Teachers, the golden raw material of the school

Schools catapulted into another era

A tiny virus has managed to set off a worldwide revolution, and it has not left the field of education untouched. It shows how a small force can set off a chain of events that compels schools to change their sights. Schools have landed in another era with the force of a catapult. Not through a five-year plan, but simply from one moment to the next. Instantly.

Head teachers, teachers, parents and the children in their care have many questions. To my surprise, the questions are hardly about the practical side of the coronavirus measures. They are about what is most valuable: the essence. What is the essence? What tools are teachers looking for to integrate that essence? What insights from the coronavirus era will they take with them into the school environment?

Schools are on a voyage of discovery towards the essence.

From surviving to living

Crisis and fear walk hand in hand through the schools like two good friends. Teachers, methods, systems, assessments: everything is turned upside down. Even pupils' full-time attendance had to give way. It was no longer just about teaching; going to school became a matter of life and death. Our lives depend on it. That is an idea we would never before have associated with teaching. That is why policymakers, school leaders and teachers are looking for a way to turn surviving into living.

Switching at a fast pace

You have no idea what the next step will be, even though written procedures are now available. Everything can change in a single day.

As a teacher, do you have the flexibility it takes to deal with the changing situation? Are you overwhelmed by stress and fear? Or does it actually spark your creative intelligence? You have to switch, whether you want to or not. At a fast pace, with unexpected and unknown factors that will undoubtedly still crop up. Can you see the advantages?

A wealth of opportunities for growth

A crisis usually arises when the signals for change have gone unseen and misunderstood for a long time. It challenges you and confronts you. It makes you search and find. In time it brings energy, new strength and new patterns. Can we say that unexpected and unprecedented opportunities for growth have landed in the laps of schools? Opportunities that invite you to broaden your outlook, adjust your expertise and, above all, find a great deal of fulfilment? Isn't this part of the essence of learning? Are you ready for the journey?

A teacher has the power to learn for themselves

As a teacher, you are the person par excellence to delight in the learning process, because you have a special quality: the power to learn for yourself. ‘For yourself’ is crucial here. You can only pass on to your pupils, with real value, what you have made your own. So you have the power to convey to your pupils the learning process, the result and every step it takes to get there. It goes further still. From your own ‘learning power’, you show them the power of learning and the rewarding emotions that come with it. This makes pupils want to tap into their own learning power, which enhances their wellbeing.

Shifting the focus from crisis to creation opens the door to great fulfilment.

Teachers, a school's golden raw material

When teachers join forces in their learning power, they turn a crisis into a splendid framework. Within it, schools reinvent their essence and fill it with new forms and colours that better suit what today's children truly need. Teachers shift their focus from crisis to creation, and in doing so they open a door to great fulfilment. At the same time, this is a message for public policy: focus on the solution, not on the problem. The wealth, the golden raw material for this creative process, is already present in the school, and you are part of it. Time to recognise your true worth in gold.

Fear and stress break your connection

Death, illness, infection, economic consequences, worldwide, children in need and the figures have been echoing through your media speakers these past months. Ask yourself the following questions. What effect does that have on me? What happens in my body? With my breathing? My perception? My motivation? My creativity? The content of my conversations? The quality of my sleep? Just observe it. What do you notice?

Spreading fear has a narrowing effect on how you function: your thinking, your flexibility, your creativity and your intuitive perception all narrow. Your attention is drawn to external factors. You start finding it harder to sleep or eat, or your body starts showing complaints. Your (underestimated) breathing gets out of balance, and that breaks the connection with yourself. This is a very common complaint among teachers. Rightly so, because a broken connection disrupts both your quality of life and your teaching.

When your attention is drawn to external factors, your connection with yourself is put at risk.

Children naturally reflect what is out of balance

What do one-sided, fear-inducing news reports and panicky reactions from adults do to children? ‘If the grown-ups are this scared, who can I turn to for support?’ runs through their little heads. They are more finely tuned than a barometer that registers the slightest change in the weather. That sensitivity plays tricks on them. If the emotions they pick up from fearful adults are not channelled, they lead to difficult behaviour and trouble concentrating and learning. Children hold up a shining mirror to us: fear does not lead to the result we want. They need something else. What do you need?

