ways❤️‍🩹

So I hope this week you can find breathing spaces in your days to simply breathe & be. Let the compassion rise up & let the nervous system do it’s thing! Let’s start building whole-hearted nervous systems for long-term sustainable wellness that is meaningful & becomes part of how we respond, how we care of ourselves & others & how we move through our lives. It may mean a deeper commitment, but surely we are worth it.

Go gently dearest colleagues💕

Love Ann-Marie x

23/04/2023

There is definitely a difference between needing rest & needing peace. Over the years working in well-being PD in education, I have met so many teachers who could not find their equilibrium & no matter what they did in terms of their self-care practice, could not find that sense of renewal in terms of their energy🤔

When we explored this a little further, it turned out that in most cases, there was something in their life, be it a personal circumstance or a situation in their school that was causing a lot of stress. Sometimes it was even rupturing their sleeping & eating patterns & they felt overwhelmed. When it was a school-based stress, it could be anything from an ongoing conflict with a colleague/principal, to a school culture or policy that they just could not align with, to lack of support in the school related to parental relationships, curriculum or other areas. Whatever it was, it wasn’t going away any time soon and so was wearing on their energy levels no matter what self-care approach was implemented 😞🤷🏼‍♀️

I have known many teachers who, with a little support on our courses/retreats, took time to reflect upon this deeply with a professional, a family member or trusted colleague/friend & came to a decision about what they could do to change it. This is so brave & requires much thought & consideration. Sometimes it may take a year or two even to implement it. But this is your one life & if it is that bad, even taking time to consider a change must be an option.

It is my firm belief that stress (as awful as it can be) is sometimes there to signal a need for change. While you are in it, it may not feel that way! It’s hard to see anything when you are in the midst of it. But sometimes our ‘shell’ gets too small for the growth we are experiencing & so as we get ‘bigger,’ there is pressure which we experience as stress. Maybe just maybe, we need a bigger shell? We need to let the original one crack & break so we can grow a new one & find our new peace🌱🤍

So if you are exhausted & have been for a very long time, maybe looking firstly at a lifestyle change in terms of sleep, diet, exercise, meditation etc, but if that is not helping, maybe going a little deeper might help? I have seen teachers make changes that at first may seem really scary but in long-term, they end up being so much happier & more peaceful in themselves as a result. Life is for living. It is too short to not give yourself a real chance of finding your own sense of peace🤍🕊️

My thoughts this week💭 💭

Go gently dearest colleagues.

Love, Ann-Marie x