What is a 'glimmer'
and why do I think that they are important?
Thoughts and musings
Over a year into writing ‘Glimmers in Education’, I have recently been redirected into taking a pause and considering the motivations for beginning to write this weekly offering of ideas, musings, thoughts and practical suggestions.
One of the main reasons I have revisited the naming and formation of my blog is because I have been lucky enough to have met a number of new people recently, who I have signposted to my writing. Having had the pleasure of attending a number of professional learning conferences and meeting new colleagues at schools I have visited, conversations about people’s personal experiences in education have been high on the agenda.
At this point in the academic year, reserves are low and illness is rife. The pupils are weary and the holidays (if not already in full swing) are on the horizon. The ability to dig deep is often required - and many times it is at this point that I find the glimmers surface.
So - what is a ‘glimmer’?
Glimmers are moments of joy that make us feel happy and hopeful. They promote connection and support a feeling of calm and content.1
In education, I believe these to be those happenings which stop us in our tracks. Which cause us to take a breath. They can even produce tears, a real deep movement of emotion. They are those occurrences which bring us back to our innate purpose. The reason why we chose to dedicate our professional lives to teaching others.
I felt compelled to write about these glimmers based on my own experiences in education. I have always wanted to be a teacher - since I myself started school. The path I have taken has been varied but has preserved the common thread of being close to the ground in the roles in which I have undertaken.2 I am passionate about teaching and learning. I am committed to working alongside professionals in education to support them in returning to their innate motivations. To quieten the noise which exists in the administrative tasks. To offer thoughts or share practical suggestions.
My role as Lead Practitioner at a large British curriculum school in Dubai was exceptionally rewarding. This was the first time that I did not have a class of my own, although I would still teach classes across the week. What this afforded me was a little extra headspace to research, read and learn. I would then share this information with colleagues. I found that they would be grateful to know what was currently happening beyond the four walls of their classrooms and across the world in education. They would welcome new ideas and suggestions. They would share that they often didn’t have time to discover these things themselves so appreciated the signposting. Equally, I would work with teachers to design lessons, to team teach and to reflect on learning experiences. I love the collaborative nature of teaching. There are so many amazing ideas out there and being able to share these produces huge sparks and glimmers! I found that I could facilitate these conversations, sharing best practice from colleagues who I have also had the privilege to learn from - right back to my first teaching post (which I still believe was one of the most valuable in my teaching journey).
Ideas and practical suggestions
So, how can you encourage, cultivate and preserve the glimmers that emerge (often unexpectedly) as an educator? Below are two ideas which I hope can be actioned with minimal time spent preparing. Think of these more as an intentional recognition of what glimmers are for you and how to elevate the importance of these both personally and in your school setting.
1. Take the time to recognise and sit with them
It can be so easy to have one of these profound glimmering moments and then swiftly return to the to-do-list. To rush off to the next meeting. To briefly recognise a difference you have made to an individual pupil and for this feeling to be quickly replaced with the guilt around not meeting a deadline, emailing that parent back or forgetting to send a letter home.
Taking back the power that you have to focus your attention on what is ‘important’ is not easy but it will make a difference.
To facilitate this you could:
Set up a section next to your to-do-list to record proud moments, things that went well, break-throughs. The glimmers!
Consider if having a shared space for staff to share their glimmers would be beneficial. You could have this in a physical space, or digitally. Padlet3 is a wonderful resource for capturing shared messages, photos, even gifs! A joyful celebration of positive moments reflecting your individual school community.
Where appropriate, share your glimmers with your class. Often they will be the ones who have ignited them! How wonderful for your pupils to hear that they are the reason that you felt a feeling of joy and happiness that day. This will also encourage the children to be recognising, and looking out for, their own glimmers in life.
2. Consider what collaboration looks like in your school or educational setting
Glimmers can often emerge in shared experiences. A colleague sharing an idea or suggestion which you try out and it works a treat! I recently found out about ‘Classroomscreen’4 , an editable resource which includes timers and noise-o-meters to support positive learning behaviours. The impact that this had on a class I was working with was fantastic. It promoted independence and supported with a productive learning environment. I was buzzing to tell this colleague how well this had worked by the end of the lesson.
There are so many ways in which teachers can share and discover new ideas these days. Social media can be an exceptionally generous platform for the exemplification of a new strategy or creative approach. Equally there are an abundance of blogs and podcasts which can provide inspiration and though-provoking reflection for educators. However, we may not have the time to engage with all of these.
So, how can a collaborative approach to sharing new ideas and thoughts be cultivated to promote these glimmering moments?
I have written before about ‘Sparks’5, ways in which staff can share their ideas with colleagues. Short, snappy ways to communicate an idea with the intention that this is easy to implement and try out.
Sparks may take place at the start of a staff meeting, or there may be a digital space to capture these, perhaps at the beginning of the weekly minutes of a team meeting.
Where possible, make time to drop into each others classrooms. There will be so many glimmers happening live which class teachers may not even realise are so special. Learning from each other is so important in education. If you have time and capacity within your school to provide release time for teachers to drop into each others lessons, perhaps as part of the appraisal process, this is a valuable way to invest in professional development - maximising the talents and expertise of your teaching teams.
Sharing a glimmering moment of my own…
I would like to share a little about a special celebration I was recently part of with the Opening Doors community and The English Association6. An opportunity for schools to showcase learning experiences and written outcomes which had been created using the Opening Doors approaches and strategies. There were a number of times across the day where I felt those profound emotions which glimmers produce. Hearing about the child whose parents had written off any hope of her being a successful reader or author - only for this child to write the most powerful persuasive letter to the CEO of Nestlé. Or the vast array of children whose minds had been opened using the poetry of John Agard, allowing all pupils to access discussions and subsequent writing opportunities around the theme of inheritance and the future of our planet.
Truly special.
To read about this event in full visit:
To discover more about the Opening Doors principles and approaches:
👇 Do take a look at these helpful links, which I hope will provide you with some glimmers!
I love this! I’m writing over in my Substack about preventing educator burnout. I know for my own experience, I would spend way too much time ruminating on the hard things— the parent who was still angry, the conflict with a colleague— and not nearly enough time ruminating on the glimmers! Negativity bias is a powerful phenomenon. Thank you for your post!
What a lovely and moving post, Laura! Some amazing ideas, too, to capture these glimmers!
Thank you for all you do!