Attention and awareness are both dynamic and fluid which means if we focus and build on them we can shape them into a balanced, well-oiled machine. In a classroom, there are various levels of attention and awareness and we as teachers, as much as we try to engage and connect with every student all the time, we simply can't. Due to the fact that every child learns at their own pace, are aware of different aspects of their learning styles, and many have issues with attention. So as a teacher, we need to be able to set the course and design lessons that allow for these variances to combine, into a directional force, albeit a wide one. So how do we get students to gain insight to both their own awareness and attention? How do we get them to jump into the rapids, life jacket or not, and let the flow carry them down the river on discovery?
Organized chaos is what a science classroom, needs to be. Students up and about, stations or labs set up around the room, plants growing, experiments underway. It seems to an onlooker like too much is happening that it is dysfunctional and crazy but in all actuality it is the curving and meandering of a fast flowing river, carving in new knowledge and schema all the while polishing the rocks below. Clear and crisp water shaping ideas and minds. This type of classroom, a student-centered and student-driven atmosphere are ideal but first, students need to be taught how to adapt and focus their attention and awareness. Once they can do that, the rest falls into place, like sediment resting on the fertile land, following the stream. Students need to see a challenge as just that a challenge, a pile of rocks that slow the flow of water, not a boulder blocking and redirecting the channel or current. They need to see every setback as merely a setback needed to leap forward because baby steps are small and delicate while leaps forward are more meaningful and altering. Causing a splash or overflow needed to cleanse the shore.
What may seem normal to many students, loud chatter, laughter and peer interaction, may be completely uncomfortable for other students. So how do we bridge the gap? A quiet classroom is not usually an engaged classroom. When students are active and authentic learning is happening it is most likely accompanied with noise and mess. That should be okay as long as it is purposeful and relevant. As long as students are learning. By providing stations and various activities within the lesson students are given options to find their "comfort zone" at least at the beginning. Then slowly they will become more flexible and will take on the more challenging assignments and activities. But we must let students find their own path by teaching them the strategies that will help them become more attentive and aware of their own learning and comprehension. Mindfulness helps teachers, guide students to their own self-actualization which in turn puts them full center in their own information processing. Coasting down a calm stream on an inner tube or riding the rapids in a canoe.
If we provide students with techniques that help them manage their own experiences and emotions then they will be more flexible with the turn of the river, the change of flow, even the possibility that the river is damned or forced into a reservoir. Change is scary for many of us. When we are placed in organized chaos or fluid situations we may not be prepared for the sudden alterations we must endure without notice. We have to adapt quickly or be left behind in a puddle drying up in the sun. When students are really present, engaged, and mindful of their own learning, the classroom is alive and noisy with the experiences of knowledge and discovery. Present in the moment, driving the organized chaos rather then sitting quietly and disengaging. When we teach students how to be present, how to teach themselves how to learn, it all falls into place. Mindfulness becomes front and center when students feel empowered like designers and creators rather than listeners and doers. Let them choose how to learn, teach them strategies how to strengthen their awareness and attention and they will rise like the rapids before the falls of the magnificent Niagara. The falls generating the power and impulse to keep going and take risks and seek challenges because that is awareness, knowing that fulfillment is the journey.
"Sherlock Holmes had cultivated the ability to still the noise of the mind- Laurie R. King, The Bookkeeper's Apprentice
What strategy is best utilized by students on this wayfaring journey? Before class starts take a moment, a quiet moment as a class to take a few deep breaths, listening only to the silence and your heartbeat. Just a moment to focus and assess the goals of the day. After breathing read the objectives and procedures of the day, have students look around assess their learning path, much like first responders to the scene, allow students to gain insightful meaning from their surroundings before they dive in. It may seem weird to just pause and breathe but I have found this is the best way to focus my students, not brain breaks or music, simple calm. I see students now, when they are stressed or confused, close their eyes and take a few deep breaths. It is the best strategy I can teach them. Breathe, respond not react. Listen to your own mindful thoughts before sharing them. Focus your energy on your own goals not the opinions of others. My mantra I use in my class "Breathe, eyes closed, hear your blood flow, heart beat, mind seek, the quiet. Open your eyes and see the path, the goal of the day, and travel forward."
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