Institute Blog

Introducing the language of character strengths in your classroom is a highly impactful way to interweave Positive Education through your everyday teaching. As with most things we teach, we begin with vocabulary, breaking down what specific character strengths mean for our class. 

Positive Education can seem a deceptively simple idea, just educate in a positive way. Our book, Positive Education: The Geelong Grammar School Journey, can provide proof that simple doesn’t mean easy.

We know that a child’s experience at school matters and has a lasting impact on their lives. Research studies show that a teenager’s connection to their school strongly predicts how well they cope and thrive as a young adult. Yet let us not be blind us to the first and most significant educators in a young in a child’s life - their parents.

There is no doubt that emotions impact our wellbeing. Consider a moment of joy at the sight of another person’s face, feeling awe as you stop to take in a unique sunset, the pride you feel when your loved ones succeed.

At this year’s Positive Schools conference, we decided to take a growth mindset to developing new training experiences and tried something new.

Originally published: May 2019

Let me start this blog post by stating: “It is my pleasure to describe the essence of our Model for Positive Education.”Before I start to unpack ea...

Your alarm didn't go off, so you rush around getting all the kids up and dressed and pack their lunches. You get to your car and notice that you ar...

The word mindfulness can conjure up many mental images; the cross-legged guru atop the mountain, the plethora of colouring books we see in bookstores and even at supermarket checkouts, the svelte yogi downward-dogging their way to inner peace. Mindfulness has become synonymous with ‘rising above’, with breathing deeply and responding calmly in the face of the storm.

“We can’t help everyone, but everyone can help someone.”Ronald Reagan. Imagine for a moment you were asked to write an acknowledgements section as...

A personal perspective As my time as Director of the Institute of Positive Education (IPE) draws to a close, and as I sit down to write my last for...

“At times, our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.” Albert Schweitzer