Tag: Mental Health

Half term and wellbeing

So the 2nd half of the half term begins and I spent my half term finding some time for myself including a bit of a holiday with some excellent company, but with a little bit of an intrusion from work.   I went through some traumatic travel situations, as I often do, some poolside trauma and have had a difficult family issue arise.   All this in a half term.   So it got me thinking about wellbeing, which made me put fingers to the old keyboard and put this post together as I started the journey on my second of four trains for the day.

Wellbeing?

One of my first thoughts on wellbeing is simply the complexity of it.   It’s a simple word and its easy to say your wellbeing is ok or not, or for wellbeing to be put on the agenda for weekly meetings, but what is wellbeing?   Now am not going to say I have done any real research on this but for me there are a number of aspects including our physical fitness, our mental wellbeing, a spiritual element and well as elements related to stress, both positive and negative, agency, purpose, family and much more.   It’s a bit of a complex soup of things yet I feel that often when organisations look at wellbeing they look for simple solutions where none really exist.

Work and wellbeing

I think this area is particularly complex.   As mentioned in the intro, work intruded a little in my holiday abroad, through email notifications I saw on my phone which led me to feel the need to act and respond.   I also had an emotional response to the message which had an impact where I had to that point being getting quite relaxed and very much in holiday mode.   Now it is important to note that there was no explicit need in the emails for my response but I felt the need to respond.   I had the agency to respond or not to respond, and had the agency to disable notifications had I wished.   There was a lot in my control.   But equally I feel there is an increasing narrative around the need to be efficient, to be effective, and therefore having identified an issue via a notification I felt a partially intrinsic but partially extrinsic need to act, independent of being on holiday or not.   Technology facilitates many benefits but putting these notifications in front of me, may be the flipside, and negative side of this.

Stress

The word stress often brings with it a negative image.   With the M5 closed, and being my main route to the airport, with all surrounding roads clogging up as everyone else, like me, sought to find alternatives, it certainly wasn’t positive stress I was experiencing and it wasn’t how I anticipated my holiday to begin.      But equally the November ahead of me and the number of events which I will be contributing to, equally represents stress but I see it more as a positive challenge, challenging me to better prioritise, to network, to us resources at my disposal and to grow professionally.    As I write this it gets me thinking of “desirable difficulty”.   It therefore worries me that we seek convenience, ease and the status quo all too often.   There is negative and avoidable stress that we should rightly seek to avoid.   But equally there is a lot of stress which we should seek to embrace.    From my holiday one such stress was my irrational fear of bodies of water, where my gondola ride in Feb caused some distress, and where this time it was a pool by the apartment.   Like with the gondola, I once again embraced the stress in the hope of growing, this time entering the pool, albeit in the shallow end.   That’s the first time I’ve been in a pool in over 20 years, and I hope is another step in trying to grow personally and get comfortable with that which makes me uncomfortable, and which stresses me out.    I think this also links back to my previous comment on agency, in that I can control this stress and how I engage with it.    I feel a lot of the stress in our lives, we can either control or at least control how we respond, and that it the key, to avoid the emotional hijacking which often arises from stress.   Maybe if I had avoided such a hijacking I may not have responded to the email notifications, and may have left it for others to pick up or for me to pick up on my return.   Who know how that may have turned out?

Wellbeing initiatives

I have a particular view on wellbeing initiatives in that I feel they are largely ineffective.   They often represent activities which can be accessed and sometimes, unfortunately, which are made compulsory.   These simplistic measures don’t do much to address the complexity of individual wellbeing.   I will however note, taken at a macro level, they may have a positive average impact on a wider staff body, but I write this from the point of view of an individual.    The initiatives I have seen so far fail to deal with the complexity of wellbeing.  For myself, at the moment, the family issue which has recently arisen is definitely not going to be addressed by any activity my school can put on or arrange.   It can however be addressed by a strong open and warm organisational culture, complete with appropriate line management structures.    It does make me think that we should spend less time on wellbeing discussions and initiatives and more time going back to the basics of leadership and management, and making sure staff feel supported, positive challenged and engaged, fell they have agency, etc.    If there is one other thing that I think schools and colleges need to do it is to provide the time to stop and reflect as this long train ride is providing me on this Sunday afternoon.

Conclusion

Wellbeing isn’t simple.   It’s a bit of a soup of factors.    As I sit at my 2nd last station of this leg of my trip I wonder whether I would benefit from a bit of a force analysis of the internal and external factors which impact my wellbeing and about what I or other can do to support my wellbeing.   Might that help to unpick things?  I also wonder if thinking about wellbeing when discussions of wellbeing and stress are often framed in a negative fashion, may bias me towards more negative views as to my own personal wellbeing.   I am not sure, although if there is one thing I am sure of it is that an analysis would take some time, and if there is one thing that would positively impact my wellbeing it is to have the time to stop and reflect.   

