The View

Positive Education

Melanie Sluyters

Visible Wellbeing 

The concept of Visible Wellbeing has been borne out of the teachings of positive education and the idea that it is essential to support one's wellbeing in order to be able to flourish at school.  

 

Professor Lea Waters has taken the science of wellbeing and combined it with the idea of supporting three distinct goals that target being able to clearly recognise one's wellbeing, build skills in wellbeing and for staff to teach skills to improve a students wellbeing.  

 

At the core of exploring the concept of Visible Wellbeing is the SEARCH framework that Professor Lea Waters has spent twenty years developing.  For a teacher at Mount Carmel this means using this framework through explicit or implicit teaching, providing students with the tools to help navigate life.  

  1. Look at and working with one's strengths which allow the student to feel happy, have a sense of success, ensure capacities are reached and feel energised by the process of exploring their strengths. (S)
  2. Work out how to identify and reduce the negative emotions and work at a maximum level of positive emotions.  (E)
  3. Recognise the importance as a student to be aware and how in learning they can engage in their inner awareness or the everyday occurrences happening within the classroom.  (A)
  4. Help students develop and nourish their relationships not just within a school context but at home.  (R)
  5. Develop one's wellbeing through assisting and guiding students through how they can cope in situations which can cause stress or anxiety. (C)
  6. Habits, as we all know, can come in the form of good and bad.  Part of visible wellbeing is knowing how to break a bad habit and how to create and maintain good habits.  (H)
When we feel good, we function well.  
When we function well, we can do good. 

Professor Lea Waters

Peaceful Kids 

Last term I directed you to a program that is run both face to face and online which explores the ideas of mindfulness and positive psychology to assist in reducing levels of anxiety.  The site provides parents with information about how to run meditations at home, upcoming courses for both parents and teachers, as well as useful articles on parenting. 

Information about this can be found at: Peaceful Kids and Mindworx Parenting WorkShops.