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Today, almost half a million teachers across England and Wales go on strike. So will rail workers and civil servants. Next week it will be nurses, midwives, physios. Firefighters have also just voted to take industrial action, postal workers last month. All demanding more pay. But more pay isn’t because of wealth. More pay isn’t because of greed or selfishness. More pay is because of energy.
It happened to Bilbo. It happened to Frodo. Harry too, and Lyra and countless others in our collective stories. They were given the invitation to be brave and journey into the unknown for the sake of the greater good.
And right now, this invitation is coming to us all.
Being a teenager is hard enough. There's hormones, there's family and friendships to navigate, there's the beginnings of love and all of the unravellings that come with that. Yet being a teenager in the 21st century also brings you a tidal wave of existential crises to not only face up to, but according to the rhetoric of many, to have to "fix"…
ThoughtBox Education’s response to the DfE’s draft Climate & Sustainability proposals for schools.
COP26 begins next week – a gathering many have termed ‘Humanity’s last chance to prevent runaway climate change’. It’s a biggie alright, and is galvanising a lot of energy, attention and momentum, with people from all over the world finding ways to get connected and be part of the event. Yet, whilst a fantastic opportunity to bring people together and face up to the state we’re in, there’s a few significant issues with the process.
News broke this week of a school in Leicestershire causing consternation amongst its parental community by introducing a strict new set of school rules. Outrage abounded on social media – to a point that the school disconnected their Twitter account after the Headteacher involved was personally attacked by the tweeting world…
When it comes to climate education, how we teach is just as important - if not more so - than what we teach.
This is perhaps a strange title for a blog from an organisation built on a framework of triple wellbeing. And yet I feel ever-more frustrated by the meaningless of the word wellbeing, of its careless overuse and its consistently disappointing delivery…
For the past four days, Education Ministers from over 90 countries gathered alongside 36,000 of the world's education leaders as part of this year’s global Education & Skills summit, to envision a new future for schools around the world…
Just eight days into this new year and we’ve already seen global lockdowns, rising death rates, attempted coups, another hottest year on record and many of our education, economic and social systems falling apart in front of our noses. And yet, strange as it may sound, I feel very energised by what this year can offer.
Christmas. The time of year when the incitement to spend reaches its pinnacle. Newspapers fill pages with so-called advice on present buying, stocking fillers and last minute gift ideas…tempered by a strong refusal to succumb to the mass marketing and the siren call to buy, buy, buy.
Despite the fact that teachers are constantly surrounded by other people - in classrooms, playgrounds, dining halls, assemblies – it can also feel a solitary profession, and never more so than in this Coronavirus world of ‘bubbles’ and ‘distancing’ and minimised contact with colleagues….
This weekend the news broke that the UK government has ordered schools in England not to use resources from organisations which have expressed a desire to end capitalism. Here is our response.
When I was twenty-nine, I was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer. It rocketed into my life out of the blue, robbed me of a year or more of ‘normality’ and left me with a lot of scars along with its teachings.
This is a guest blog from one of our ThoughtBox Changemakers Damien Hewitt, one of the bright minds behind Plant the Seed in South Africa.
What is the connection between Saturn, an oak leaf and your left nostril? And how can thinking about this question help you to make sense of some of the big issues happening in the world?
In these extraordinary times that we are in, parents and carers across the world are finding themselves thrown into the new land of homeschooling and many are feeling the pressure, understandably so.
Right now, we are living in the most connected time in human history and yet, in this moment of ultra-connectivity, we find ourselves suffering from chronic disconnection.
What happens when a group of parents concerned about their children and climate change organise a Saturday morning get-together? Creativity, inspiration and whole lot of empowerment, that’s what.
In many ways this new year started with as much grief and despair as last year’s ended, and yet in the same breath, this year has awoken with something very strong, very loud and very significant on the tip of its tongue…
With over 720 schools and educators from across 43 countries having now registered for our free climate change curriculum, we wanted to share with you some of the thinking behind the programme.
As the UK wakes up from another election, once again we are hit with the news of split country, a polarising of opinions (and votes) and a difference of beliefs. And yet if you scratch back the surface aren’t we actually all voting for the same thing?
What happens when you mix solar-energy technology with art? Take a journey with ThoughtBox Director Rachel into a one-day workshop with Art and Energy to find out…
Introducing our new vlog-series where we explore how to support children's long term emotional health. In this first post we talk about why and how to create safe spaces for young people
As the new academic year lies waiting around the bend, we thought we’d take a quick look back on the three highlights of our year working in schools across the world.
ThoughtBox Director Rachel Musson was recently interviewed by Annelinde Kirchgaesser as part of her research work on Social Sculpture & Connective Practice.
A few reflections and inspirations from ThoughtBox Director Rachel on the meaning of mental health and wellbeing and the importance of exploring long-term strategies to support our children’s ‘wellbeing’ ( whatever that term might mean).
With disconnection being one of the root causes of mental health issues in young people, strategies to help children to feel connection are vital when exploring tools for long term emotional health. Empathy building allows children to connect to themselves, to others and to the natural world, all areas that research proves to be essential components for wellbeing.
Right now, our students are faced with more pressure than ever before - from exams to social media and body image, leading to a worrying increase in the number of students experiencing anxiety and stress. Sharing strategies for support and prevention are now key.
Have you ever been to a school in another town or village? Or a school in another country, or different cultural context? Did it ever strike you as odd that they all look and feel pretty much the same?