Sleep is as Important to Your Health as Diet and Exercise
Sleep is something we all do; in fact, we spend around a third of our lives in this strange, unconscious state. A lack of sleep impacts on our physical and mental health. Too little sleep can devastate your body, brain and microbiome (gut bacteria), dramatically increasing your risk of developing a range of chronic conditions. As adults we should be aiming for 7 to 9 hours per night. However, it isn’t just the quantity of the sleep that we get that is important, the quality of sleep has an impact too. In his book, Fast Asleep, Dr Michael Mosley provides advice on how to get a really good night’s sleep. Fortunately, there are surprising and highly effective ways to improve…
How Well Do You Currently Manage Your Stress Level?
It’s not a very comfortable thought, but true nonetheless; staff who work in schools are at very high risk of burnout. All of us are. We don’t have to be new teachers or have a difficult schedule or even teach the worst-behaved students in the school. This makes sense if you consider how we spend our days: sandwiched between the needs of our students, the requirements of the curriculum, the expectations of our society and our own idealism—our desire to effect a positive change in the world. There is comfort in sensibly accepting the knowledge that we are at risk of burnout. Because career stress is not going to vanish overnight, it is up to you to protect yourself from…
Engaged Or Compliant?
It’s not surprising that one of the most consistent findings in educational research is that the more time students spend engaged during instruction, the more they learn. It also won’t surprise staff who work in schools that the more engaged students are, the less stressful it is. Instead of trying to ‘manage’ students to comply, engaged students are on-task and ‘in the zone’. As they are interested and actively involved in the learning experience they don’t require ‘management’. This lowers the demands on the teacher and reduces our stress level. ‘An ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure!’ (editor’s note – the metric conversion – ‘A gram of prevention is better than a kilogram of cure’ doesn’t…
Directions For Recalculating From the GPS Girl
What does it mean to Recalculate? When we are in the car and we hear the voice in the GPS say “Recalculating” we know we have taken a wrong turn. The satellites work their magic and in a few quick turns we are headed toward our destination. In fact, by the time we even hear the word “Recalculating” we are already back on track. I want you to think of this word as good news! We can Recalculate in life when things are not going as planned. When will I know it is time to Recalculate? Often an emotional response will be your best way to “notice you are off route.” You may be frustrated, upset, overwhelmed, disappointed or angry. This is…
Data isn’t just a four letter word
Like it or not, data cannot be dismissed as “just another four letter word”. Now, more than ever, gathering, synthesising, analysing and reporting on data is an intrinsic part of working in education. Therefore it is both essential and wise to invest time in developing strategies and systems to not only cope, but thrive, in the data-informed school environment. Here are some ideas for lightening the load: Work backwards – start where you hope to end up. Know WHAT you need to assess, WHEN you need to report on it and WHO you are sharing that information with. Understanding the difference between formative and summative assessment is critical to this step. Leaders need to ensure staff are clear on their…
Writing E-mail That Saves Time (part 2)
Last week we identified key strategies in reducing the stress created by email messages. Key strategies included using FYI in the subject line if the email is purely for information only and Response Required by DD/MM if a response is required by a certain deadline. Adding and adhering to these protocols is also important. Send separate messages When asking unrelated questions, use multiple e-mail messages. This makes it easier for others to reply to each question separately. This is an important point, but one many people get wrong – because it’s so easy to be lazy and put everything in the same message. Write better e-mail Use the spell-checker in your e-mail program to catch and correct simple spelling…
Writing E-mail That Saves Time (part 1)
E-mail is one of the oldest Internet technologies but it still causes a lot of stress and annoyance among users. Part of this is undoubtedly because of the volume of e-mail we all deal with, but a large part is also because it’s so easy to write e-mail that’s confusing, easily misunderstood or even (unintentionally) upsetting. With a few simple techniques, you can help your colleagues be more productive when processing your e-mail. This is not just about being thoughtful and considerate of others – although that alone is reason enough. It also helps your own productivity because your e-mails will be clearer and easier to understand, so other people won’t have to keep writing back asking for more information.…
Disconnecting Is Vital
It can be difficult to disconnect from our work in schools. We often think about the challenges we face and worry about particular students, even when we are on holidays. Technological “improvements” have made us more connected than ever and this can have a negative effect on our well-being. The ability to disconnect is more important than ever. If we are constantly “on” and thinking about our work, our stress levels will be high and we are unlikely to be present in our home life. This has a negative effect on our relationships and our happiness. Dr Adam Fraser in his excellent book, “The Third Space” highlights the importance of transitioning between school and home. Creating an opportunity to leave…
5 Tips for Helping Students in NAPLAN Week
Keep Calm It is vital that staff in schools model a calm approach. OUR attitude is contagious and will be ‘caught’ by our students. It is therefore vital we manage our own stress levels, remain calm and do NOT become flustered. We need to be careful NOT to transfer high-stakes expectations onto our students. Pressure doesn’t help! Focus on encouraging students to do their best and trying hard. It is important to choose your words carefully when you speak. As with all learning activities we should put our focus squarely on effort rather than results. The only pressure on students should be to try hard rather than to do well. Keep NAPLAN in Context It is important to keep…
Tips For Reporting Success
The purpose of report card comments is simply to convey the big ideas and most important information parents need to know. The most important, not everything. Think about what you really need to document. What do you need to have proof that you have expressed in writing? Ensure the comments align with the students’ grades. If a student has earned below a “C” or expectations, in any area, I recommend explaining that briefly in the comments so there’s no confusion about why the student isn’t performing better. For some parents, it might be smart to explain the “C” grades as well. No Surprises – Problems should always have been communicated to parents through conferences, emails, voicemails, and other ongoing, proactive…
Are you being lifted or drained by colleagues
The moods and demeanours of our colleagues can have a huge impact on our own moods, our productivity, our overall work satisfaction and even our general well-being. Let’s face it, we can’t work in a bubble and our recent experiences with covid and social distancing have shown us that most people prefer to be around others rather than working alone, at least for some of the time (sorry introverts!). Unfortunately, while the majority of people enjoy connecting and collaborating with others, some individuals behave in ways that bring teams down rather than lifting them up – there’s even a term for these people: drain. Most of us have come across someone we would call a draining presence in the workplace…
It’s Not About You, It’s About Them
One of the many challenges we face in schools is dealing with difficult parents. You won’t be surprised to read that some parents’ expectations are unrealistic, their viewpoint one-sided and their outlook delusional. At times, some parents can come across as aggressive, over-protective and even downright obnoxious. Whilst I am not forgiving that behaviour for one moment, it is worthwhile considering what has contributed to their behaviour. One of the contributing factors to being at the sharp end of such poor behaviour is the business we are in. Whilst our purpose in schools is education, we are in fact in the ‘people’ business. Day-in, day-out we work with people. People from all walks of life. People with a range of…