In the book De eigenwijze kikker, these children are described as jammers who use their powerful antennae to pick up information from a wider environment and broadcast it in the school. [1] Their sensitivity detects every lie and unmasks every untruth, every falseness. Like a sponge, they soak up the excess of stimuli that burdens their nervous system. If this burden goes unnoticed and is not dealt with properly, it leads to discontent, apathy, aggression or flight from the body in the pupil. To bring them back to the now and to their learning process, you as a teacher need to be present in the here and now. Otherwise it becomes a difficult task.

Anyone can learn it, and it isn't even that difficult.

The explorer: a fascinating, lively and authentic person

Over the past two years, the explorer in you has woken up. This awakening acts as a powerful antidepressant and protects you from routine and loss of motivation. An explorer maps out their own path and takes on adventures as they come. They let go of control and apply strategies that suit the crisis. They may have a goal in mind, but there is a good chance they will discover something completely different. Pupils who see the explorer in their teacher want nothing more than to learn for themselves. They know that, from your inner freedom, you dare to push your boundaries. They want to learn how to do that themselves, so that they can get to know themselves. De eigenwijze kikker says that the search for oneself is the most important learning process every person wants to embark on. [2] Young pupils have that goal too. Isn't that what school is about? What the essence is about? Knowing yourself. Learning to live? Or do we limit ourselves to learning to learn?

Pupils who see the explorer in their teacher want nothing more than to learn for themselves.

A nourishing little place for fears and small joys

With the creation of bubbles, Miss Vera's class in the second year of primary school has been cut in half.

‘I'm discovering the benefits of more physical space per pupil,’ she says, sounding happy. ‘It's simply much calmer. There's more room and the desks are tidier. I now have time to discover other talents in my children. For instance, I noticed that a child who isn't good at maths is very good at singing. What I offer now matches their needs better.’ She hesitates for a moment before going on.

‘Religious and philosophical education was scrapped at our school. How can you wipe life and reflection off the map? Right now, of all times? It's a nourishing little place where children can bring their fears and their small joys.’

Asked whether she has become more creative, she answers playfully: ‘When we still had to wear face masks, I made up my face in a bright colour every day. The children loved it. Because my smile was hidden behind my mask, I taught them to look at the little lines around my eyes and at my eyebrows.’

The visits gave me a wonderful feeling, as if it really mattered.

Learning through play is now high on my agenda

Miss Kristel from the fifth year feels safe in her classroom.

‘Most of the children are comfortable in their own skin, and I deliberately build on that,’ she says. ‘Learning then makes better progress. Before the coronavirus crisis they lived at a faster pace. Too many hobbies and too much varied input made them more prone to stress. The measures slowed that pace down and they are calmer now. As a result, they learn more easily.’

Something has struck her. ‘The children are no longer used to sitting still for long. They need more movement and more freedom. I give them that, but it's new to me. I now regularly build in short movement breaks in which we practise what we're learning. For example, we play ball outside and learn to count in French. Learning through play is now higher on my agenda.’

The pupils have become more independent

‘Because of the lockdown, both my pupils and I have become more independent,’ Miss Kristel observes. ‘We've learned many other things together. I've learned a lot on the digital side. I'm not letting that go; I'm taking it into my lessons. The children are now also more at ease working independently. That's a nice bonus. Still, there is a difference. At home they did what was asked of them, but without really taking it in. In the classroom it works better.’

Intrinsic motivation

‘The lockdown suddenly made me realise why I chose this job. I knew it, of course, but it had never hit home so forcefully,’ Miss Kristel concludes, with emotion and pride. ‘The contact, the sensing, the openness to each other,… It feels so wonderful. Like an inner talent, an intrinsic motivation…’

Wonderful visits to pupils

Miss Anja teaches the first year. ‘I felt it was my job to visit the pupils at home, from a safe distance. I was driven by the need to see them. My visits gave parents the chance to ask questions. The children themselves were overjoyed. Some of them were real chatterboxes, or showed me a photo album or a tooth that had fallen out.

‘The visits gave me a wonderful feeling, as if it really mattered. I felt happier and lighter, and I had far more energy. I could have carried on into the night.’

With minimal effort, you have maximum reach.

