Inside Weather and School Climate
Here at the Human Values Foundation (HVF) we have started a community blog series. We are asking Members and Friends of the HVF to share a story about one of their experiences related to the HVF and how it demonstrates the life-enriching potential of living our values.
Next in our series is a piece ahead of World Values Day that introduces a new initiative from The Big Think: THE BIG 5 project - for Personal ‘inside weather’ and the School Climate. This story is from the Human Values Foundation CEO, Rosemary Dewan. For Rosemary this story captures the values of Community and Unity.
Each year, World Values Day is celebrated in October. The theme for 2022 is ‘Values for Community’. In a world that can feel increasingly divided, values help unite us. They are the glue holding together our communities and wider society.
This year’s campaign encourages all of us to put our values into action, reaching across the growing barriers that divide us to build stronger communities and a more united world.
Enjoy this short animation about getting involved in #WorldValuesDay2022: Get involved with #WorldValuesDay2022! | 20th October - YouTube.
Values education
RESEARCH shows that good, systematic VALUES EDUCATION:
is essential to effective schooling
positively impacts all the important educational measures
is a worldwide, contemporary phenomenon
fits well with updated brain and pedagogical research, and
is a means to holistic student and teacher wellbeing.
The Human Values Foundation makes values education possible through its programme for children called THE BIG THINK. The set of 60 Assembly and Lesson kits for ages 5 to 7 and a further 60 for ages 7 to 11 uses 5 core values of Truth, Peace, Responsibility, Love and Community.
Under each core value there are 12 learning modules full of stories and purposeful activities that enable children to gradually build up a personal bank of meaningful values. Throughout each day they can refer to them to guide their thinking, decision-making and actions because:
TRUTH: provides a bedrock and solid foundations for integrity and authenticity
PEACE: supports inner strengths, mindfulness, creativity and motivation
RESPONSIBILITY: promotes informed and accountable choices and actions
LOVE: nurtures empathy, positive, caring relationships and teamwork
COMMUNITY: celebrates the richness of diversity, cultures and collaboration
Social and Emotional Learning (SEL)
As human beings, we are complex creatures! It takes many years for us to develop life skills that enable each of us to lead happy, purposeful lives within our chosen communities.
Social and Emotional Learning is now considered an essential aspect of a child’s education because of how it positively impacts so many aspects of who we are, drives wellbeing development and enhances attainment, be it academic or otherwise – and SEL is a strong feature of THE BIG THINK.
The Education Endowment Foundation recommends 5 Social and Emotional Learning strategies to improve performance in primary schools:
SELF-AWARENESS: Expand children’s emotional vocabulary and support them to express emotions.
SELF MANAGEMENT: Teach children to use self-calming strategies and positive self-talk to help deal with intense emotions.
RESPONSIBLE DECISION-MAKING: Teach and practise problem-solving strategies.
RELATIONSHIP SKILLS: Roleplay good communication and listening skills.
SOCIAL AWARENESS: Use stories to discuss others’ emotions and perspectives.
THE BIG THINK learning resources have been carefully designed to provide a constant flow of tasks and opportunities for children to explore, practise and apply. By degrees the children flourish as:
TRUTH: self-awareness builds confidence to face realities and live authentically
PEACE: self-management develops character and establishes high standards of behaviour
RESPONSIBILITY: responsible decision-making encourages independent thinking and active, accountable citizenship
LOVE: relationship skills promote wellbeing with considerate, life-enriching interactions
COMMUNITY: social awareness fosters empathy, inclusiveness and social cohesion.
THE BIG 5 project - for Personal ‘inside weather’ and the School Climate
Dr Haim Ginott was an elementary school teacher, a child psychologist, a psychotherapist and a parent educator. His approach to child rearing and education involved parents and educators striving to understand the feelings and minds of young citizens using respectful, compassionate, understanding language.
He said, “I’ve come to a frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element in the classroom. It’s my personal approach that creates the climate. It’s my daily mood that makes the weather.”
Considering how our moods can affect an atmosphere and how we can influence the circumstances in which we operate, as a Partner of World Values Day and in celebration of ‘Values for Community’, the Human Values Foundation has made available, a free pack of values-themed, social and emotional learning resources called THE BIG FIVE.
Weather is changeable, just like our emotions and feelings.
THE BIG 5 Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) skills of Self-awareness, Self-management, Responsible decision-making, Relationship skills and Social awareness, provide a means of minimising personal turbulence and disturbing the surrounding atmosphere because of being able to look after inner weather so that all are better able to thrive.
Climate is more constant, just like our values.
THE BIG 5 Values of Truth, Peace, Responsibility, Love and Community help everyone in a school to connect as humans first and foremost and utilise the values to establish a sustainable environment conducive to maximising learning and development.
With THE BIG FIVE new values-themed resource, community life around the world can be united and enriched.
“The Big Think is the best subject ever.” – Avonmore Primary School pupil, London
Check out THE BIG FIVE set of free resources that help bring about exciting differences to changeable, personal ‘inside weather’ in a constant, supportive school climate.
The 5 packs for ages 5-7 and 5 for ages 7-11 making up this resource provide a 5-week course for each age group. As schools work through the Assembly and Lesson kits, teachers gain confidence in facilitating their own and their pupils’ Social and Emotional Learning (SEL). The strategies and skills gained enhance the psychological wellbeing of all participants and are conducive to lasting improvements in children’s performance, socially, emotionally and academically.