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ON EDUCATION
TUESDAY, JUNE 7, 2011
There are no tigers in a blackboard jungle
Inadvertently, No Child Left Behind (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Child_Left_Behind_Act)
has resulted in teachers more stressed-out than ever. This is where practicing
mindful awareness can make all the difference.
The classroom is a set-up for the stress response. I’m trying to get through this
lesson so my kids will do well on the standardized tests and I’ll be able to keep my
job. But my students aren’t paying attention and don’t care a hoot about this test.
After all, the results don’t affect them, only me. I feel a knot in my stomach, my
legs feel restless and my heart pounds louder than usual. I notice that my eyes
tend to dart around, looking for the most efficient way around whatever I have to
do. The one thing that causes me the most trouble is my voice. It takes on an edge
and I have the tendency to sound harsher than I’d like to.
This is the fight, flight, freeze (FFF) response starting to flood my body with
neurotransmitters and hormones. It’s an adaptive function that has gotten the
human animal where we are today, but it also can become maladaptive if there’s a
mismatch between the situation and the response. The FFF response is designed
to help us respond to actual physical danger such as a sabertoothed tiger—it’s not
appropriate for a class of rowdy kids. However, among human beings, our minds
get the best of us and we respond the same way when there’s emotional threat—a
threat to our sense of self, a threat to our fixed sense of who we are and who we
are supposed to be.
If I know the feelings that signal this response, I can stop for a moment, take a
breath and calm down. When the FFF is in high gear, the parts of my brain that
allow me to keep an open mind, consider a myriad of options, and to inhibit my
reactive tendencies can go off line. Another part of the brain, the limbic system,
sometimes called the “reptilian” or primitive brain is in charge, because in the case
of real physical danger, we don’t have time to consider options.
If we notice how we feel, pause, and take a breath, it gives us the time and ability
to reappraise the situation. I can see my students in a different light and take their
behavior less personally. They’re just kids, after all. It’s near the end of the school
year, some of them are excited about the birthday party this afternoon. No wonder
they don’t care about the test. If I respond from the FFF, I trigger the FFF in my
students—which does nothing to help them get back on task. If, instead, I use my
mindful awareness to calm myself and to focus my attention, I can access the
creativity and motivation to work around the distractions and help my students
stay on task.
To have the skill to notice the feelings associated with the FFF response takes
practice. Practicing mindful awareness activities such as the body scan can help.
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By scanning the body and noticing tension or other sensations helps us learn to
pay attention to the subtle cues our body can give us when the FFF is just starting.
In this way, we can maintain a calm presence that can respond thoughtfully rather
than automatically reacting.
posted by Tish Jennings (/users/tish-jennings) , 9:14 am
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