What do these terms mean to me??

Lots of people have asked what these bolded terms mean to me. What is headspace? What is mental health and how does it relate to my classroom? To answer these questions and to better understand my inquiry question, I am going to define these terms based on what they mean to me. As a future teacher, a current student-teacher, and a forever learner, these are what these terms mean to me.

Question: How does our student’s mental wellness affect their headspace and their ability to learn, their ability to retain information, and their ability be an active participant within the classroom?

Mental Wellness: To me, mental wellness means being physically, mentally, and intellectually healthy. It means being ready to try new things and being comfortable in your own skin. For myself as a teacher, it means being ready to take on new challenges everyday and feeling confident in supporting all my students and their individual learning needs. For my students, it means feeling well, good, happy, content, ready, and passionate about themselves and their learning. It means taking on new challenges and feeling mentally strong.

Headspace: Headspace connects back to mental health in a large way because it starts with your mindset. Being in a great headspace means feeling comfortable and “in-the-zone”. It means being ready, getting set, and going with what makes you feel good. It means no clouds in the sky and no distracts that take over your thinking. For me as a teacher, it means that I am not casting judgement on any of my students, even when they are yelling at the top of their lungs. As a teacher, it means focussing on the learning goals that I need to teach my students and making sure nothing gets in the way. For my students, it means seeing things clearly. It means starting with a fresh mindset and feeling comfortable and ready to try something new.

Learn: To learn means to be brave. It means to want to try something new, even if there is risk of failing. It means having a growth mindset and constantly wanting to grow.

Retain Information: To retain information means to have your mind clear of any worries. It means having space and time to think about what you’re learning and really understand it. It means comprehending new information and keeping it in an unclouded space.

An Active Participant: An active participant means to be engaged. It means speaking when you have something to say and most importantly, respectfully listening to others. In order to be an active participant, you need to be able be focused, feel good, and be in the right mental state.

For my inquiry, it was important define these terms because all of these terms co-inside with each other. If one term is not properly working and it is like a domino affect. Other areas get weaker, once one is weak. These terms led me to my question because in order to make up a healthy, engaged, and active student, all the puzzle pieces need to fit. This question led to the resources, the conversation, and the strategies that I’ve tried today and will try for the rest of my career. This entire inquiry is about finding all of the pieces of the puzzle that will create an end product that will allow students to experience an exceptional education journey.