I am back in Geelong. It’s been a while.
I grew up in Adelaide, but lived in Melbourne for a five years, working as a neuroscience researcher. During that time we used to visit Geelong regularly. We moved back to Adelaide when I became a teacher, but now I’m back across the border.
I’m here for the Discovering Positive Education training course at Geelong Grammar School. Positive Education is big right now, huge. And rightly so. It is built on the foundation of Positive Psychology, which dared to ask: what if we used what we know about psychology to improve everyone’s lives, instead of only working to remove mental illness?
Positive Education has many elements, but rather than try to describe it now, I think I will hold off until I have completed my first day of training. Did I also mention the yoga and pilates classes? No? Well you’ll probably hear about that too…
For now, I’ll just mention my gratitude. It’s one of my so-called signature character strengths. I am very grateful to be here, and for the support of my school. I am very grateful for my profession, and the opportunities it provides me for helping young people. Most of all, as I prepare for this week away from them, I am grateful for the love and support of my family.
A good way to start your Positive Education journey is to complete your own character strengths survey here.
