By, Simona Baciu
Within the Podcast “Happy Teachers for Romania” we launched a new series in April. We are honored to have the support of Farmec, the largest cosmetics manufacturer company in Romania, which will support us in cultivating the mental, emotional, and physical well-being of the members of our community.
In the first episode of the “Charming Conversations with Farmec” series for Well-Being, I invited Dr. Gilda Scarfe, CEO and Founder of Positive ED, an innovative global consulting program that uses research to develop training programs and workshops on positive and authentic leadership.
In the past year, since I started the Happy Teachers for Romania program, Gilda has become my partner and collaborator, from whom I have learned a lot, but even more than that, she has become a very dear friend of mine. Throughout our discussion, we planned to share with the members of the Happy Teachers for Romania community as much information as we can about the national study that measures the well-being of the teachers.
The Transylvania College Foundation, through the Happy Teachers for Romania program, together with Dr. Gilda Scarfe, implemented a study for the well-being of teachers, the first of its kind in Romania. The study will take place between March and May 2021 and is addressed to pre-university teachers across the country. We are happy to have alongside us Didactic.ro, the Merito Project, SuperTeach, Romanian Business Leaders, and the C-Edu Education Cluster within the project.
At 9:00 of the podcast, you can find out more about what this joint initiative for teachers in Romania meant to us.
When I listened to the recording, I found the title of the material instantly. “Do good, feel good” is the title that came to my mind after the fascinating discussion I had with Gilda. I discovered what the idea of positive education, positive thinking, and positive psychology means and how we can use them to change education for the better.
As she told us, Gilda is of Romanian origin, who left Romania for almost 28 years. “I love Romania and I am Romanian, even if I have English citizenship.” Find out more about our guest’s personal story at 2:04.
At 4:00, we find out how Gilda feels when she thinks of Romania and what her thoughts are for her homeland and for the people here.
“Be open to change! Give a chance to change! ”- is Gilda’s message for teachers in Romania. This change comes from each of us and starts from the support we can give teachers.
In our discussion, we continued to develop the idea that it is not selfish to spend time for yourself, getting to know yourself better. Teachers can regain the energy and enthusiasm to teach with passion and enthusiasm if they give themselves time to identify their needs. A happy teacher has a positive impact on each student, thus we can bring the state of well-being to every class in Romania.
I invite you once again to listen to our recording and to reflect on what changes we can expect to see in education after the implementation of the process of introducing Well-Being in Romania.
