Welcome to The Flourishing Teacher’s Field Guide.

We’re approaching the end of the academic year in the UK, so we’re taking a moment to pause and reflect. If you’ve got a moment too, we’d love for you to join us…

This week, we’re both looking back over the previous academic year, reflecting on the challenges we’ve faced and the lessons learned, and giving you a sneak peek at the subsequent strategies that will make next year even happier.

Let’s jump in…

I’d Love To Reflect But I Don’t Have The Time

If you’re a teacher who’s made it through the year and you’re excited about what next year holds, then congratulations! know that we see you, we’re here for you, and you’re our kind of person!

But whether you feel like you’re on your last legs (we hope that’s none of you) or you’re rocking the last few weeks of the summer term (we hope that’s all of you), this issue is for you.

Why?

Well, I used to get to this stage in the summer term and just shut down.

I did enough to get me through the weeks, but I was so exhausted, so empty, that it was the most I could do show up and function.

The idea of reflecting on the year, of preparing for the next one, of learning lessons and of developing myself as a professional and a person was just beyond me.

And if that rings a bell, I’m not surprised.

Most of the time, the only reflection and planning we’re encouraged to do (or even capable of) is departmental - new curriculum ideas, building resources, planning next year’s projects.

Or it’ll be mandatory professional development that we’re not enthused about or engaged with.

But I learned a couple of years ago that there’s something far more powerful than all of that.

You have to take the time to reflect on your progress as a human being, not just as a teacher. Because when you do, you open yourself up to the potential of powerful transformative practices.

This has become a non-negotiable annual go-to for both of us, and it works because it’s simple, applicable, and effective.

So, here’s how we reflect, how we apply the outcomes, and why you should too…

5 Examples Of Transformative Teacher Reflection

We keep reflection simple here at Marigold Teachers.

That’s because the harder you make something, the less inclined you are to sustain it.

And ultimately, you end up spending your time on something that doesn’t give you value in return.

So, at the end of every month, I make a quick list of the challenges I’ve faced and how I’ve overcome them.

It might look like:

Like I said, simple stuff.

Then, as we approach the end of the year, we each consolidate these down into three key areas for improvement and develop a clear strategy to take each one forward.

Check out our five key reflections, and use them as some inspiration for your own…

Rebecca & David’s 5 Reflections

1 Boundaries Are Beautiful

Something I’ve struggled with for a long time is building a mental boundary between work and home. It’s one of the very first things I ever wrote about, and it’s something that has, for many years, both negatively impacted my quality of life and been central to an unhealthy work ethic.

I’m often guilty of letting my brain stay at school when my body comes home, which is exhausting, unwelcome and unsustainable. I’ve let it impact my mental health, it’s caused me worry, and it’s meant that I’ve not really learned how to relax.

Strategy for next year: No engaging with email or Teams if I’m not physically at school. This is by far and away the healthiest and most valuable thing I’ve experimented with this year, and the key to making next year happier. Yes, I’ll mark, prepare, and make resources at home. But I won’t check comms channels.

Not only does this help me to make the most of my downtime, but it also keeps my anxiety at bay.

2 Emotions Need To Be Observed

Speaking of anxiety, I noticed it creeping back up in the spring term and becoming something of an underlying emotion through the Easter break and beyond. It was hard to identify a single cause, but it was probably a combination of managing a prolonged period of practical exams, some difficult student and parent interactions, and a changing domestic arrangement.

It left me needing to actively manage stress and anxiety with breathing techniques, reframing strategies and sharing concerns with friends and colleagues. These are all excellent techniques that made a real difference, but for next year, I don’t want to have to manage my anxiety. I just don’t want to be anxious.

Strategy for next year: I’ve been reading The Power Of Now by Eckhart Tolle, and one of the most important ideas I’m going to try out is observing my emotions rather than reacting to them. Tolle suggests that the more you step back and observe your feelings, the less power they have over you, and the more likely you are to break free of the stories your brain invents.

So, I’ll spend 10 minutes each morning reaffirming my commitment to observing the difference between who I really am and the way my brain wants me to be. I’ll find reflective moments throughout the day where I can dispassionately ‘check in’ with how I’m feeling, and I’ll review each day in the evening (usually by doodling rather than journaling) and give myself a focus for the next day.

