Holistic Education

At the heart of “Ways of Being” is the belief that true human flourishing requires that we be thriving in allaspects of our lives – physically, psychologically, intellectually, socially and spiritually. While the figure below is not meant to be all-inclusive, it does highlight that our understanding of wellbeing is holistic. The figure suggests (in the manner of ‘Leibig’s Law of the Minimum’) that a person’s wellbeing at any point in time will be limited by the factor which is most critical (“in least supply”) at that moment.

This is truly a “BIG idea”. For one child at a particular point in time, the limiting factor might be a lack of sleep; for another child it could be the recent death of a grandparent; for yet another student, it could be an eating disorder, or wrestling with their gender identity[1]. If we want to optimise student wellbeing – if we want to see our students flourishing – then we need to do all that is in our power to ensure that they are doing well in all aspects of their lives.

[1] Grant, N. (2022). Holistic education, student wellbeing programs and the application of Positive Education in Anglican secondary schools in Queensland. [MEd(L) thesis, Morling College]