Tag: Happiness
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Bringing a Fruit Roll-Up to a Knife Fight
I was not expecting to talk about fruit roll-ups and knife fights, but who knew how impactful and informative that would be? I had the pleasure of attending a Symposium on Teacher Wellness hosted by the Ontario Teachers Federation a little while ago and am still reflecting back on the learning that took place. I…
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Z is for Zen, Zoos and Zoodles
I’ve often heard the old saying lately ‘when life gives you lemons make lemonade’. I’m sure we can all agree we’ve had a fair bit more than lemons thrown at us this year, it’s been more like Jurassic Park run amuck, an outright zoo! What do you do with that? Make zoodles? I’ve long been…
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“X” Marks the Spot
I began writing this series a year and a half ago to explore the many considerations we need to contemplate regarding the changes that will occur in the next decade and what our students will need to be successful in that time-frame and beyond. Access, happiness, mental well-being, reflection, patience, social-emotional learning, and mindset are…
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U is for Unhappy? Not Anymore…
I recently attended a book launch open house where my friend Rob Dunlop celebrated the culmination of four years of work on his book STRIVE for Happiness in Education. Rob is totally on the right track with this book. In a time of such significant upheaval on multiple fronts, his book serves as a balm.…
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P is for Patience
“If we want to live wider and deeper lives, not just faster ones, we have to practice patience — patience with ourselves, with other people, and with the big and small circumstances of life itself.” M. J. Ryan Have you ever felt frustrated? Exasperated? I think those are pretty natural feelings to experience occasionally but…
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H is for Happy
Happy makes the learning happen As parents we all voice the same sentiment for our children: “I just want them to be happy.” But do we actively practice that sentiment? Do we teach the frames of mind that would ensure happiness in our children? Do we really know what being happy actually means? Much research…
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C is for Crayons
The third in a series discussing the Class of 2030. I remember one Christmas getting the SUPER large box of Crayola Crayons. One hundred undulating colours of possibility. I was absolutely giddy with excitement. Imagine all the beautiful things I could draw! Astronauts or ballet dancers, camels or dragons, elephants or fairies, anything I could…
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Once Upon a Time…
Once upon a time, in a land far, far, away, there lived a teacher who was torn about how to reach her students and help them remember important information. She journeyed far and wide to speak to sages and scholars and what she found made her happy; for it underscored her own beliefs. So the…
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Opportunities Abound Outside Your Comfort Zone
Have you ever looked around at teachers you admire and wondered “How do they do that? How do they have so much energy? It’s like cool opportunities just fall in their lap!” I used to think like that. Then I discovered something… opportunities don’t fall in people’s laps. People work for them. And that energy?…
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Will you play with me?
The cry of every child rings in our ears bringing sweet remembrances of days long past when we too eagerly ran out to play with our friends. But times change, we grow older, and we don’t play so much anymore. Unfortunately, a decline in play doesn’t only happen because we get older. In the last…