Teacher Training

This interactive and introspective workshop for educators/leaders is chock full of information, self and community inquiry, and practical exercises to foster connectedness. As teachers are role models, it is essential that they take the time to determine how they are doing, whether or not they are truly connecting with their students, and what they can do differently to improve their work and their lives. The workshop is fast paced, relevant and fun!

Social Emotional Intelligence is broken down into three categories:

1. THE SELF: attaining profound knowledge through self-inquiry, meditation and discussion
2. THE OTHER: breaking down our relationship/communication practices in our varied communities
3. COMMUNITY: analyzing the school environment to insure that each student and educator
   feels connected, safe and enthused to learn/work.

Topics:

• Mindfulness – through guided meditation (five samples are offered on the handout for teachers to establish a practice on their own and with their students)
• The neuroscience of the teenage brain – to better understand our audience and their specific challenges
• Increasing student connectedness – through effective methodology with lessons (on a handy take away!)
• Our school climate – an in-depth look at the school community with tools, lessons and school wide initiatives to foster connectedness and positive academic achievements.

This workshop offers educators a chance to fully determine what can be classified as a bullying incident, what to do when they witness it (or hear about it), and how to prevent bullying from happening in the first place. By perceiving bullying as a relationship issue we place a lens on our community groups (school, family, neighbourhood, etc.) to better understand why young people might be hurting each other as they do. There are so many mixed messages in society today regarding the kind of person one should strive to become, and unfortunately, a lot of our ‘role models’ are less than exemplary. To make matters worse, anxiety is on the rise in today’s youth and so they are reacting in some unhealthy ways – like hurting themselves or each other!

There is no doubt that professional development support is needed for educators to navigate their way into the minds (and hearts!) of this relatively ‘new’ breed of young person – adorned with their requisite devices to pull them away from themselves and their relationships. This same young person who might very well lash out online to the detriment of some unsuspecting victim which could, as we’ve seen with Amanda Todd, lead to a catastrophic conclusion. It is our job, within school and within our communities, to help prevent such atrocities from happening again and we can do it through proper training and heart-centered education.

The session offers a practical cognitive method whereby those being targeted can take charge of their thoughts and thus, control their re/actions (which is, in fact, all that they can control in life). The goal is, that over time, they will be able to dim their negative mental messages with constructive thoughts that serve them better. Naturally, when this important work is being taught, a young person has a better chance of being accountable for their lives and thus, treating others with equanimity.

Our interactive training session offers:

 

• Effectively classifying incidents of bullying, along with the latest news and statistics to offer support
• Strategies and systems for educators to handle bullying in their school communities
• Social and emotional initiatives to prevent bullying and to improve the school’s social climate
• Fun, easy to facilitate, character education activities (in printable, ready to use handouts)

What is !mprovisation? Acting without a script… just like LIFE!

The workshop will have your school community moving, creating, and laughing while practicing The Rules of Improvisation, such as: Yes-and! Listen; No blocking; Be in the moment; Give and Take; Have fun! foster mindfulness, as well as healthy collaboration. Stepping outside their comfort zones, educators will be guided to consciously delve deeply into their own strengths and challenges, while working towards common goals in a group. The workshop leaves participants with more clarity regarding their own nature, interpersonal communication and habits of collaboration.

This workshop is perfect for any group wishing to find its creative flow and is facilitated in a safe and compassionate manner. Confronting ourselves in each given moment, as we navigate our way through life, is both daunting and challenging but it can be easier than we think when we learn to let go, listen and trust in ourselves and the group with whom we share common goals.

 

Mindfully engaging with others can teach us more about ourselves than we ever dreamed!
HAVE FUN AND LET GO ON YOUR NEXT PRO-D DAY!

This interactive yet introspective workshop offers participants a wonderful step away from the bells, schedule and time crunches. Life moves quickly and when we work in schools, with hordes of young people milling about, needing our time or expertise, some mindful downtime can be just what the doctor ordered. Self-inquiry and practical exercises help foster an increased connection to our self, to the people around us, and to our community. This workshop offers your mind some respite from its daily thoughts and stresses.

The workshop will inspire participants to look inward with less judgment, with the intention of finding some peace of mind with a more positive, healthy outlook. It aims to connect people to their lives in a more profound way. Activities include: guided meditation; a presentation on mindfulness and how to truly calm the mind so that the body, and emotions will follow; and various methods of self-inquiry. The workshop will leave participants refreshed and inspired with helpful takeaways to continue the work in their daily lives.

Topics of mindful inquiry:

THE SELF: attaining essential knowledge through self-inquiry, meditation and discussion
THE OTHER: breaking down our relationship/communication practices to improve on them
COMMUNITY: Developing our work environment to insure that everyone feels connected, safe and supported.