We learn together. The journey continues in 2022!
Dear friends,
We invite you to celebrate this end of the year under the sign of gratitude, that emotion often invisible, but healing and fulfilling. Gratitude is the feeling of expressing appreciation for what we have, it is the act of contentment and focus on the good in our lives. Our thoughts of gratitude go out to all those who have supported us this year to grow, develop and dare to look forward with confidence and courage.
As for our work, we briefly present you some milestones that make us grateful for this year that is coming to an end.
The National Training “Teacher Well-being”
The training program “Teacher’s well-being”, carried out with the support of Herlitz Romania, Pelikan Romania and Azomures, reached out 1,140 teachers from 14 counties in the country. By using mindfulness practices and the resilience acquired in the course, teachers will be able to create a context in which they are protected from the risk of physical and emotional exhaustion, having at hand the necessary tools for gentle teaching and communication based on empathy and compassion.
The program continues! At the beginning of next year, we will announce the next training session.
10 Days Podcast with the Teacher Within
In January, for 10 days, we invited you to allocate one minute a day for a meditation guided by Simona Baciu, the founder of the Happy Teachers for Romania program. We wanted this introspection guide to help you enter into the class with a positive attitude, empathy and compassion, to pay attention to the needs of your students and to be with them when they need your support and understanding.
Teacher’s Month of Well-being in Romanian Education
In February, we organized the second edition of the Teacher’s Well-being Month, a program through which we promote the benefits of teachers’ well-being, in the classroom and beyond.
Our initiative was joined by the Finnish Teacher Training Centre Sibiu and 10 private schools in the country, which helped us organize a series of online activities dedicated to teachers, meant to provide them with the necessary support for them to feel supported in their role as creators of education and to pass on joy, enthusiasm, and positive attitude to their students.
Launching the Happy Teachers for Romania Podcast
In the Teacher’s Month of Well-Being, we launched the Happy Teachers for Romania Podcast, which was created out of the desire to support teachers and all those who wanted to practice their profession with gentleness and passion. What can we do to feel better, overcome stress, anxiety and restlessness, accept and valorize ourselves more? How can we create a pleasant atmosphere in the classroom by conveying positive thoughts to our students that will make them participate in our classes with joy? What does it take to be a happy teacher? The answers to these questions were found in the collection of Conversations for Well-being, in which the challenge of being a teacher in these times was discussed in a different way.
Conversations “with Charm” with Simona Baciu and her guests
Within the “Happy Teachers for Romania” Podcast, we launched a series of 6 episodes supported by Farmec (Charm), the largest producer of cosmetics in Romania.
Our partners have supported us in cultivating the mental, emotional, but also physical well-being of the members of our community and we are grateful for their support. Among the guests were Adrian Hădean, Daciana Sârbu, Amalia Sterescu, Gilda Scarfe, Oana Moşoiu and Lilia Dicu.
Well-being Conversations with Gabriela Secoșan and her guests
Our live meetings, on Facebook, had a new format, in which Gabriela Secoșan, the director of the training program “Happy Teachers for Romania”, discussed with her guests about how we can reach the State of Well-being and what is its importance, from various perspectives. Each month was dedicated to a certain topic.
Emotional Health Week
The last week of May was dedicated to emotional health in the classroom and generated a real movement for Well-being among teachers across the country. Over 30,000 teachers and children enjoyed together creative activities, discussions and games. This “different week” can be adapted according to the wishes and needs of each class and put into practice at any time, thus bringing more joy, enthusiasm and connection between children and their teachers. Each day of Emotional Health Week has a certain theme and challenge that children and teachers must meet. Thus, students and preschoolers had the opportunity to recognize, control and value their emotions for constructive purposes and beneficial to their emotional development.
D.E.A.R. (Drop Everything And Read)
During the summer holidays, teachers in our community relaunched a concept dedicated to reading, entitled D.E.A.R. (Drop Everything and Read). Reading is an enjoyable activity, useful in the short and long term, which stimulates critical thinking and develops vocabulary. In order to attract students to read, we need to make this experience fun, relaxing and enjoyable, to present their books in a positive light. Through this project, the joy of reading has reached schools across the country.
The new school year has come with a lot of plans and opportunities to accomplish great things with our students. Thus, we have launched a school calendar, created especially for your class! Made in the form of a planner, it can be glued to the wall, has spaces to be able to be completed with holidays, celebrations, excursions, tests, theses or any other event that you want to mark with students.
Education for Wellbeing Conference
We are extremely grateful that, on November 6th, over 3000 teachers joined our initiative to make known the importance of well-being and the role it plays in the classroom!
Our team has been dreaming of this event for a long time and we are glad that, finally, the dream has come true, turning into the Education for Well-being Conference.
What can we do? What’s up to us? Where to start?
These were the questions to which we wanted to offer you practical answers, easy to transfer in the teaching activity. We have invited people who want to be an authentic support for teachers and students and who have been eager to share with you their experience and advice and, in turn, to listen to your experiences and advice. Learning from each other we grow harmoniously together!
Study on the Well-being of teachers in Romania
The first study on the emotional health of teachers in Romania was carried out, between March and May 2021, at the initiative of the Happy Teachers for Romania program – an initiative supported by the Transylvania College Foundation in Cluj-Napoca, together with Dr. Gilda Scarfe, psychologist, founder of Positive Ed, in partnership with Merito, SuperTeach, Romanian Business Leaders and the C-EDU Education Cluster.
The results of the study, presented at the Conference Education for Well-being, show that the mental health of teachers is moderate. It has also been found that 35% of teachers in Romania feel alone and over 80% of those surveyed report that their work has no positive effect on their mental health or well-being. The results will be disseminated during conferences, workshops and events in the educational field.
December is about the joy of giving
There is little time left until Santa Claus arrives. The little ones are the first to make their wish list, but you guys? What would you like to receive or give this year?
The collection of products inspired by the book The Theacher Within are intended both to practice mindfulness techniques and to be integrated into the daily lives of those who want to live in harmony and balance with themselves, with their thoughts and emotions. The sets are made up of small tools, as we like to call them, to help you on your journey to well-bwing. We invite you to discover them and, perhaps, even give them away!
Thank you for a wonderful year and we wish you the magic of Christmas to enter your homes and souls, find you healthy and bring you peace and harmony!
Happy holidays and a New Year with inspiration and joy!
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If you have any suggestions, questions or simply want to get in touch with us, you can contact us at profesorifericiți@gmail.com email address.