Last Thursday and Friday I had a great time hanging out and learning with Montana educators at the annual MFPE Teacher Conference. Over two days we crammed in 16 continuing education hours. Following an initial Thursday morning organizational blip wherein I was sent to the wrong classroom twice and finally found someone in the hall to lead a couple lost teachers and me to the correct location, I discovered a packed classroom, with several teachers seated on the floor. I also discovered an incredibly dedicated, talented, and knowledgeable group of teachers who are immensely engaged in teaching and connecting with Montana students in ways that should humble us all . . . and inspire us to advocate for raising Montana teacher salaries.
On Thursday evening—after a full day of educational inspiration—my computer decided it was finished with the internet. Apparently my Wifi driver turned into toast (the technical term). Being disconnected from the internet (until Sunday evening) had its benefits, but it’s also why I’m only now posting the ppts for Day Two of the conference.
The link at the bottom of this post gives you access to powerpoints for day one of our Happiness for Educators course offered at the Montana Federation of Public Employees (MFPE) annual Teachers Conference.
This course is funded through a grant from the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation (AMBFF). I’m grateful to AMBFF because the funding gives me the opportunity to work with some of the best people on the planet. I say this because my experience with educators in general, and Montana educators in particular, is phenomenal. If you’re an educator, THANK YOU for your incredible and essential service of teaching our youth.
Comments on the ppts. First, they don’t include the short videos that we’ll watch in class. Second, we may or may not get all the way through these slides . . . and that’s okay, because psychological flexibility is a sign of mental health. Third, the ppts for day two will be posted later.
Thanks to the support of the Arthur M. Blank Foundation, we (the Montana Safe Schools Center and the Montana Happiness Project) have funding to support a very low cost 3-credit online graduate course titled, “Evidence-Based Happiness for Educators.”
This course is available very soon – the first class “meeting” is on July 5, from 9:30am-11:30am. I have “meeting” in quotes here because the course can be taken asynchronously, although we recommend synchronous “live” attendance on specific dates. The details follow:
When: The course begins on Wednesday, July 5, 2023. The course consists of 20, 2-hour sessions. The final meeting is on Tuesday, August 1. Live (synchronous) class meetings will be held from 9:30am to 11:30am on the following dates:
Wednesday, July 5
Monday, July 10
Monday, July 17
Monday, July 24
Monday, July 31
Where: Online. After you register, as soon as we have the final course details taken care of, you’ll receive a Zoom link for attending sessions, and accessing course videos and materials.
What: The course, COUN 595 (Evidence-Based Happiness for Educators) is an academic review and experiential practice of evidence-based happiness strategies. Participants will have daily reading/podcast/video assignments, along with experiential practice assignments. The primary purpose of the course is for teachers to learn to apply evidence-based happiness strategies (e.g., gratitude, savoring, etc.) to themselves. The secondary purpose of the course is for teachers to make plans for how they can integrate evidence-based happiness principles and activities into their classrooms. You will not be required to implement these ideas in your classrooms, but we will encourage you to experiment with the ideas on yourself and, to the extent that you desire, to share them with students.
Who can enroll: All Montana teachers are eligible to enroll. There is a class cap at 40.
Who will teach the course: Lillian Martz, M.A., a doctoral student in the Department of Counseling at the University of Montana will be the lead instructor. John Sommers-Flanagan, a professor in the Department of Counseling will be the secondary instructor.
The cost: Due to a generous grant from the Arthur M. Blank Foundation, we can offer this course at approximately 20% of a usual University of Montana summer course. Instead of over $1,000, the course is $175.00 for 3 graduate credits. You can also take the noncredit version of the course (and qualify for 40 OPI hours), for $75.00.
What else: Because this course is underwritten by the Arthur M. Blank Foundation, we will ask participants to complete questionnaires before and after the course. You will not be required to complete the questionnaires, but if you do, that will help us to better understand the usefulness of this course content for Montana educators . . . and we would greatly appreciate your participation.
John Sommers-Flanagan 