3 Authenticity Is Everything

I started teaching in a new school in January this year, and whilst I’ve fitted in well, love my colleagues and find the positive ethos a world away from the damaging, overwhelming and, frankly, destructive values in my previous school, I’ve found it hard to be as authentically ‘me’ as I would like.

I think this is because of just how damaging my last job was to my mental health, self-worth and sense of identity. I spent a lot of years not being able to be myself, on edge and undervalued. That’s no way to be, and whilst things are hugely better now, I still feel like I’m too guarded, not as confident or expressive as I could be, and that a bit of me hasn’t found its way back yet.

Strategy for next year: The first thing I want to do is to slow down. I don’t mean do less or be less productive or effective, but just breathe, speak more slowly, and give myself time. I’m so used to feeling as though I have to be a people-pleaser that just this one change will start to bring me back in line with myself.

Then comes a need to speak without fear. To be confident enough to contribute the things I want to say, not just what I think people want to hear. That takes courage, but I think I’ve found that, largely through the process of Marigolding! Then comes rekindling my sense of play and wonder, which hopefully reawakens a bit of the creativity I feel I’ve lost.

4 Don’t Underestimate The Small Moments

I’d say I’m quite a reflective person, but after finding out I’d secured a new job, I really started appreciating little exchanges with people. Sometimes, these were spontaneous chats with colleagues over lunch, which were wonderful, and sometimes I planned to spend some time speaking to someone important to me.

I’ve enjoyed a couple of walks, coffee breaks in different staff hangouts and some lovely moments with students and tutees that I may not have had of I’d decided I was too busy. And when I didn’t make the time to create those small moments of connection, it felt like something was missing.

Strategy for next year: Ensure I stay in touch with people from my current school who fill my life with happiness and love, but also look for the micro pockets of time where I might move away from an email or phone and catch up with colleagues and students in person.

Maybe finding an unexpected space to drink my cuppa might provoke a random natter with someone. Either that or I’m going to really over-egg that hello and goodbye to my year group each day!

5 Remember To Reconnect

There are so many aspects in my life outside of work, and at points this year, I’ve put all of those into one box whilst work was in the other. If I couldn’t fit things in, the ‘not work’ things got pushed to one side. In the autumn term I found myself in a dark place and started to see signs that I wasn’t feeling quite myself.

I’d overworked myself, stopped exercising, wasn’t eating right and was in full survival mode. I’d disconnected from the parts of my day-to-day life that make me a happy human being.

After reading Book Summary: Lost Connections by Johann Hari - Hustle Escape (recommended to me halfway up a very big hill by a parent), I’ve really remembered the important lesson that all of those other parts of my life don’t deserve to be shoved under one heading. They’re all important to my wellbeing and my mental health.

Strategy for next year: My September planner is already full of little colour-coded messages reminding me to get outdoors, see people, and eat right. They all deserve to feature in my life week in and week out, and a new school means a great opportunity to look at my working days afresh!

Once you’ve identified your three areas of reflection and the strategies that go with them, it’s important to remember two more things.

First, to make the strategies work, you need to make sure you set the year up with the time, resources and mindset you need. If you don’t actively pursue your ideas, they won’t happen.

Second, make sure you keep reflecting in whatever way works best for you so that you can keep track of whether your strategies are working. Are your professional and personal lives changing for the better? It’s hard to know unless you keep a record of how you feel, and how successfully you’re developing those all-important wellbeing techniques.

What Are You Waiting For?

We believe that teachers achieve extraordinary things under challenging circumstances and that we all deserve to be valued, supported and celebrated.

That’s what this newsletter is all about.

If you haven’t subscribed yet, why not join the Marigold community? You’ll get weekly strategies for sustaining your wellbeing, avoiding burnout and flourishing as a person, not just a teacher.

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Thank You For All You Do

However you reflect on this academic year, the important thing is to celebrate who you are and the extraordinary work that you do.

Not every day will have been a success, but every day that you turned up and did the best you can do is a day that changed lives.

You did that, and sometimes we just need to remember that above all else, we do an amazing, vital and challenging job in ways that no one else can. Thank you.

If you do want to reflect along with us, remember the key takeaways:

In next week’s issue, we’ll share our unique ‘teacher resilience ladder’ resource with you, so do share this newsletter with your colleagues and let’s get as many teachers as possible to a happier and healthier place!

Until then, remember, you’re more than your marking, your lesson observations and your planning.

You’re you. And that’s all you need to be.