The paper-thin line between school and home

‘With six- and seven-year-olds, you need the parents' help to meet online. So there's a parent behind every child, and the other children's parents are present too. We talked about how the children were feeling. One child said they didn't feel good at home. Then it went very quiet. I didn't know what to say. The dad was upset and the other parents said nothing. That was an uncomfortable moment.’

That was when Miss Anja came up against the paper-thin line between school and home, a sensitive and delicate line.

‘At school you can take a child like that aside for a moment, but I'd forgotten that there's no privacy at an online meeting. I got in touch with the dad afterwards, and now I set out a framework for the parents beforehand,’ she sighs. ‘I don't want to go through that a second time.’

The teacher came up against the paper-thin line between school and home.

The forgotten meaningfulness of everyday school practice

The lockdown made us embrace essential things once again. We were given a unique time to recover from our overfull diaries, to come back to ourselves and to do things we would otherwise have pushed aside. At last we could slow down and follow a natural pace. Family, communication, and emotional and physical contact rose sharply in value. We took more care of ourselves while also caring for others in a way we had never done before. A sense of connectedness grew. With more personal space, having fewer external stimuli was bliss. Nature reminded us that we can recover quickly if we wish to. These insights are about the forgotten meaningfulness of everyday school practice.

Tools from your inner wealth

So the rediscovery of the essence and a conscious way of life are not found in external factors. They are much closer to home: in your inner world. A rich treasure lies there: your deep connection with who you are, your unique point of stillness. They are very useful for your work in the classroom and for your pupils. We are not used to working from there. Yet we can no longer fall back on the ways of the old paradigm of fear and watch as so many teachers burn out. The golden raw material must be supported and must stay healthy.

A rich treasure lies in your inner world: your deep connection with who you are, your unique point of stillness.

All learning is physical

This is an important moment. Are you willing to make a choice? Would you like to teach from that unique point of stillness? Would you like to learn to teach from your physical awareness? Sounds like double Dutch? Yet you already know it. From tasting something as small as a strawberry and listening to music that moves you, to the birth of your child and the countless events in between. You experienced them all physically. That experience was a barometer of whether something was good or not. Perhaps you have never stopped to think about it, but all learning is physical[3]. Learning at school too. A child who is physically present will learn more easily. A teacher who is physically present will manage the classroom more smoothly. Now we are learning to apply this consciously.

All learning is physical.

What? The simplicity of Teaching by being

Teaching by being is a method that starts from your unique point of stillness. It can be applied across all subjects and is easy to learn. It grew out of the conscious personal development of the author of this article, over years of working with her classes. Teaching by being is used in both primary and secondary schools by teachers who have followed the training. It can be used for teaching as well as for learning in class. It gives a solid foundation to anyone who wants to live, learn and work from a powerful life energy.

Teaching by being is a connecting method that opens the heart and has an impact in several directions. When you as a teacher apply Teaching by being to yourself, your changed attitude affects not only you, but also your pupils, your colleagues and your head teacher, and the other way round.

When you use Teaching by being, you notice, just as during the coronavirus period, that all the processes in a school are interconnected. So with minimal effort, you have maximum reach.

Teaching by being is always at hand. You don't need to study anything complicated for it. It can be used in almost any circumstances. It is not a theoretical concept. It is based on the intelligence and perceptive ability of your own body, which is truthful. The body doesn't lie. You know that. You notice it, for example, in how your body reacts to favourable and unfavourable situations.

The approach is rather unusual, because in education we are used to focusing on mental intelligence. Everyone has bodily and emotional intelligence. By learning to understand and use it, we can avoid or reduce many classroom and learning problems. [4] This frees up extra time. Are you ready for another way of seeing and acting? Would you like to know how?

Teaching by being is a connecting method that opens the heart and has an impact in several directions.

What? The wheel of being, a clear framework

Teaching by being is a total experience, an experience of being, that is hard to divide into parts. For a better understanding, and because we like something to hold on to, the ‘wheel of being for teachers’ was developed. It consists of eight axes that you can learn to experience rather than reason out. Pupils, by the way, are very good at it themselves and keen to do it. They have a great need for the feeling of safety that arises when you use bodily intelligence well. [5] Most pupils don't learn anywhere how to connect with their inner calm. They are grateful for those short moments. Within a few minutes their batteries are recharged and they can carry on with the lesson. A waste of time, critics will argue. A gain in time and in learning, in my experience.