Now how do we build that into the school programme and how do we support all to stop and reflect?  

And also how do we manage the narrative around wellbeing to reduce the largely negative framing which I feel currently exists?

Efficient mental health?

Am currently reading The Lonely Century by Noreena Hertx and managed to get a good few chapters read while on the train from Bristol up to Leeds for the EduFuturists Uprising event.    It was in reading it, and on thinking of AI in education, the efficiency narrative and concerns in relation to mental health and wellbeing, that I thought I would scribble this blog post together.   And I apologise in advance for what will likely be a series of rambling and loosely connected thoughts, but hopefully you will find some value in them and be able to draw some semblance of sense from them.

Now I have written on the efficiency narrative before, that we are forever looking to be more efficient.   This is about getting more done with less so taking less time, or using less resources, or reducing errors.    The issue though is that this isn’t sustainable as ever time we save time, or save resources, we simply identify further things to do which will make use of the saved time, or saved resources.    Often under the guise of “continual improvement” we end up doing more, but we cannot continue this approach indefinitely.     One look at the teacher wellbeing index and we can see the resulting stress and workload issues brought about by a culture of “efficiency” and “do more”.   So individually we are all being challenged to do more, and our organisational structures, our teams, our leadership structures, etc, are all being challenged also to do more, but also to oversee continual improvement, which in turn means doing yet more things.

I have also written in the past on the subject of social media and the false sense of connectedness that it provides.    I have found myself surrounded by virtual friends and colleagues, sharing thoughts and ideas, but still finding myself isolated and alone.     This presents another challenge as we seek to be connected, to get involved and contribute, but all without the benefits of face to face get togethers and proper, real life socialisation.

Loneliness, or as Hertx describes it, that lack of connection not just from friends, family and colleagues but from our wider communities, our political parties and society as a whole is another concern.   Now Hertx points towards this as being a contributory factor in the fracturing of current society, including the growth in extreme views particularly as related to far right politics.     Now for me this links to social media where such ideals can be easily shared and garner favour or even see their way to going viral.    And for the students currently in our schools this is quite significant given that all they will have lived through is a world of social media, of extremist views, the breakdown of social cohesions, covid and its related lock downs and isolation, and similar other challenges.

Maybe we now live in a world where more than ever we need to reconnect with what it means to be human and in particular being the human, social, animals we are.   Maybe we need to spend time rebuilding our communities and rebuilding the social cohesion which I feel, on reflection, was an important part of my childhood.   A time where we knew who our neighbours were, and we worked, or as kids, collectively looking after each other, our kids and our families.    Technology can do so much for us but I do wonder if too much of our lives are now experienced or moderated through technology, rather than being “properly” experienced.   As I sit typing this on the train, I can see some irony in that.   I note I did enjoy some momentary chit chat with my fellow travellers, given the crammed nature of the train.   I could have been getting on with work and being efficient, but instead I sparked up a conversation with the strangers around me and felt, in myself, a little better for it.

Maybe it is these conversations which we need to have much more, putting down our technology, putting aside our “get more done” culture and just being human social animals a little more!   

Attendance or Family Time?

There is currently much debate in the UK on school attendance and parents who choose to take kids out of school to benefit from cheaper holiday costs during term time.   The debate is often framed as quite basic in that taking kids out of school impacts their learning however I feel the issue is more complex and multifaceted, touching upon academic performance, mental health, family bonding, and socioeconomic factors. As education systems around the world emphasize the importance of regular attendance for student outcomes, families face the challenge of balancing these demands with the need for quality time together. This balance becomes particularly complex when families consider taking children out of school during term time to take advantage of cheaper travel options.

School Attendance

Regular school attendance is widely recognized as a key factor in academic success. Many studies show that students who attend school regularly are more likely to achieve higher grades and perform better on standardised tests.   Additionally, schools provide students with a structured environment where they can develop important social skills, learn to work in teams, and build friendships. These experiences being essential for developing emotional intelligence and resilience, with attendance at school therefore being a prerequisite.

But attendance is not just about being present; it’s about engaging with the curriculum, participating in class discussions, and building relationships with teachers and peers. An unhappy child is unlikely to be “fully” present so this might point to the importance of family time and holidays possibly.

We also need to consider that the attendance discussion is largely being promoted from the point of view of government, from that central viewpoint where, on average, students with poorer attendance achieve less than those with good attendance.   But there is an issue in terms of how “achievement” is measured as it is often measured in terms of exams or standardised tests;   Are these tests, this grading and categorising of students all that really matters?   Or is there more to education than a GCSE or an A-Level?

