Our values at Teachers’ Well

At Teachers’ Well, our values are a core part of what we do to co-create and sustain a wellbeing community of practice for teachers. Our values act as compass points that we use to navigate the way we work together and address our needs, which means we give them ongoing attention and reflection.

“School outcomes cannot be attributed to individual leadership capacities or behaviours alone, rather they must co-evolve with the values, beliefs, visions and educational needs of their community.” (Kershner & McQuillan, 2016)

In this blog post we’ll move around the compass points of our Teachers’ Well values together. I’ll briefly explain what each value means to us and invite you to explore what it could mean to you with a prompt.

Purpose

We begin by recognising that every teacher has a purpose for teaching. We acknowledge that this purpose may be clear and present, or it may have become shrouded in a haze of busyness and stress. For most of us, it’s somewhere in between.

At Teachers’ Well we prepare a safe and reflective space where teachers can consistently tune back into the thread of purpose that sustains them through challenge and complexity.

What story, moment or experience captures your original impulse to become a teacher?

Curiosity

As teachers, we are accustomed to extending curiosity to learning new concepts, content and theories. Yet how often do we have the opportunity to extend that curiosity to one another’s experiences and perspectives? 

At Teachers’ Well we realise the considerable potential that is mobilised by facilitating opportunities to slow down and listen deeply to each others’ hopes, challenges, ideas, and inspirations.

When have you listened to someone to the point that your perspective on something began to shift?

Compassion

Compassion is at the heart of building strong relationships and a sense of belonging in community.

At Teachers’ Well we recognise that when people feel valued and supported, they are more likely to contribute meaningfully and authentically. Inviting moments of co-regulation and gestures of care between people allows groups and individuals to settle into the deep and intentional work of shaping their future. 

Where do you go to feel understood or like you belong without striving?

Courage

At this point, we have well departed from the status quo of teacher collaboration in schools. Showing up in this process takes courage alone, and we want to acknowledge that. 

At Teachers’ Well we notice that when people feel seen and heard they may experience a wave of restorative energy or moments of inner strength. This could arrive as a call to action or a new way of articulating the next step along the thread of purpose. The alchemisation of personal and collective courage renews confidence in the possible.

How do you draw energy or inspiration to continue in the direction of your purpose?

Our values are core to our process, how we work together, and who we seek to be as teachers and facilitators. They can, in the words of the late Vincent Harding, enable us to be ‘signposts in the dark’, leading us step by step toward a renewed sense of collective meaning within the wellbeing education crisis.

If you would like to experience how we work, join our community or get in touch. 

References:

Kershner, B., & McQuillan, P. J. (2016). Complex adaptive schools: Educational leadership and school change. Complicity: An International Journal of Complexity and Education, 13(1), 4 – 29. 

Harding, V., and Tippet, K. (2019). Our Lives Can Be Signposts for What’s Possible. On Being. Accessed at: https://onbeing.org/programs/our-lives-can-be-signposts-for-whats-possible-vincent-harding/.