Have you ever been to a conference and returned home with a list of hundreds of goals and billions of new things to implement? And then your excitement lasts for a week, or two, and before you know it, you’re back to your same old routine with maybe a couple of small changes based on what you learned? Which is good, right? But how many of you have returned with an entirely different outlook toward your life?
It’s been two years since I traveled to Geelong Grammar School in Australia to learn more about Dr. Martin Seligman’s concept of flourishing through PERMA and the resulting movement of positive education. Without a doubt, the workshop-packed week with Geelong taught me many new things, and allowed for lots of practice and reflection. But I have to tell you that the 10 days I spent in Australia, meeting people and observing, learning, and feeling how life is lived there, is what foundationally changed my perspective on life.
"I began adding pieces of PERMA, and not only did it feel right and good to me, I found that the students really enjoyed working on themselves through building self-awareness.”
Now I had always considered myself a very positive person as Community Committee Chair, co-creator of fun faculty (and family) outings, and a teacher of middle schoolers. When our school administrative team read Dr. Seligman’s book “Flourish” a few years ago, we all found that it spoke to our mission, our vision, and our commitment to our students’ all-around success. I had recently created a class for 6th graders called Power of Your Brain, loosely based around Dr. Carol Dweck’s work around a growth mindset, with a sprinkling of Dr. Ken Ginsburg’s work on resiliency. I began adding pieces of PERMA, and not only did it feel right and good to me, I found that the students really enjoyed working on themselves through building self-awareness.
So I realize it may seem crazy to think that 10 days in a different country could profoundly affect one’s life. And maybe those 10 days weren’t the cause, but rather the visualization. All I know is that almost all of the people I talked with at Geelong seemed to be living right. Right in terms of finding balance between work and family, having a “give it a go” attitude, practicing kindness, and being just happy, overall. After returning from Australia, I led several TWS Well-being Institutes where I shared what I learned with teachers. One of those sessions brought about another group getting together to redesign our middle school advisory curriculum based on the concept of flourishing. I held Well-being Wednesdays (at 7:45 a.m.), where a small group of teachers gathered together to meditate, color, or simply practice the art of conversation with the intent to know one another. I attended more workshops, researched and read more, and practiced flourishing in my personal and professional lives.
I began listening to myself more and reflecting on what brings me joy. My close work this spring and summer with my advisory steering group, my time with the 2-5 students who I spend one period a week with in my office, and the community outreach we are doing in my Philanthropy class helped me to “suddenly” realize that my purpose (M), my happiness (P), my flow (E), my relationships with students, faculty and families (R), were leading me and my heart back toward work in the classroom and the community. My successful nine years as head of middle school helped feed my sense of accomplishment (A) enough to make me feel ready to tackle something new.
I face the future with a sense of anticipation and confidence. It is my hope that my students will realize, now and in the future, the importance of trying new things and remaining true to oneself.
– Erin Noviski, director of well-being and Spanish teacher