Why joy should be at the heart of curriculum conversations

I speak about joy in the work that I do with schools, conversations I have with fellow educators and in my writing - regularly. Naturally, even. Reflecting back on my teaching career, I can identify that I have always endeavoured to teach with joy, lead with joy and create with joy. Glimmers and joy can often sit side-by-side. Glimmers are the moments that are noticed and noted.1 In teaching, these may be the lessons that really resonated with the children, the feeling of motivation experienced when working on a particular project or idea, the realisation which shows up on the face of a child when they suddenly “get it”, the checking-in from a colleague showing that they have remembered something that you have going on in your personal life2.

Yet, talking about joy and the curriculum may be in danger of being seen as a “nice to have”, an add-on, perhaps even a bit of a fad. These thoughts may have been formed on the premise of joyful experiences perhaps sitting at odds with the learning or something that can be planned in - if there’s time. There is much discussion around the difference between joy and enjoyment. Potentially enough for a whole post of its own! So, for the purpose of discussion in today’s ‘glimmer’, I will be thinking of joy as an active state, a feeling generated from within compared to enjoyment which is elicited from a specific event and may only last for the duration of this event.

So, why should joy be at the heart of curriculum conversations? Below are two ideas which I hope can be actioned with minimal time spent preparing. Think of these more as considerations and conversations which you may like to have with colleagues ahead of the new academic year.

Think of a time when you last felt a feeling of joy. It may have been felt with others or perhaps on your own. What feels joyful for you may not feel joyful for me. Feelings of joy can catch us off guard or an event or experience may be entered into knowingly for the joyful feelings which are guaranteed as a result. There will be a number of us (I would like to think in the majority) who entered into the teaching profession because the prospect of imparting knowledge, inspiring and impacting the next generation lit us up. When we thought about the lives we would influence, a little flutter of joy was felt. It certainly was that way for me - and this feeling still remains.

I would also like to hope that those of us who have chosen to join this incredible profession want the children who pass through our doors to experience moments of joy in the day-to-day. Now, this is not to say that every moment of each day is filled with happiness, smiles, laughter and profound moments of connection and understanding. This would be unrealistic. Instead, as the adults who are entrusted with the intellectual and emotional care of the pupils who we teach, can we consider how those “planned for” joyful moments may show up for the individuals who we have taken the time to get to know?

• So, how can curriculum decisions strive to create joy for the individuals in our classrooms?

  • The most important place to start is the planning! I have written before about the ‘Joy of lesson planning’ and how I have noticed that engaging in planning experiences has become a lost art in some settings. I am a fan of the big pieces of paper and the colourful pens. Teamwork is a must. Look through your long-term and medium-term plans. What topics will you be covering? What texts will you be exploring? Where can connections be made across subjects? Then - the how. This is planning beyond the slide deck. This is creating experiences. Catching the children off guard (in the way that joy truly should).

  • When enjoyment becomes joy. In our current inspection framework in England, the word ‘enjoyment’ is mentioned 5 times. The focus is on the extent to which pupils enjoy reading, enjoy learning about themselves and others in the world around them and enjoy maths. There is also reference to a need for ‘urgent improvement’ if expectations for attendance and behaviour are not high which may have detrimental effects on children’s enjoyment of school. Reading for pleasure is a term central to agendas which commit to encouraging children to find (and grow) their reader identities. Yet, beyond enjoyment sits joy. Children may enjoy maths or enjoy working in groups but joy is the moment of flow felt when time passes quickly, when immersion is experienced and a feeling of contentment is felt within. To consider how joy can be cultivated you may like to consider:

    • The breadth of texts (and wider reading resources) you have on offer and ideas in place for discovering the reading identities of your pupils.3

    • Lesson design and learning outcomes. How are pupils given choice and voice within lessons - where can they make learning their own?

    • Timetables and daily offerings - what ‘speaks’ to your pupils? What motivates them to want to come to school each day and on a cold and wet Monday morning?4

For further helpful resources when considering how joy shows up in your curriculum, I would recommend taking a look at:

• ‘When does writing become joyful’

• ‘Sparking joy in English’

• ‘Botheredness’ - Hywel Roberts

Children’s engagement with the ‘real world’ is changing. This is well-documented and part of important conversations. Their use of technology is rising and with this can be a sense of loss of experiences which promote connections with nature and social experiences which are nurtured beyond the school gates. I have a keen interest in this topic and I am spending time considering it in relation to a reduction in levels of the experiences of joy.

Young people are savvy - as we would have also been at this age. Many enjoy playing on computer games, using their devices and scrolling on phones. These experiences are not of course only engaged with (and enjoyed) by children. Many adults also use technology daily and a number may reflect on perhaps using devices more frequently than they would like. Having honest conversations with young people about how they spend their free time is powerful. I have had a number of these discussions with children who I have worked with recently. As the responsible adult in the room, I have encouraged them to think about the time they spend on their games or tablets and if this time was intentional. I have probed them to consider that in the sustained time they were emersed in loops of content or within a virtual world, were they feeling in a state of flow? Were they experiencing joy?

• So, beyond the initial conversation, how might we encourage pupils to experience joy through the intentional ways in which they are spending their time?

  • Empower them to see that their free time is just that - theirs. They have a choice in how they spend it. Where appropriate, have frank conversations about how the ways in which they spend their time online is often influenced by algorithms which encourage them to continue looking at a screen for longer than they intended. Discuss the money that is being made by large corporations as part of this. Of course, this is not to actively discourage children from engaging with technology in ways which may spark joy. Instead, it is to encourage them to think about this intentionally.

  • Talk to them about feelings of joy. What does joy mean to them? When did they last feel it? Who were they with? What were they doing. Encourage them to think about the wonders of nature. To ignite their curiosity. I have spoken before about the piano which was placed in a school hall and resulted in an eager queue of children waiting to play on it. The headteacher delighted in how this was now a ‘reward’ children were choosing in their free time over extra minutes on the iPad. When there are spare moments in the day, think about how you can teach pupils games to play at break time, bring in jigsaws, have a rest break and play dominoes. I also advocate for this at the start of a staff meeting. Having a few games available to play to separate a busy day from the next set of important conversations.

  • Get outside! Both within the curriculum and as a break between lessons. I led an training day at a school the other month about increasing engagement and participation. During the break many staff members took their drinks outside. When it was time to start the session again, there was a collective groan. “Can’t we continue outside?” It was a reasonable question, one that logistics sadly didn’t allow for. But, it of course got me thinking. How often do logistics get in the way of creating the time and space for taking the learning outside and how often is it planned for? I did allow these questions to linger with these teachers - was this their common practice? Should it be? They were in the unique position of their pupils that day - is this something we should be thinking about more frequently?

For further reading and exploration about children’s engagement with technology and the great outdoors, do take a look at:

• ‘The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness’ - Jonathan Haidt

• ‘The Amazing Generation: Packed with facts, stories and secrets to help kids break free from phones’ - Jonathan Haidt and Catherine Price

• ‘A British Childhood: How Our Children Live Now’ - Frank Cottrell-Boyce

• ‘Wild Child: A Journey Through Nature’ - Dara McAnulty

• ‘Deep In The Whispering Woods: An Imagination Journal For Storytellers’ - Holly Staniford