children – Page 2

60 Workshops in 26 Days

I will never forget February, 2008.

I delivered 60 workshops in 26 days.

The workshops were our ‘Pozitive Kidz are Happy Kidz’ schools program which focuses on building self esteem from a Tai Chi perspective.

The students age range from 5-12 years old.

At that stage, each workshop ran for 30 minutes – four per morning – two before the break and two after the break.

These were high energy workshops which included props , games and humour to engage the children for the full session. A traditional approach would have been boring and not work as well.

By the time the third and fourth session kicked in during the morning I had to stay centred and make sure I was not repeating or forgetting to include an activity.

Because when I deliver a workshop I leave some flexibilty so I can react to what is happening in the moment, besides covering the core skills.

I now know what it feels like to be out on the road covering several gigs a day over an extended period.

It may not be rock n roll but it’s great fun and exhausting.

Why put my self through this ‘ordeal’?

I’ve got no choice.

I’m passionate about what I do.

Endangered Species – smiling teachers

By Chris Leave a Comment

I’ve been to over 100 primary and secondary schools here in Melbourne Australia running my Pozitive Kidz are happy kidz and wellbeing programs.

And I’ve discovered an endangered species – smiling teachers.

Many teachers who attend my student workshops look stressed out.

They’ve lost their smile and they look like they are only occupying space and time.

It’s a tough job.

I’m lucky because I am the fun guy who is there only for a brief time.

They are there day in and day out ‘in the trenches’ trying to teach students.

Sometimes I get the impression that their main job is crowd control.

On closer examination, their other jobs include dealing with:

parents
bureaucracy
disruptive students
lesson plans
being a counsellor
school culture
lack of time
high expectations from others and themselves
organising
motivation
discipline
etc etc etc

And oh, yeah, they are also there to educate our children.

Is it any wonder that many teachers have lost their smile.

For those who think teaching is easy then they should spend one day in a classroom and teach.

Especially when children are misbehaving.

How can those teachers who have lost their smile regain it?

Well, provide the resources required so they can do the job they were employed to do.

And that can only happen if there is the political and public will to provide these resources.

Until that happens the only thing that may return the smile to teachers is for them to focus on the reasons why they are teaching.

And if those reasons are they love kids and love to teach then that may help return their smile.

I know that when I meet students for the first time in a workshop I need to smile.

Because when I smile they smile.

Then we are ready to learn and have fun.

Where Egos I Go

By Chris Leave a Comment

We all have egos – ‘sense of self-esteem or self-importance’ – and a healthy ego is vital for our wellbeing.

Recently I ran our Pozitive Kidz are happy kidz workshops for grade five and six students at a primary school. The workshops focused on building self esteem from a Tai Chi perspective.

After the workshops the wellbeing teacher emailed me the following student feedback and gave me permission to use it.

“We have had 3 sessions with Chris Bennett. He taught us relaxation techniques to help calm us down. He came to teach us how to have fun through relaxation”. Callum

“Tai Chi has involved movement like belly breathing and the meaning of Yin & Yan. Yin means calm, Yan means active. It is used to calm us down like meditation”. Kellie

“Chris is a wonderful Tai Chi expert. He has taught us many things such as preventing ‘monkey brain'”. Jon

‘Each time Chris teaches us more about the history of Tai Chi and its different uses. He is a funny and joyful guy who is very entertaining and makes sure we all have fun’. Sam

“Tai Chi is fun and calming. It is calming because when we meditate, it is relaxing”. Josh

It certainly boosted my ego, as it’s not often I get feedback from students after a workshop. Usually teachers are too busy to do so or they have a policy that prohibits publicly giving student feedback.

Usually I can assess, during the workshop, if the students are enjoying themselves. Most of the time they do.

This student feedback caused me to reflect that, like children, adults need positive feedback to build and maintain a healthy ego.

One way of doing this is by using the Toastmasters’ method of commend and recommend.

Commendations should be earned and we should always look for opportunities to give them.

Recommendations should be couched in positive language and given only where it is important. Too many recommendations can be overwhelming to children and adults.

What I do in the Positive Kidz workshops is always look for opportunities to commend good behaviour. You should see the reaction from the children. Very positive!

When I need to recommend the desired behaviour I do it with a smile without criticising the poor behaviour.

This takes a lot of patience but it is vital to help build healthy egos because I know ‘where egos I go’.

The Eyes Have It

By Chris Leave a Comment

Adults can have a powerful effect on the behaviour of children. Every gesture, word or action sends a message to children.

This is something I am very aware of when I run our Pozitive Kidz are happy kidz workshops for primary school children.

Usually it takes me about 45-60 minutes to get to a school, driving in peak hour traffic, in the morning, to run three workshops.

When I arrive at a school I’m taken to the area where the workshops are to be held and I quickly assess the environment and find the best position to deliver a workshop. I set up a table with all my props; spooky, monkey brain, Jacques the Shark, Hammy Hothead, smiley flag, fans and my Tai Chi staff.

Then I calm my mind and prepare myself for the start of the workshops. If my mind is distracted and I am still thinking about the peak hour traffic or other problems then I will not make a good first impression. A frown and/or stiff body is easily picked up by the kids and can create an awkward start to the workshop.

When the children file in, about 80 eyes are fixed on me, the tall bald Tai Chi man dressed in black. I can be an imposing figure for children who are half my size so the next few seconds are vital for me to establish rapport.

As soon as they come in I adopt an open posture, smile, say hello, and motion them towards me to sit down. As they sit down some will ask questions such as ‘are you doing magic?’ ‘what are we doing?’ ‘what’s that?’ I’ll quickly answer questions, engage in banter if there is time, so the whole class can observe an adult who is calm and having fun.

This is important because I know ‘the eyes have it’.

Jacques The Shark

By Chris Leave a Comment

She stood there in the middle of the gym, disengaged, as the other fifty grade 5 and 6 students swirled around her.

I tried to encourage her to join in with this organised chaos but she wasn’t interested. Her 10-year old body and tense brow indicated she wanted to be elsewhere.

I was puzzled. It was the fourth session of my ‘Pozitive Kidz are happy kidz’ program and she was still disengaged.

The theme for these workshops was on building self esteem from a Tai Chi perspective. But in this final session I began to wonder whether they’d made any difference at all for this particular little girl.

At the end of session I got all the students to sit down and it was time for Jacques the Shark, a toy I use to help students learn how to relax when they feel under pressure. It has a snapping jaw and is always a favourite with students.

As I took Jacques out of his silver-starred, blue bag, the little girl still didn’t show any interest.

I asked for two volunteers and, as usual, about fifty hands shot up in the air. I picked one girl and one boy to work with Jacques the Shark.

Well, Jacques did what he was supposed to do – bite. And the whole class erupted in laughter.

I looked over to where the little girl was sitting and saw a very brief smile that, for a few moments, erased all the worry and lit up her face.

And I smiled too.

I felt like I had achieved something.