By Andrea Scheiber

“Not everything that weighs you down is yours to carry.” (Anonymous)

In the summer of 2023, I had the wonderful opportunity to attend an international Erasmus+ course in Iceland based on well-being and stress management. The organisation “Smart Teachers Play More” is working with local schools and (international) teachers to spread the mindset behind positive learning contexts. The participants, i.e. almost 100 teachers from all over Europe, also got a great insight into the Icelandic school system. This was very inspiring.
Another component of the course was to help teachers recognise stress, its causes, and techniques to prevent and get rid of it. My colleagues and I were introduced to mindfulness and meditation techniques as well as positive communication and active listening exercises.
A very exciting part was how to combine academic contents with games, movements, and sensory activities. Learning playfully and without fear is so important! We had the opportunity to share a short activity or game which we enjoy using with our students, so we could learn a lot from each other.
We also had a so-called “CULTURAL EVENING”. All participants were asked to bring a flag and traditional food from their home country. Each country had a little space and we were asked to present it briefly. It was a very successful evening. Almost 100 participants (there were 5 different courses running at the same time) from 15 nations were able to present their country in a pleasant and entertaining context.

The organizers have a lot of experience in leading large groups. Although there were so many of us, and that was great, everyone felt treated individually. I really enjoyed being surrounded by many teachers from all parts of Europe. In addition to that, we could visit interesting places of Iceland: the Blue Lagoon, the Golden Circle Tour, the South Coast Tour and a guided tour of Reykjavik. All in all, our time in Iceland was well spent and we were able to spend it with people from all over Europe. What a pleasure! 😊
The stay in Island was a tremendous enrichment for me. Erasmus+ offers great lifelong learning opportunities and international exchanges. I am very grateful that I was able to take advantage of this offer.