I had a very breakfast themed day yesterday.

In the morning I had the very great pleasure of attending the Circle of Love, Women’s Ministry ‘Prayer Breakfast’. A huge party they throw each year as part of the Month of the Child. It was a lovely event full of songs, dance, poetry and prayer in the Marriott Hotel Ballroom.

Then back in the evening to the same ballroom for a ‘formal’ dinner. Well, ‘Breakfast for Dinner’, hosted by the Kiwanis Club of Grand Cayman, an event designed to raise funds for their Buy a Kid a Breakfast campaign.

A few weeks ago I was asked casually if I would mind speaking at the club’s annual dinner.

Well there are only 50 members of Kiwanis Club of Cayman so I figured it must be a modest event.

“Yeah sure”, says I.

So I was back at the Marriott Ballroom to sing for my supper. It dawned on me as I arrived and I found myself sat with His Excellency the Acting Governor on the top table that it might in fact be a massive deal.

The modest event turned out to be a function with about 300 guests and I was in fact the key notes speaker… I am happy to say that my speech was well received.

Fillet mignon that melted like butter, so good! Totally worth it.

Another amazing event and a really lovely evening with a dance show and a fashion show. The latter modelling pyjamas, lounge wear and knickers, which was nice.

On the invitation tonight it encouraged the wearing of pyjamas but I was not quite brave enough to do it. I had an image of turning up and being the only person in PJs and then having to stand up and speak to you all. Now I just feel over dressed. Equally when I said yes to speaking tonight I was not sure what I was getting in to, I mean what sort of group supports ‘buy a kid for breakfast’ and thinks it is a good idea. I thought I was speaking to cannibals until I read the invitation with my glasses on…

You would think after 25 years in education and 10 as a head teacher / principal I would be used to speaking to crowds. But no. The crowds I normally talk to are children who will laugh if I do a silly voice. That’s not always the case when speaking to grown ups.

So when talking to adults, and I stress adults, as my boss the Deputy Governor is sat just there, I turn to the advice given to public speakers ‘imagine your audience are not wearing clothes”. So tonight thank you to everyone who has come along in their pyjamas it makes this so much easier.

It’s hard to stress how important educationalists believe breakfast to be. So much so that this is my second breakfast event in this very room today. This morning I had the very great pleasure of attending the Women’s Circle of Love Prayer Breakfast as part of Child Month.

I would like to take you on a journey. So can I ask you to Imagine a triangle. Equilateral, for all those mathematicians in the room.

One long edge is the base and the point is at the top pointing upwards.

Now make it a pyramid.

Halfway up the pyramid draw a line, divide the lower half into 4 steps or sections.

Now the top half is the place where really effective learning takes place.

To get to this place we have to ascend the first four steps. Each step a state we have to achieve before we can ascend to the next level.

Easy?

Well the lowest step, the base of our pyramid, represents our basic physiological needs.

Water, food, sleep…

The basics for life. If we are hungry or thirsty we cannot concentrate, if we are tired and hungry we don’t learn.

The second step is a sense of safety. Without this we exist in a state of hyper alertness. Constantly on guard for danger.

Much of our mental energy would be spent anticipating threats, ready to react instantly.

Our bodies would be primed for fight or flight. We are charged with adrenalin.

A primal state in which our amygdala or reptilian brain is in charge. Our higher brain functions and our reasoning are impaired.

In short we can’t learn.

To remain in this state long term is toxic to our brains and bodies. It affects the development of our brains; our emotional development and it can impact our health for life! It also can impact our life chances.

The third step is belonging and love.

A sense of being part of a pack, family or group is important to us. Many eyes looking out for danger, a pack to protect us. We can start to relax a little we can start to function socially.

Our higher brains start to come alight. We begin to process new information.

Not as well as we could.

Not efficiently as we could. But it is a start…

Now comes step four. Self-esteem. Being encouraged, having a sense ‘that we can’ is critical.

We need to know it is ok to fail and fall; to believe we can rise each time.

Encouragement helps. Fun helps. Being able to laugh at ourselves helps.

With these four steps climbed and with this foundation in place we can start to really learn.

This is Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs. And for all of the crudeness of my explanation it has been the basis of my practice for 25 years of teaching.

Now holding this construct in your mind imagine.

You are 6 years old.

It’s 6.30 in the morning. You’ve just been woken up. You are still tired. Exhausted. You have been shouted at to get dressed. Shouted at because you are disorganised, shouted at because you are upset. Rushed out of the house, bundled into the car.

Then without a kiss, a goodbye, or an encouraging word you are hustled out of the car and now find yourself sitting on a bench at the front of the school. Alone.

Its 2 hours before registration. An hour before staff officially come on duty and you sit there dazed, tired, confused and let’s face it upset. You are too young to really get what is going on or to process it.

To cap it all you are hungry because no one gave you breakfast and you have no snack in your bag. Lunch is 5½ hours away.

And here is the kicker you know you won’t be picked up until gone 5.30pm.

This has been your experience every day since you were 5.

Basic physiology needs met? – No.

Feeling safe? Not really.

Do you feel you belong? No?

How about your self-esteem? Rock bottom.

The impact of this is you don’t learn. Emotionally you are a basket case, stressed and frightened. Can you cope with school? Can you learn? Will you behave well?

No. You are overwhelmed.

But then so is mum. She is raising three children on her own. She has got to be at work at 7am. Her salary barely enough to feed, clothe, pay the rent and bills…

Oh and none of her children are doing well at school.

How about the 8 year old girl I heard in a 1:1 reading session who couldn’t concentrate because her ‘belly aches’.

‘Miss I feel sad today, I didn’t get any breakfast…’

These are just two REAL cases of the type that we deal with every day in schools. Two of many. Every day school staff have to ensure that children like these have their basic needs attended to before they can learn. Sometimes this means dipping into their own pockets to provide.

Other times it is the kind support of strangers, like yourselves, donating snacks for a child so that they can concentrate on their reading lesson or money for breakfast that provides a lifeline.

In the case of the kind support we get from the Kiwanis Club it buys more than just a breakfast or a snack.

The few dollars per child each day means rather than sitting on that bench at the front of the school children are invited inside for breakfast by staff who are there for them every day; adults who take an interest in them as people and in their welfare.

They ask how they are, they smile, they know their names and chatter with them and are clearly pleased to see them. They sit with them while they eat and there is laughter in the canteen. These children feel safe. There is LOVE.

This start to the day provides a boost; the care means that when the rest of the school arrives they are ready to play, to learn and they feel they belong.

Its 8:00am your belly is full, grown ups and children have asked how you are and your friends are pleased to see you but most importantly you are in a state of mind where you can recognise this and you can learn.

Being able to provide breakfast and even just a little human kindness can help change the trajectory of young lives and it helps us to support some of our most vulnerable children climb those steps.

I do not exaggerate when I say that the kind support that groups like the Kiwanis provide or initiatives like Buy a Kid a Breakfast offer transforms lives for children and families.

It helps us meet those basic physiological needs. It helps us to make children feel safe and welcome. It helps little humans succeed.

So on their behalf I would like to say a very big thank you for your generous support and kindness. What you do supports education and learning in a very real way.

Thank you.