So love is in the air, and pink and red Valentine's teaching resources are coming out of every crevice of the internet! Although we think of Valentine's as a cutesy holiday and that our hearts and love themed teaching resources are totally adorable, I have to worry - aren't we missing a trick here?

By constantly pushing Valentine's Day at school (on top of all the external exposure students are getting!) are we not subliminally reinforcing the pressure on our youngsters to "have a Valentine" and "find love"? Perhaps you think that notion is a little dramatic or "it's just a few hearts, what's the big deal?". Well, although that might seemingly be true, I work with teens aged 11-18 on a daily basis and let me tell you, the pressure is REAL! This article about reducing your teens stress on Valentine's Day explains it really well!

The fact I hear even the 11 year olds talking about their "boyfriends", "girlfriends", "exes" and "date rejections" on a daily basis speaks volumes: of course, Valentine's Day is not the sole culprit, but this day DOES add extra pressure on our youngsters to feel they have "somebody" on this day. If they don't it can set off a whole self-esteem knock on effect and if they do - well that adds its own pressures and concerns...

Are we reinforcing the pressure of romance on our students too with all these Valentine's themed lessons? I want to reinforce to mine that they do not NEED to have a relationship at 11 years old (I do use the term "relationship" very loosely as theirs last on average 2 days, hehe, but it can be enough to crush their little hearts and self-esteem.) Sometimes I think they just need to hear another message to counterbalance what is drummed into them by the media...

Now I don't want to be a complete Valentine's Grinch as love is the most important action we can give to another, but I do want to be a good role model for my students and promote positive messages to develop their character. So what I propose we do is instead of focusing on romantic love is to promote friendship love instead! Students can love their friends and that is more than enough - there is no need to feel they need to be in a romantic relationship to celebrate Valentine's Day. I wish that message was broadcast out to the world a bit more strongly too - we might not be able to change the world overnight, but we can start a revolution in our own classrooms!

So, in celebration of friendship love, like this one from my Valentine's Quote Colouring pages below, I have some Valentine's Day themed resources in my TpT store that promote friendship on this day instead! Let's get our students focusing on showing love to others such as their friends and family instead of romantic interests. This means EVERYONE can take part and all pressure is eliminated. (Heck, I even include love of pets in one of them!!)

I'm really interested, what are your views on Valentine's Day in the classroom? Do you think we are increasing the pressure on students to find romance by celebrating this day in our lessons? Leave a comment below!

​In school:
January has been a great month at school so far! We did hit the ground running though, so it has been very intense. I was also on an interview panel for the 4th time so far this academic year! I tell you, I am gaining an incredible insight to the interview process since being on the other side of the desk!? It's amazing how even the little things can make all the difference when comparing candidates - such an eye opener!

​In my store:
I have been working on some new Character Education resources for teenagers this month. I am noticing an increase in negative self-talk and lack of self-belief that have so much power to affect our students' ability to succeed. I do what I can in lessons to give my students pep talks, but sometimes they need a little more guided coaching in an area, so I'm building a bank of resources to use with them. So far I have self-esteem lessons, resilience lessons and a gratitude journal:

​On the site:
This month I've been blogging about teaching character education and what positive impact it has on our students - if you want to learn more, check out some of these blog posts:

​In life:
January has been a fantastic month for me so far as I have really been focusing on my well-being (we all know us teachers need as much support as we can get in that area!). I've been getting back into doing yoga every night which has been really having a positive impact on my emotional and physical state. I've also been keeping up with my gratitude journal as well as my #peakoftheweek on Instagram which is very powerful in helping me keep a positive attitude - I highly recommend doing these simple things if you are also struggling in this area!

What was your January 2017 teacher highlight? Leave a comment below and get that positivity flowing!