Which I do agree with, of course. Anyone who has tried to hold the attention of a 10 year old can sympathise. A long, boring lesson for students is even worse from the teacher perspective. Everything is more fun when there is excitement and energy and passion.
But the more I thought about the use of this word- urgency- the less I really liked it. I don't want my child to be planning which book he will read next before he has even finished the book he is into now. I don't want him thinking about next, and more, and after that. I want him to savor and cherish and fall in love with the words. I want him to feel bittersweet that the end of the book is coming and even read slower in an attempt to draw out the ending. I hope he will swirl sentences around in his mind and let them breathe there for awhile as he absorbs their meaning. I want him firmly rooted in the here and now of being 10.
I think what our students, our children, need is less of a sense of urgency- less of a need to be constantly on the road to acheiving one milestone or another- and more a sense of presence. A focus on the now.
I see the effects of the idea of urgency in my classroom. Children ask me a question and have moved on to the next idea in their minds before fully processing my answer. They are back in 5 minutes with the same question. I repeat announcements 3 or 4 times and yet, children are still ready to say, "I didn't know." It is the constant sense of motion that prevents them from tuning in to the now. From hearing and seeing and focusing on their reality.
There are all kinds of small exercises to help with this, and we will do many of them this year. Metacognitive activities intended to guide the student into examining his or her thoughts- right now- and slowly creating habits that will lead to change. Mindfulness.
This evening, as the speaker was elaborating on what he meant by "urgency of learning" I was lost in thoughts about my own recent, constant, unfortunately familiar, feeling that I just want to call a time out for a minute so I can catch up on everything. I want the world to stop so I can set all the pieces in order again.
It's a horrible feeling of rushing through every task just to get to the next task- including meals and rest periods and what used to be thoughtful commutes. I would never wish this on anyone, and definitely not the students I teach. I don't want them to be urgent; I'd rather see them composed.
I want them to take time to observe and reflect, to think deeply and use their whole bodies to engage the world around them.
I want them to take time remember their past lessons and connect to new ideas. I want them to create bridges from school to home, from their social lives to their academic lives.
I want them to breathe. I want them to run and jump and scream with delight. When it's time for classroom learning, I want them absolutely bursting with excitement and anticipation....but not with urgency. With confidence and patience and resolve. With determination and perseverance and disciplince But never frantic, never rushed, and never urgent.
It's not a catch phrase that resonates with me. Especially not in these last few weeks when the pace of life feels so wrong and unnatural.
Luckily, this is the canteen-the outdoor cafeteria space being repaired. It's finished now and looks like an entirely peaceful place to enjoy a meal. In fact, it looks perfectly impossible to feel urgent here.
