Great Expectations:
Establishing a Joyful Work Environment
Image by macdeedle from Pixabay
Those who know me know that I am a bit prone to going down rabbit holes. I find them irresistible. First comes the intrigue of discovery, followed by the delight of being able to share the most meaningful bits with others.
Today’s rabbit hole? How joy and work can coexist.
At first blush, they might seem almost mutually exclusive. But the more I explored the relationship between them, the more convinced I became that they are deeply connected.
I find it useful to think of joy as an internal state of being, different from happiness, which is triggered by external circumstances. Joy comes from being grounded in meaning and purpose. This is how a person can be joyful, even when not everything is going as desired. The thing that links joy and work is purpose: joy fuels purposeful action; purpose drives enduring joy.
Finding Dignity, Meaning, and Purpose in Work
Far from being lofty and esoteric, finding dignity and meaning in work is fundamental. The good news is that, in a Montessori classroom, our philosophy and classroom leadership techniques create conditions that promote children finding joy in work. Our everyday, respectful interactions with the children and the environment set the stage. The linchpin is the way that we talk about work, formally and informally.
From “Have To” to “Get To”
In adult culture, particularly in individualistic cultures, work often carries a negative connotation as something that is imposed. That connotation is easily reinforced when children’s work plans become “work contracts”, with the implication that a missed assignment is a broken contract that will result in a penalty, like missing recess.
We believe that work is the means of self-construction – something that the child does for their own benefit. This honors the child’s inner drive and makes the work purposeful. Said another way, purpose isn't something you find in the work — it is the work, the self-construction, happening in real time. Our job is to align our words and actions with that belief, and to ensure children understand this core concept, whether they are doing assigned work or free-choice work.
We can begin by discussing work as an act of self-construction with the children.
What is Work?
We might begin by asking children, “What is work?” Whatever their answer, if we respond, “Yes! And what else?”, we might lead children to the understanding that work has many meanings: a material on the shelf; a place where adults go for their job; an activity to accomplish a goal (physical, intellectual, social, or spiritual); a word describing a type of surface or rug; or something entirely different. It can be a noun, verb, or adjective.
Dr. Montessori used the word work to describe the child’s purposeful activity. Children will be interested to know that she was rather insistent that this activity be called their work – not their play. Her point was not that children shouldn’t play, but that adults should recognize children’s purposeful activity as a noble process of building themselves - the vital work of self-construction.
Physical work builds strong and resilient bodies.
Social work builds strong, resilient friendships and the skills needed to work with others.
Academic work builds new skills and creates new ideas.
And so, we can think of work (verb) as actively engaging in activity that grows our mind, spirit, or body. And the work (noun) that we offer children is activity to promote their self-construction.
This is quite a different view of work than doing something as asked/assigned. Once the child senses — even implicitly — that "this is how I'm building my own mind and body," the work can become self-rewarding. The child doesn't need a sticker or a grade; the act of self-construction is the reward.
What isn’t Work?
“So, if work is what we do to self-construct our mind, spirit, or body, what isn’t work? What is the opposite of work?”
The first response is usually play. This likely arises at least in part from the proverb, “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” However, there are a host of unintended associations that can be drawn if we contrast work with play. Most notably, if play is fun, then work is not fun. Yikes! A more useful antonym for work is rest.
If work is any activity that creates intellectual, spiritual, or physical growth, then rest is recovering from the work effort to prepare to work again. Put another way, the direct aim of work is growth. The direct aim of rest is recovery.
To make the concept even more concrete, ask the children for examples of work. They will likely name different materials on the shelves. Respond with, “Yes, and what else?” If they don’t bring up forms of social or physical work, prompt with alternatives. “Is running a mile work? What about swinging on the monkey bars? Deciding among friends how to collaborate on a job? Writing about your feelings in a journal?”
Similarly, ask about examples of rest. “What refreshes you?” Sleep is the most commonly named form of rest, but it is only one type! A few that might resonate with children include yoga, having a snack, reading a book, handwork, taking a break with a friend, going somewhere with less stimulation, getting outdoors, or even doing something that serves the community, such as sweeping the walk.
In dialog with the children, it is important to highlight that an activity that one person experiences as rest, another person may feel is work. It is equally true that an activity might feel like work one day and seem refreshing on another. (For me, cleaning out a cupboard is a great example of this. It can be a chore one day, and another day it brings me calm.)
What distinguishes work from rest isn’t whether the activity is enjoyable, productive, or physically challenging. It is determined by what the activity does for the person: rest refreshes and restores; work creates growth. And a healthy work cycle contains both purposeful work and purposeful recovery.
Separating and Balancing Work and Rest
We are most effective when we ensure that when we rest, we attend primarily to things that refresh us. And when we work, we focus our attention and intention on using the activity to build ourselves up. When we sit with work in front of us without engaging with it, that is neither work nor rest. We get neither the growth nor the refreshment that we would if we chose one or the other.
These working definitions for work and rest can be very useful during open work periods. Rather than tell a child that it is time to get back to work, ask if they are working or resting. “Resting” is a perfectly acceptable answer, as long as they can say what work they are resting from or recharging to do… and as long as they haven’t been resting since the last time you passed by!
It can also be useful to institute a self-check method, like periodically ringing a wind chime, as a non-verbal reminder for each child to assess whether they are working or resting. This is particularly valuable for the first couple of weeks after the discussion, as it has many benefits.
Children apply the ideas of work and rest to their own activity. This is second-period recognition of what each feels like in daily use. With repeated opportunities to assess their own activity, children can move from recognizing the concepts toward independently recalling and applying them.
It offers structured practice of self-monitoring and inhibitory control – two important components of executive function.
It conveys adults’ faith and trust in the child. They don’t need us to tell them what needs correction and how to fix it. We trust that they will notice, assess, and correct choices as needed.
It allows children to self-assess and modify their choice of activity without adult correction, if appropriate.
It offers us a new lens through which we can observe children’s choices. If their choice of activity appears to be questionable, can we replace judgement with curiosity? Is it the student or the guide who misunderstands how the child is benefiting from their chosen activity?
It is important to intentionally sound the wind chime both when most children are working well and when some may need a bit of redirection. This way, we create opportunities for children to take pride in their choices, which is incredibly reinforcing! After a week or two, cut back on the frequency of the self-check wind chime. What is the level of children’s engagement now relative to that prior to the conversation about work vs. rest?
“The children find joy, satisfaction and exhilaration in work.”
Maria Montessori, What You Should Know About Your Child
Reflection for children (for journaling or for small group discussion):
What are examples of things that I have done that helped me grow physically?
Socially/spiritually?
Academically/intellectually?
What are my go-to forms of rest? What new types of rest do I want to try?
Journal Reflection for guides:
Are there practices in my classroom that rely more on external rewards or manufactured excitement than on the satisfaction of purposeful work?
Do I consistently talk about work with excitement, as a “get to”?
BONUS: On assigned work, are there “get to” options?
Challenge for adults: For 20 minutes during any open work cycle, observe.
Our brains have a well-documented tendency to notice negative information more readily than positive information. For this observation, do your best to record only what is going well.