In De eigenwijze kikker you will find a full account of the wheel of being. [6] The book is also packed with playful exercises that equip you to teach from your physical awareness.

Teaching by being is a total experience for teachers and pupils.

Who? Teachers shift the focus

Teachers care deeply for their pupils. Even so, the wheel of being asks you to do something you are not used to and may feel some resistance to. Instead of putting your attention on the pupil first, you bring the focus to yourself first. Shifting the focus makes you more present: more here, more now, more in your body and breathing more freely.

It isn't selfish. On the contrary, pupils love teachers who stand their ground. More pleasant behaviour and better learning results are your great rewards. All that by using your body? You don't have to simply take my word for it. Let the explorer in you loose and just try it. Below I look at how three axes of the wheel of being work, but first, an example from practice.

I've never been able to do it and I never will

Dana was a pupil who was utterly frustrated in my lessons. She refused to cooperate in any way. [7] None of my tricks had any effect. Nothing would persuade her to take part in my lessons. She had never liked my subject, couldn't do it and never would. I had to come up with something, because the school year had only just begun and I had no intention of reaching the end of it like that. In a conversation with her, I described her posture during my lessons. I showed it with my own body. In every lesson she sat completely hunched up, arms and legs crossed, her long hair in front of her face. In the conversation she said she had no intention of cooperating in any way. Then I asked whether her only cooperation in my lessons could be a change in posture. That interested her immediately, and she wanted to try the experiment. By putting both feet on the floor and sitting up straight on her chair, she would feel her body better and be in contact with the earth. By sitting up straight she would breathe better and her digestion would work more easily. Her heart would be free to learn. By resting her arms loosely, she would breathe better, and by moving her hair aside she could connect with what was happening in the lesson. I didn't explain any more to her than I am doing now, but I did tell her she could expect better marks with this posture. During my lessons I applied in full what I had asked of her, and more. I was 100% present. To cut a long story short, she began to cooperate, started doing her assignments and scored ten out of ten. Before that, she had never once achieved a pass mark in my subject in her entire school career. Above all: the example of one pupil inspired other pupils, in my subject and in other subjects, even though I had worked with just one pupil. That was when I understood the impact of bodily intelligence on behaviour and results. Teaching by being was born. Many teachers have since learned to apply it.

Pupils love teachers who are firmly present in themselves.

What? The basic triangle that keeps you fitter

Let's take a look at three of the eight axes of the wheel of being: I, here, now & earth and body awareness & breathing. The words in capitals are our focus. That is where we want to go. That is where we teach from, and where pupils follow the lesson from. First-year pupils can already do it, and so can the little ones in the final year of nursery school. The older the pupils get, the longer you can keep it up and the more varied the ways you can use it with them.

The words in lower case represent the situation most people are unconsciously in, which causes various difficulties in their lives and therefore in the classroom. Suppose we can make the leap from time awareness to the here and now, from being absent to body and earth awareness, and from not living (having little life energy) to breathing. Then something changes in your classroom within a short time. Applying the basic triangle will certainly keep you fitter until the end of the day, but how do you do it?

How? Axis one: here and now

Think of this paragraph as the first practical exercise. Observe whether your attention is in this moment and in the place where you are now. [8] If it isn't, invite yourself to be present, with your full awareness and all your senses, in what you are doing right now. Even if you have worries, bring your attention to this moment and this place. If you are distracted by stories from time awareness, your past or your future, keep bringing your awareness back to the here and now. Repeat this exercise at different times of the day and in different circumstances. You will notice that time awareness often lures you away, but you have the learning power to stay in the here and now.

How? Axis two: body and earth awareness

The second practical exercise gives you stability and safety.[9] While your focus is in the here and now, you begin to perceive your body better, both inside and out. The axes are all connected, so if you do it the other way round and focus on axis two, axis one is set in motion too.

‘Stand with both feet on the ground’ (= the earth) is no empty phrase. Feel free to try this playful exercise before the department meeting starts, or do it together with your pupils. Stand on your toes, on your heels or on the outer edges of your feet while trying to keep your balance. Do you feel the imbalance? Now place both feet firmly on the ground, with the whole sole of each foot touching it. Meanwhile, keep feeling your body and stay in the here and now. Feel how firmly you are starting to stand. Children feel safe to learn with a grounded teacher. Through this exercise, pupils feel more comfortable in their own skin.

