In September 2022, I self-published my 5th book ‘Mindfulness for NQTs: Strategies, techniques, and practices for all who work with children and young people’. This covers a month of areas of focus for teachers/ school staff to practice themselves every day and/or pass on to students.
Here is an excerpt from the book.
Your NQT year is a steep learning curve, and you will experience lots of doubt, feedback which may come across as negative or full of areas of improvement and you will be so tired at times that you won’t know if you are coming or going. The first term and especially the first half will fly by in many ways, however when it feels like a hard slog, the tendency will be to only remember the negative or difficult times.
Make a point from the very first day (or from whenever you are reading this) to make a note of all the positives and even the smallest of successes as these will all build up to be so much more. When you are feeling low or just plain exhausted, remembering the positives and the small achievements will help you through.
Don’t wait for the whole class to demonstrate learning and understanding before you celebrate your role as a teacher, celebrate the first and keep going. Don’t wait for the whole class to behave before you see the lesson as being positive, notice all who quietly behave and get on with the lesson.
If someone pays you a compliment, say ‘thank you’ and store it away. Don’t dismiss it or try to justify what they have said, simply acknowledge it, you are doing a great job.
Acknowledge and celebrate the imperfect as well as the perfect. As long as you have completed it then it is successful, it does not need to be perfect. Don’t delay your bedtime or allow your sleep to be disturbed in the search for perfect. Accept that the lesson is planned, and the resources are ready as the students themselves make the lesson into whatever it will be.
Now do the same with your students: Celebrate and acknowledge the good in them, the good behaviour, the contributions they make in class and through their homework, how they interact with other students and who they are as individuals. Don’t wait for their perfection before you acknowledge all the positives. You can model this to them in the compliments you give and in the way you treat yourself, don’t put yourself down in front of them if something goes wrong, just carry on, laugh it off if necessary and carry on.
Encourage students to celebrate each other: Model this and encourage students to see the good in each other and their work through building it into the lesson. This could be finding the good in each other’s work and sharing what they like and have learnt from it or at the end of the day/ week sharing positives about other students’ acts of kindness towards them or others.
Take all the above into your personal daily life too so you build your confidence and self-esteem both inside and outside of school and your classroom. These positives will help you throughout the year and the more you do it, the easier it will be, the more positive you will be and the more you will enjoy your work. Once your students see how much you enjoy it, they will enjoy being in your lessons too.
You may wish to build in treats for yourself to celebrate each month, half term etc so you have something to look forward to.
‘Mindfulness for NQTs’ can be purchased from Amazon on Kindle for £1.99 at a price for NQTs to be able to afford in their training and/or first years or teaching. This book is also applicable for all working with children and young people no matter what your level of experience is.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mindfulness-NQTs-Strategies-techniques-practices-ebook/dp/B0BD911WHD/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?crid=1K2G96GX3FTJ6&keywords=alison+laycock&qid=1679327630&sprefix=alison+laycock%2Caps%2C64&sr=8-4
This blog is sponsored by http://www.beingthebestyoucanbe.org supporting your mental health and celebrating your true self.
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