Giving Time to Take a Moment

I was going though a bunch of those drafts in my blog….if you are a blogger you know what Im talking about. The blogs ideas, mind-splashes, stuff you write down and leave and maybe come back to. I’ve got about 40 of those posts that will never see the light of day or (the blog-o-sphere) and that’s probably a good thing. But today I went back into those drafts to check out how my thinking has changed. Looked through a few to see if  I might learn something from my old thinking. Or at least have a chuckle.

I came across this half baked idea from 4 years ago about giving more time to teach, to think and learn. I sort of scoffed because I think (know) I give time priority in our learning. It has been a mindful goal of mine for 2 years. It was reassuring because I value giving time and I sort of blogged about it here and here.

So I thought about what I did now, what I need to continue to do and maybe what I don’t do enough of and brainstormed this:

Time:

• Build in playtime
• Have a framework – not a timetable
• Make transdisciplinary links for inquiry
• Be flexible
• Smile and take a breath
• Allow play for the sake of play
• ‘Take a moment’ or even ‘Go Noodle’  to step back
• Be happy and enjoy the day

And of course the above applies to the kids we teach too.

I think the last bullet point is the most important to me. If you cant be happy, if you don’t enjoy something how can you be in the right mindset to learn. A growth mindset. I often wonder.. we teach to a curriculum, we need assessments. However do we build happiness and enjoyment into our teaching and curriculum.  Is that assessed, can it and should it be?These ingredients are crucial to learning and building, we need a culture of flexibility to follow passions. We need time to think. Quiet time. Collaboration time. Educators need to carve out this time to help learners stop.Listen. Rest. Be mindful. And we do. I wonder though how many teachers allow themselves the same. My guess is not many. Servant leadership and dedication to our clients.

So even if you are not an educator,  make time to sit, think, reflect, meditate, talk to someone. Time is elastic. The time you spend to take a moment comes back.