For many there is nothing more relaxing than standing quietly in the yard watering the garden.
The body is relaxed and the mind is serene. Peace lives in the trickling of water onto grateful leaves. Earth darkens and softens as it soaks up the powerful moisture. Liken this to your classroom. You as the educator have sown a handful of seeds; the seeds have fallen onto rich, moist earth and now all you need to do is relax. It is a call for faith! Your only job now is to breathe out and water those seeds! Students will choose to germinate or not to germinate, this is the sublime nature of human free will.
It is not for you to feel pressure at the responsibility of having your students achieve nor is it for you to take credit when they do achieve or surpass your expectations. It is for you to offer the nutrients and encouragement necessary, for you to open up the files of universal information and spread it like fertiliser.
The child is the only one that can grow the seed, they will always make the final decision as to where to place their focus.
You cannot scare or cajole another into focusing in a certain way. Fear tactics lead to a 'I hate you and I hate this but I'll do it anyway ' attitude that filters through into other aspects of their lives. (a marriage for example 'I hate you and I hate this a but I'll do it anyway...') A child will only grow a seed that is pertinent to their existence.
If someone has learned that thinking negatively and growing 'I CAN'T' neurons works for them then they will continue to focus in that way. If they learn that 'giving it a go' works then that is what they will grow. It is too complicated to try and unravel the individual's motivation for choosing certain patterns of thought. It is far more appropriate to step back and allow them space, whilst offering options for clarity of mind and positive decision making. The best thing we can do as parents and educators is to expose the workings of the brain. Make it clear that what we concentrate on will propagate.
If a child creates a neuron cluster for enjoyment in maths they will naturally lean in the direction of thoughts that will expand this cluster making maths more and more enjoyable. If a child dislikes maths they will likely ignore maths entirely which will foster no neural growth in this direction creating a blank when they are asked to attempt a mathematical problem. Alternatively, they may repeat 'I hate maths, it's too hard', this then is how the neurons will grow.
It is next to impossible in a busy classroom to address the individual regarding enjoyment or non enjoyment of any and all subjects we are required to teach.
• We can hold weekly discussions; opening up the possibility for examination of thought patterns.
• We can grace the students with information on neural growth and personal responsibility.
• We can let students know through examples and storytelling that enjoyment can be found in all subjects.
• We can encourage the thought that concentration on any enjoyment that can be found in a disliked subject will foster neural growth for more enjoyable aspects to emerge.
I disliked mathematics as a child but I did like drawing and I did like problem solving. As I noticed how much I enjoyed 'drawing' the shapes of numbers and concentrated on how much I loved solving problems, neural growth occurred in my brain that led away from dislike of maths to a more enthusiastic approach. I began to at least enjoy the problem solving aspect and things became a little clearer for me. My marks also improved somewhat. I never grew to LOVE maths nor was I ever really good at it. BUT I didn't hate it and I didn't dread the misery of a maths lesson anymore.... And that is what is important.
Giving kids the option of happiness and taking the pressure off in the classroom will bring a more balanced energy to all subjects, generally.
Remember too that people respond to each other's energy so if you have a bunch of kids that are giving of sparks and resistance to a particular subject then that is felt by others and general classroom performance is lowered.
Through gaining an understanding of the mechanics of the brain;
• We can learn to recognise our emotions for what they are.
• We can understand that someone else does not need to affect our moment.
• We can learn to accept subjects we normally might despise.
• We can choose to grow strong, positive neural networks and live happy, successful lives.
It is not the educator's responsibility to make kids learn. ALL we need do is sow the seeds and water the garden. AWESOME!
To learn more about growing emotionally intelligent children please visit our beautiful website http://www.theiamprogram.com
If you would like to understand further about body mind and spirit please pop over to http://www.iamspirituality.com