Many people only feel their body when it hurts. Yet your body is a source of information. It helps you when you are teaching, in a meeting, at a parents' evening, when you try something new or when you go beyond your limits. A better understanding of your body's signals helps you make better decisions and supports your wellbeing.

How? Axis three: The underestimated importance of breathing

As a third practical exercise, you can observe your breathing several times a day.[10] There is a good chance that you regularly stop breathing for a moment during lessons. Invite yourself to breathe in and out calmly throughout the day, preferably right down into your belly. Teach your pupils to breathe in and out calmly. They will thank you for it.

Breathing is vital, and it is crucial to the learning process. A teacher who breathes well inspires confidence. When their breathing flows easily, they have less trouble with classroom management, because breathing reflects your life energy and says something about the state of your emotions. A pupil who breathes properly is calm and learns better. A child who doesn't breathe well suffers from fear of failure and is hard to guide through the material.

Breathing is vital, and it is crucial for an easy learning process.

Where and when? Always and everywhere

Where and when? Always and everywhere. It seems an impossible task, but it isn't. To build up confidence, you can practise on your own first. Soon you will want to practise in everyday life: at the table with your family, while talking to the neighbour, … You can carry on with your usual activities while you practise. Contrary to what you might think, your attention doesn't slacken. Instead, you notice that you can focus and concentrate better. While you are teaching, practise being aware of your presence in the here and now and/or your whole body with your feet on the ground and/or your breathing. At first you will probably have to bring your attention back often. With practice you can keep it up for longer and longer. You also learn to see which pupils are present and which are not, so that you can adjust your strategy.

You can carry on with your usual activities while you practise.

Possible results of applying Teaching by being

Consistently applying Teaching by being through your bodily and emotional intelligence brings results that used to take a great many steps, with varying success. The results go beyond individual subjects and at the same time contribute to them.

Fun works. Your small inner experiences of success encourage you to keep going, until they grow into experiences you share with your pupils. Enjoy the practice, the voyage of discovery and the results. Invite your colleagues to join in. Together, your motivation grows and you inspire your pupils. Practise for at least three to four weeks in a row. Chances are you will then want to develop this skill further.

The golden place of the essence.

The features that come with a crisis, such as fear, stress, uncertainty and survival mode, push you towards (self-)examination of the essential values in yourself and at school. Through your learning power, you let go of old patterns and explore new possibilities. This builds greater strength and energy, and your expertise keeps growing. The secret is to turn your gaze inwards and perceive who you are and what you want to stand for in your life. This inner process of awareness shows itself through your creative intelligence. You walk your authentic path more fully, and your inner freedom shows in the way you teach and in the way you guide your pupils from their natural rhythm of living and learning. The insights from the recent health crisis have contributed to this. The wheel of being is your practical support. You, the teacher, the school's golden raw material, are the supporting bridge that can lead yourself and your pupils from a crisis to pioneering education in which the essence is given a golden place.

Hilde Van Bulck
www.hildevanbulck.com

[1] Van Bulck, De eigenwijze kikker, 2015, p. 50 ; [2] p. 105 ; [3] p. 155 ; [5] p. 122–123 ; [6] p. 161–186 ; [7] p. 94 –106 ; [8] p. 165 ; [9] p. 168 ; [10] p. 175
[4] Schoolpraat, 2019, Emotional intelligence, p. 8-10

About the author

Hilde Van Bulck is an author, speaker, transformer and systemic constellation facilitator. She is the founder and driving force behind Samtati and the creator of Teaching by being. She has many years of experience in education, coaching and training at her fingertips and is not easily fooled. She specialises in systemic family and educational constellations. She is known for her intensive, high-quality ‘beyond stress at school’ training courses and is valued for the safe framework in which she works. She encourages reflection, inspiration, motivation and activation to bring education professionals and schools to their essence and their inner leadership. She gets to the bottom of every question.

Her second book, ‘De eigenwijze kikker, het geheim van lesgeven en opvoeden’, is full of lived experiences and concrete exercises for schools on the move. It was written to empower adults and children. Before that, she wrote ‘De Nacht van ons leven’, a personal testimony about love and grief.