Family Time

While the importance of school attendance is generally clear, family time is equally crucial for a child’s development and well-being.  Quality time spent with family fosters a sense of security, builds strong relationships, and provides opportunities for parents to impart values and life skills. For many families, vacations and time spent together are important for bonding and creating lasting memories.  In today’s fast-paced world, both parents and children often lead busy lives, and taking a break to relax and enjoy each other’s company can reduce stress and improve overall wellbeing. These moments of respite are essential for maintaining a healthy work-life balance and preventing burnout.

Traveling with family can also be educational. Exposure to new cultures, environments, and experiences can broaden a child’s perspective and enhance their learning in ways that classroom education sometimes cannot, igniting curiosity, encouraging a love for learning, and providing practical lessons in geography, history, and social studies.

But for many families, the cost of travel during peak school holiday times can be prohibitively expensive where traveling during term time can make vacations more affordable.   So, some parents may decide to take kids from school to allow for a family holiday and their children to experience destinations they might otherwise not be able to visit. This economic consideration is particularly relevant for lower-income families who may have limited opportunities for leisure travel outside of term time.

Conclusion

The current attendance or lost learning argument is yet another false dichotomy.   Additionally, we need to be careful in viewing holiday time with parents as frivolous and without any educational value.  This is a very simplistic view of learning, and might result from the narrow association of learning with traditional exams and standardised testing.    Learning is much broader, more nuanced and more complex than this.

I feel there is a balance to be reached as parents taking students out of school, when done proportionately and with appropriate communication with the school, can have educational and more importantly wellbeing benefits.    It is therefore very much about the relationship between school and parent, accepting that both have a responsibility for learning, and that such responsibility is interdependent.

Or maybe schools should look to vary their timetables to challenge the holiday, supply-and-demand model, or the travel agents need to be challenged on their pricing model and prevented from pushing prices so high during the holiday periods?    Sadly I suspect these options are difficult to implement, so it is very much about school and parents communicating and working together.

Autumn term blues

We are now in the 2nd half of the autumn term and I cant believe where the time has gone.    We had the usual build up ahead of the start of the new academic year, followed by the unsurprisingly manic start of term.   The start of term in schools and colleges is normally manic as new students and staff join and as everyone tries to quickly get back up to speed following the summer break, trying to establish the positive habits which should underpin the year ahead.    For me, the first half of this years autumn term was made all the busier due a number of events which I had agreed to attend or contribute to, such as a couple of industry cyber security events and speaking at events in Leeds, London and Amsterdam.   Each of these events were really useful however the travel and preparation work related to the events add to the stress and pressure.   Its worthwhile, and I certainly take much from each of the events, the ANME/Elementary Technology AI and EduTech Europe events in particular, but it isnt half tiring.

It was therefore no surprise that I reached the half term feeling very drained and run down but having quite a bit to catch up on before the planned period of rest towards the end of half term.   And this is where sod-law kicks in.    Just as I get the time to regroup and to rest, illness shows its head.   Why is it that just when you get time to enjoy yourself and relax, that you end up ill?    Now I suspect part of the answer is the fact that, when busy, adrenaline carries you through and keeps you going however as soon as you see the light at the end of the tunnel, as soon as you take your foot off the gas and your body and mind relax a little, the bugs, the viruses and the general malaise set in.   And so it was that I spent a fair amount of the half term period working on, as us IT people need to do in school holiday periods, while feeling less than 100%.   When I did get a few days off to relax the time was largely spent in bed or crashed out in front of the TV with little energy and a persistent cough.

Before I knew it, the 2nd half of the term had begun and the opportunity to spend some proper time on wellbeing and mental health has passed me by.    So with the 2nd half of the term now fully back in the swing of things, it is once again time to put the foot to the floor and proceed towards Christmas (bah humbug 😉) .    At this point I still don’t quite feel 100% but I am definitely better than I was during half term and for now I hope I can get to Christmas, and pass into the festive holiday period without any further illness.   But only time will tell.

The challenge we all have is in accepting that life and work is not linear;  There will be periods where things are manic and busy, and where mental health and wellbeing will take 2nd or maybe 3rd place, however equally we need to seek a balance which means there will need to be times when mental health and wellbeing come first, even when this is at the expense of other things.    For me, the manic autumn term just means I need to ensure I put time aside for myself, either at Christmas or at some point in the spring of summer terms, putting myself first over other pressures.  

Onwards and upwards as they say, and also let me share an important message with all my colleagues in schools and colleges;   make sure to look after yourself as unless you are well, physically, mentally, cognitively, etc, you won’t be able to effectively help, look after, teach or otherwise support others.    Take care and good luck for what remains of the autumn term!