Month: April 2021

mindset
/ˈmīn(d)set/

noun
1. the established set of attitudes held by someone.

Spring Break and Easter weekend were spent soaking up the wise words of Dr. Jody Carrington and Dr. Greg Wells. Their books made me examine and challenge my mindset both as a teacher and individual. Sometimes we get stuck in our ways however, it is important to hit the pause button and re-evaluate. 

I was introduced to Dr. Carrington and her work at a professional development session last year and I participated it her Re-Connection Challenge during the month of December which I wrote about here. I even still keep a list of three things each day that brought me joy. The second her book, Kids These Days: A Game Plan For (Re)connecting With Those We Teach, Lead, & Love was available I ordered a copy. Dr. Carrington is an Alberta based clinical psychologist who speaks very frankly on a variety of topics including: relationships, parenting, compassion fatigue, grief, leadership and trauma. 

Her book of course reminds us about how disconnected we really are and how it is so crucial to bet back to basics and reconnect with those in our care and in our life. She offers practical advice on how to do this so that we can all “keep our lids on” and when we can’t, how to get them back on again. She turns some long standing education philosophies regarding classroom management, rewards/punishments, coding/testing and behaviour on their head. I shed some tears especially with respect to her chapters on trauma and grief and I did a lot of reflecting on my classroom practice and thought a lot about my students to further understand their situation and the relationships we have built and how to be better at it. 

As for, Dr. Wells; he was a keynote speaker at our Teachers’ Convention in Edmonton in February. He is a health and performance physiologist; after a stint in the hospital for a heart infection he started to think about life choices and the interconnection between sleep, diet, exercise and mindset and how by making even 1% changes in each can maximize your dreams; your health and your life. His session and book, Ripple Effect couldn’t have come at a better time in my life –I wanted to make changes and this really forced me to wake up and do it now. I also realized just how simple the changes he suggested really were and too be honest I felt a little guilty that I hadn’t done them before. Most alarming for me was just how little I knew about food and nutrition. We really are the product of our environment however we should never be resigned to that lot in life; if we do (or are) then that environment can severely harm us. The lessons contained in his book can help me and can work wonders for my students.

After reading I committed to following in each of the areas…

Sleep

• Saving caffeine for the morning
• Getting off the screen for at least an hour before bedtime
• Lowering the temperature in my bedroom
• Getting at least 8 hours of sleep

Exercise

• Get moving more
• Get outside more

Diet

• Drink more water
• Learning more about nutrition so I can revise the choices I make regarded fats and carbohydrates (ultimately this is where I falter the most)

Mental Health/Mindset

• Focus rather than multi-task
• Document and optimize my ‘in the zone’ time
• Utilize positive self talk