This blog is the follow up from the recent Learning and the Brain Conference I attended in Boston, and a pre-conference blog I wrote about the same topic. The big takeaway from this conference is students need instruction and support in order to manage the anxiety and distraction that comes from our information and performance-driven world.
Parents can remember a time when computers and cell phones did not permeate our lives, but most children have never experienced a slower, simpler life. Do they pay a price for this? The experts all say a resounding, yes!
Keynote speaker Daniel Goleman made the following key points:
1. People today have to process five times more information than before we had technology, and the price is the loss of ability for sustained attention.
2. We now accept the interruption of our cell phones and computers. It affects the capacity of children to learn (focus, processing and memory); it frequently creates significant increased anxiety; and it impairs ability to empathize with other people.
3. The constant stress from this lifestyle is toxic, brain chemicals get unbalanced, and it can cause physical and emotional damage over time. The diagnosis of anxiety disorder is more frequent in educational testing than ever before; we see this at Darlington.
So, how can adults help children and help themselves? Dr. Goleman and other speakers recommended teaching mental and emotional skills. Managing anxiety must come before ability to focus, think and remember, and schools that teach children how to quiet their brains through mindfulness and meditation have had success.
Children learn about “cognitive control” (the ability to manage attention and emotions), “mental fitness” (the building of brain circuitry for attention), and “meta awareness” (the ability to recognize thoughts and feelings). Learning, performance and creativity happen when a person feels no fear and can visualize the goal as well as the positive outcome of achieving that goal. Bottom line: people who can control their thoughts and emotions has the foundation for emotional intelligence.
As I said in my previous blog, emotional intelligence started as an interest point in the business world. Now, emotional intelligence has taken on a deeper meaning out of necessity. Both adults and children are being driven to distraction and stress by our world, such as it is today. To manage emotionally and, therefore, function more happily and effectively, conference speakers advocated for teaching mental and emotional training.
Dr. Margarat Moore spoke of our “epidemic of distractedness” and the resulting increase of negative thinking from anxiety. It has never been harder to have an organized mind: intentional, deep, agile, diverse and energized. To calm the brain, she outlined A-B-C -- awareness, breathe, choose (thoughts). The self-aware mind (meta cognition) notices the thought or emotion, names it (I feel angry, sad, excited), accepts it, and thinks of the best choice of thought or action. If necessary, some self-calming breathing and mindfulness takes place, too. This process can often be done as efficiently as a few seconds; the more trained the brain is, the quicker emotionally intelligent choices can be executed.
The next steps are the ability to connect with people (empathy), be strategic (see big picture), be creative, evaluate (at the right times, otherwise one gets too judgmental), and live in gratitude. What helps the brain work better beyond mental and emotional skills? Enough sleep (most kids don’t), exercise (blood to the brain) and good nutrition (enough protein).
Dr. Jerome Schultz immediately got my attention when he said, “Excellence has become the new average.” More than ever, excellence in performance is a central theme to our children. As I think about my high school experience, an A was rare and a C was acceptable. Not so today! In addition, competitive sports were a fraction of what they are nowadays.
Dr. Schultz also outlined the need to teach the skills of emotional intelligence. He made the point, if you say, “calm down,” to a child, he or she has no idea what “calm” is or how to do it. We need to teach these skills if a child’s environment does not provide daily opportunities to be calm so that they can think without distraction and live without being constantly stressed.
