Gratitude and Education, a Winning Team!
Implementing practices of gratitude in our everyday lives is really beneficial for our personal mental and physical health and it has an amazing positive effect on our social health improving the lives of those around us.
The education sector is a great example of the power of gratitude.
Martin Armytage, the Head of Education from YPO said:
I know a kind word goes a long way in my place of work, making a conscious effort to connect with people positively and just remind them about all the good they do, when sometimes people just think about the challenge and how difficult things are. So, connecting with teachers and other school staff, and being thankful and giving them that praise, whether it comes from parents, from children, from external bodies, is so important. And I'm so pleased that it's very visibly happening now.
Those working in schools are often overlooked as education is such an integral part of our everyday life; we need teachers all the time, not just when there is a crisis or emergency, and so we often forget to thank them.
Gratitude is a positive force in the education sector; it strengthens the bond between colleagues and builds stronger teams. It creates wonderful opportunities for the children and their parents to have a positive interaction with the school and its staff. It also encourages personal development when the gratitude is passed down from the top. Governors thanking teachers, senior leadership teams thanking teachers and teachers thanking each other and so on!
The benefits of gratitude are clear to see as Martin goes on to say:
Gratitude helps to improve self-esteem which is so important, other benefits are improving energy and health, it's not just psychological, there's a physiological impact as well. It lowers your stress and anxiety. I think the evidence shows that if you are prepared to be a person that actually shows gratitude, you will receive something positive in return as well, because it just cultivates that kind of environment.
Thanking teachers doesn't just empower them and make their efforts worthwhile, it creates a positive narrative and sets examples promoting the power of gratitude to the students too!
Recent studies suggest that the more grateful students feel, the more they are engaged in their academic work and the more they feel accomplished and value schoolwork.
If we foster a sense of purpose we will be more grateful and be able to assist, support and encourage others to thrive and become more productive.
Education and gratitude go hand in hand. The more gratitude that exists in our schools the happier the workforce will be; this creates a more positive, more productive school atmosphere and this will have a great effect on the young learners, helping them reach even greater levels of excellence.
You can hear more from Martin Armytage talking about YPO's new partnership with TAP and the importance of gratitude on our latest Education Radio Show: https://soundcloud.com/thankandpraise/tap-ypo-show