To watch a video pitch of The Blatchford Initiative just follow this link – 

 

I decided to do a little light reading before starting my teacher training programme. I thought a few tips and tricks wouldn’t go amiss and I could start doing some preliminary work! The first book I started reading was Teach Now! The Essentials of Teaching written by Geoff Barton (see more about this great book on Recommended Reads). In the book, Barton mentions Roy Blatchford who is Director of the National Education Trust. Blatchford states in his list of what great teachers do that:

• The best teachers are children at heart. (2015)

I pondered this quote for a couple of days. Perhaps it’s just odd or some twist of fate that, on such personal journey, stepping up to the next level in my career from literally student to teacher, that this quote was somewhat now imprinted on my brain. Funny really. These little clues you pick up along the way that lead you to feel as though you’re on the right track. I even pondered for a little longer than I should have why, on the list of applicant qualities, that ‘a sense of humour’ was nearly at the top of the list. Funny really. The first book I pick up upon leaving behind my Drama and Theatre course and starting my PGCE course, introduces me to this wonderful idea that teachers should be playful. Funny really. 

This blog series, let alone the major focus of my degree relates back to the importance of being playful, staying present. To me, playfulness is being emotionally and physically ready and willing. Being emotionally and physically available, we say ‘yes’ to new ideas and offers. The ability to say ‘yes’ means we can start to access to failure and by accessing failure we can start to learn. I believe we should embrace joy and find ways to put ourselves in the path of it more often. I discovered this entire notion through my own theatrical experiences and now I am considering it in relation to teaching practice. 

Of course, Roy Blatchford was not the first, or only, academic to acknowledge this notion. But, for me, Blatchford’s quote ignited my want to start this initiative or at least explore it further. Other theorists exploring playfulness in pedagogy are Hamsa Venkat, Marissa Rollnick, Jeffrey John Loughran, and Michael Askew who write about playfulness in relation to the core, academic subjects of mathematics and science and state that:

• Not only must teachers enable opportunities for playfulness but would themselves need to model it. (2014) 

Digging deeper, other theories came from Carr and Claxton who state that being playful and present: 

• Means being ready, willing and able to perceive or construct variations on learning situations and thus to be more creative in interpreting and reacting to problems. (2014)

Carr and Claxton offer 3 modes of playfulness which I will use to inform the way I construct and plan workshops for teachers. These are:

• Mindfulness is perceptual openness which relies on inclination to notice the unfamiliar or to read a situation in different ways. 
• Imagination is mental playfulness: the inclination to generate alternative inner scenarios and fantasies, to draw on different analogies and spot unlikely connections. 
• Experimentation refers to the ability to play with or explore physical material and conditions so as to discover their latent properties and possibilities.

(2014)

So, after giving you a bit more context, The Blatchford Initiative is a mission that seeks to reinstate playfulness into the lives of teachers. I will host a series of workshops, which will comprise of exercises surrounding mindfulness, imagination, and experimentation in order to better the teaching practices and mental health of pedagogues and ultimately, have a positive impact of the learning undertaken by young people. In a positive and safe space and by genuinely investing and engaging with the participants, I will lead this mission. I suppose this is where I tell you why I’m the woman to do it. 

I have a real need and want to take care of the mental health of myself and other professionals be it young or more experienced. I also have a real need and want for young people to bring out the best in young people. By ‘taking the bull by the horns’ so to speak, I am bettering young people’s chances by providing better education. I have an infectious, positive energy and hope I can make The Blatchford Initiative a success and prove that “the best teachers are children at heart”.  

Bibliography 

Barton, G. (2015) Teach Now! The Essentials of Teaching. Routledge.

Venkat, H. Rollnick, M. Loughran, J. Askew, M. (2014) Exploring Mathematics and Science Teachers’ Knowledge: Windows Into Teacher Thinking. Routledge.