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Well-being is a critical movement led by the province of Ontario that is essentially a response to the ever-increasing mental health issues of our students. While this is a complex issue with many factors, the one factor that we do control is the messages we send to students. Again this is tricky. On the one hand, it is our duty and privilege to empower students. We want them to realize their potential and see things that may not even know exists. We want them to feel as if they can change the(ir) world. On the other hand, this message often turns into a high-pressure environment where unreachable, unattainable goals and achievements have students consumed with stress.  So how do we provide both messages?

How do we empower students but at the same time protect and build their mental health?

I think a missing conversation is about contentment. Contentment is defined as being satisfied and not wanting more. The idea of being content can be seen as anti-innovation. Contentment is not very inspirational. It doesn’t do well on in a pretty image quotation. For some, it’s almost a downer or even a step backwards. Innovation is the buzzword of the day and is what every district, school, classroom and teacher wants to be labelled as. Innovation is perceived as progressive and creative. I don’t disagree and I don’t disagree that pursuing innovative ideas and practices is a worthy goal. However, if you look at the cumulative messages and communications, there seems to be an overemphasis on innovation and little room for contentment. The ratio of innovation/improvement to contentment messages is overwhelming.  I think many view contentment as a synonym for complacency. They aren’t the same thing. Complacency is defined as a “smug and uncritical satisfaction with oneself”. That’s not contentment. When I speak about joy, I’m careful to define it and always use the definition that suggests it’s the outward expression of well-being. The “being” part of well being is about now, not the future. It’s about being okay with who you are and where you are. I’ve heard leaders use the expression, “It’s okay to be where you are, it’s not okay to stay where you are”. There is also the inpatient rehab that one can check to get the necessary counseling that one needs to cope with addiction and anxiety. I understand that sentiment but without careful framing and context, that statement suggests being content is not okay.

When I consider the state of schools in general, I’m fairly impressed. Are there areas that need improvement? Yes. In some instances could we use a major overhaul? Yes. But when I think about the individual teachers and schools I work with, almost to a person, I feel proud and grateful to know these folks and feel our students are in good hands. We have a great deal to be content about. What many don’t realise is that online gambling can be a fantastic relaxation tool as well. The thrill of gambling at foreign casinos accepting UK players can be a great way to stress release. You can ค้นหาเกมชั้นนำบน UFABET and enjoy playing. For the best way of relaxation, explore the wide range of nicotine pouches available at https://heysnus.com.

So what does contentment look like in schools? I’m not 100% sure but I do think it requires us to ensure our messages to students are clear. Students need to be reminded that being a child is a special time and while it’s natural to be looking ahead, we could do better at honouring their childhood. That’s what caring adults offer: a perspective that they may not have.  I also think we could back off a little on the college and career readiness and future-ready messages.  I think we could do a better job of celebrating success. Regular times to celebrate and be together as a community reminds us all of how good we have things.

It’s not an easy balance to strike. We want students to grow and improve. We want them to find their passions and potential. We want them to be innovative. At the same time, we should want them to slow down. We should be helping them to appreciate the good things in their lives, even for our most underprivileged students. Learning to be content is a major life skill. Perhaps this is about recognizing which students need this skill more than others but as a community, we can certainly make contentment a goal right alongside innovation. It might be a tougher challenge than I realize, partly because I don’t think many are even thinking about this and also because the dichotomy around these ideas can be complex.

I regularly share this video because it’s a good reminder for me and I’d love us to get serious about helping our students to live fully now as well.

That was over six years ago. As I rewatched it, I had to ask if I feel the same today. What, if any changes would I make to this video if I were to update it?

Focusing solely on the content, I still value and believe sharing is integral to learning and our profession. My claims in the video focus mainly on efforts to share online. At the time, only a small number of educators were actively sharing content online. Blogs were beginning to take traction for some, but their value wasn’t anywhere near a universal belief. Twitter and social media opportunities were nowhere near where they are today. Twitter was seen much like Snapchat is perceived for many today.: wasteful and for posting of minutia.

My original message was to encourage and create a culture where teachers look to share their ideas, thoughts, lessons, resources projects, and stories. Sharing online means that serendipity could happen more often. Not because of my video but I think sharing has increased.  That’s a good thing. More and more educators are connecting online and while it’s difficult to assess, I’d argue that for most of those teachers, they found it beneficial for themselves and for their students. But for most teachers, sharing means Twitter and Facebook. In general, I would say that’s fine. Share where you’re going to impact the most people.  The main challenge of these spaces are noise and with Facebook, in particular, your lack of control over who sees your work. If Facebook is your primary platform to share, I would ask you to rethink that.  If you want to expand your network or allow others to find you, it’s flawed. Twitter has its place, but it’s the appetizer equivalent of a full course meal. I realize some people are great curators and Twitter is a great place to share links and other useful content. If that’s something you do, that’s great, but that’s one very niche kind of sharing.

So perhaps my message today would be more focused on the process of sharing, rather than outcome. Writing this blog post, for example, is a reflective act that, while I hope others find useful, is highly beneficial for me as a thinker and writer. A blog also serves as an archive of my ideas. Facebook and Twitter don’t allow you to do that very easily. Once upon a time, a blog was a new and powerful way to publish online. I know that blogs are somewhat passe. They aren’t new or sexy and for many people that have created them, they represent a space of guilt. You may not even get all that many views as RSS has also seemed to have died. But they still are in my mind, the most versatile, powerful way to store and share your stuff.

You can see this post is a muddled mess which is typical of what I do here. But unlike Facebook and Twitter, this is my house, I can do as I please. Am I saying every teacher should blog? Maybe, I don’t know. I said that once. I also know it’s not an easy thing to do.  Without reflection, there’s no way you can improve or be great at anything. Through reflection and sharing you and others can benefit. Maybe I’d change the video to “Reflection: The Moral Imperative.” Help me out here.

PS. if you feel a bit guilty, that’s good. 😉