“Between stimulus and
response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our
response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”
-Victor Frankl
Today
students in our fifth grade class learned about the importance of space and
time in the context of everyday life experiences. The learned this from a book,
‘The Thief of Always’. The children discussed the relevance of the rapidly changing
seasons in the story, with Christmas being celebrated almost weekly. They made
the connection between those events and the protagonist’s initial disillusionment
with ‘the gray beast of February’; i.e. his boredom with the humdrum,
repetitiveness of his days. Students
agreed that perhaps the unnoticed everyday routines are necessary; that the in-between lengthy boring days make the fun celebratory times what they are.
Their
discussion reminded me of the importance of silence, of wait time, and of contemplation, without which we just react, and are none the wiser. Without pausing and pondering, we make no room for anything other than our vociferous
senses, and there’s no dignity or learning or faith in that.
The word silence
has been given some awful adjectives…deafening, awkward, eerie, deathlike etc. Yet it is this that heralds enlightenment. The space between the lesson and the learning. Where silence dwells.
Your slice is a reminder to teachers of the importance of that interval and how we use it to impact learning. I am comparing the part in the quote- " between stimulus and response" and "between lesson and learning".
ReplyDeleteYou are so wise. There is certainly a lesson for me to be learned here. The second to last paragraph captured such a deep, complex concept with such simplicity. And the words you chose: vociferous, initial disillusionment, heralds enlightenment.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful! I especially adore how you put this, "the importance of silence, of wait time, and of contemplation, without which we just react, and are none the wiser." You bring up such an important truth, now to popularize it! Kind of like we need the reverse of every reality TV show model!
ReplyDelete