Wellbeing

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Rock and Water is a highly successful, evidenced based international educational program. In Australia over 40,000 teachers have received training since the program was introduced by Freerk Ykema in 1998. We now have 6 Trained Teacher Ambassadors at Our Lady of Fatima who will lead the Rollout of this Program K-6. 

Rock and Water decreases bullying and depressive feelings, and increases self-esteem, self-regulation and social acceptance BUILDING SELF-CONFIDENCE, SELF-RESPECT AND SELF-REFLECTION

Rock and Water is a program that is delivered over a number of lessons to students in primary school. A series of exercises and games are practised to develop confidence and self-reflection. The games are diverse and many have a martial arts origin. The program has a strong appeal to students  who enjoy the active nature of the many games and drills. Students learn to  stand strong, negotiate using “rock” or “water” verbal approaches, walk away from trouble, consider alternatives to aggression, and develop understandings about who they are, their intuitive feelings and their personal direction.

The Four Key Threads

1. Grounding, centering and focusing

   Learning how to stand firm and relaxed. How to concentrate your breath in your belly and focus attention (first external, later transformed to an internal goal).

    

2. The golden triangle of – body awareness – emotional awareness – self-awareness  Emotions are expressed in the body by way of muscular tension high breath/ low breath etc. Therefore, increasing body-awareness can lead to more insight and experience of one’s own patterns of reaction which, in turn, can offer a chance to deepen and further develop emotional awareness and self-awareness.

    

3. Communication

   The development of physical forms of communication as a basis for the development of other, more verbally oriented, forms of communication.

    

4. The Rock and Water concept

   The tough, immovable rock attitude versus the mobile, communicative water attitude. This concept can be developed and applied at various levels: the physical, the mental and the social level. At a physical level it means that an attack can be parried by firmly strained muscles (rock) but also — and often even more effectively — by moving along with the energy of the attacker (water). At a social level — for instance in a conversation — it is also possible to choose between a rock or a water attitude and the same choice applies to the way in which one maintains relationships with others. Finally, at a spiritual level, the apparent opposites between rock and water disappear. Insight and experience come about when a realisation occurs that both ways are needed to reach self-fulfilment and that people, in their deepest essence, are connected to each other and travel along a path together.

Meet the OLF Ambassadors:

Why Einstein said we can't teach our children anything

Einstein said:

“The ordinary human being does not live long enough to draw any substantial benefit from his own experience. And no one, it seems, can benefit from the experience of others. Being both a father and teacher, I know we can teach our children nothing. Each must learn its lesson anew.” 

At first, this sounds hopeless, as though all our guidance is futile. But perhaps Einstein was pointing to something else entirely. He wasn't saying “don't teach”. He was saying “don't expect to prevent the lesson”. Our children will make mistakes. They will touch the hot stove, metaphorically and literally. They will trust the wrong person. They will break a rule and face consequences. They will feel disappointment, rejection, failure. We cannot spare them this, regardless of how hard we try to teach them. “Parent harder” was never good advice.

But here's what we can do: We can be present when the lesson arrives.

The mistake our child makes isn't the failure point. It’s not an indictment on us. Nor is it a smear on them. Rather, it's often the doorway to real understanding. And our role isn't to stand in that doorway blocking entry. It's to stand beside them as they walk through it.

This is why our instinct to overprotect, or to lecture and say "I told you so" works against learning. When we rush in to fix or shame or rescue, we steal the lesson before it can land.

Lisa Mann | Wellbeing Coordinator