Kia ora e te whaanau,

Last Friday, our teaching staff attended our Kahui Ako Teacher Only Day at Claudelands with 800 other teachers. The professional learning focus for the day was 'Well-Being'. One of the speakers, Kathryn Berkett, was particularly interesting. Kathryn is a renowned educational neuroscientist who has extensively studied the concept of the 'red brain' and the 'green brain' concerning children's development and behaviour. She also touched on the 'red brain' and 'green brain' for adults and strategies to calm the brain out of a stressed state.

According to Berkett, the 'red brain' refers to a state of high stress, anxiety, or emotional dysregulation. When a child or adult is in their 'red brain', their prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for logic, reasoning, and impulse control, becomes less active. While a child or adult is in that 'red brain', they find it harder to self-regulate, problem-solve and learn.

The 'green brain' represents the state of calm, focus, and emotional balance. The brain in this state, where the prefrontal cortex is more engaged, allows for better thinking, reasoning and problem-solving. Children in the 'green brain' have improved attention spans and emotional control. 

Children have different triggers and stressors that can affect how quickly they enter the 'red brain' and differing abilities to self-calm to get back into a 'green brain'. Age, stage, personality and other factors in a child's life can affect this. A group of children sitting in a class who are all the same age can have differing rates of how quickly a stressor takes them into the 'red brain'. There may also be aspects in a child's life that reduce their resilience to what stresses them, such as being unwell, tired, extended periods on devices and spending a long time in a state of stress. 

As you may have heard us refer to 'The Zones of Regulation' in the past, this learning about the states of emotions and how to get ourselves to the 'green brain' is really valuable. The classroom learning environment can also facilitate a 'green brain' state. If children feel safe and have teachers that know them well, there is predictability and routine; children are more likely to feel secure, have a sense of belonging, and spend more time in their 'green brain'. 

I found it interesting to hear that when a child hits that preteen stage, their brains are more suspectable to 'stress' factors, and we often see big emotions or what we perceive as an overreaction to a situation. Biologically, a teenager's brain is wired to build a community around them, so friendships and a sense of belonging and security in these friendships become very important to them. This can explain why many preteens and teenagers put high emphasis and energy on their peer relationships and try very hard to be included. Their brains are wired to be part of a group,  so emotions can be heightened when this sense of belonging feels under threat. 

All of us, children and adults, have stressors in our lives. Ensuring time in our 'green brain' is essential for overall well-being. Eating well, exercising, doing things that make us happy, and having a sense of belonging can build our resilience to stressors.

Overall the day was so valuable, and we appreciate having these collective professional learning days with such high-quality guest speakers. If you want to learn more from Kathryn Berkett, here is a link to her website with some youtube clips. https://www.engagetraining.co.nz/

On another note, the Primary School Collective Agreement offer has been accepted by Primary Teachers. Many feel relieved this lengthy process is over and no more strikes are looming. 

We hope you have a lovely weekend and have plenty of time to be in your 'green brain'. Thanks all for another great week.

Ngaa mihi nui,

Nyree Olliver