We see, in 21st Century Western society and especially
our schools, that:
- change is accelerating;
- external pressures and goals are multiplying;
- public sector reform is felt to be too imposed
and prescriptive;
- institutions and authority are increasingly
challenged;
- morality is becoming individual and personal;
- meaning is fragmented;
- there is a growing, unfulfilled desire for
purpose and spiritual significance.
The tension placed on educational institutions
is intense. We believe that the human cost of doing nothing about
this is unacceptable: teachers will continue to leave the profession;
stress-related sickness will continue to increase; more young people
will become bored and disaffected with school.
We believe that one sustainable and acceptable
way ahead is for us to help students, teachers and leaders in schools
to:
- stop, reflect and create space;
- attend to their own and each others’
spirituality;
- increase their capacity for personal
growth and transformation;
- regain ownership of their educational purpose;
- develop inspirational
leadership, for learning
and creativity;
- create networked communities in support of
these values.
aHead-Space makes a start in offering such help
and creating such a networked community, through like-minded professionals
researching and sharing these ideas and values in practice, with
and alongside practitioners, and giving regular opportunities for
teachers and leaders in schools to find space and renew their capacity
for growth and transformation.
What do we mean by…?
Space:
is more important than time: it is the mental and emotional capacity
to ‘take things on board’, sort out priorities, see
the ‘big picture’, conserve energy, attend to the moment
we are in (‘focus’) and, when we find it inside ourselves,
know who we really are and what our lives are for. This requires
space in the schedule, plus time and technique, to quieten the busy
mind.
Spirituality:
is ‘inner power’, ‘aliveness’,
self-worth, the capacity for joy and deep feeling, that communicates
itself and gives life meaning and purpose. It is not the preserve
of any named religion, nor is any excluded.
Personal
growth and transformation: personal growth
is about expressing ever more fully who we really are, free from
role or image and capable of transforming our lives to fulfil their
true purpose.
Inspirational
leadership: is founded upon inner power, self-belief
and life-purpose in the service of humanity: its influence is sustainable,
inclusive and beneficial to all.
Learning:
is the constant and natural impulse to make sense of the world in
terms of what we already know; as the world changes faster, success
in learning becomes ever more essential to success in life.
Creativity:
is the art of transformation, of raw materials, ideas and skills
into something, or someone, of communicable value. |
