Most students, teachers and families readily agree that the
purpose of schooling is learning. As simple as it sounds, there are a lot of
different aspects of the mind that need to be taken into account before
learning can occur.ost students, teachers and families readily agree that the
purpose of schooling is learning. As simple as it sounds, there are a lot of
different aspects of the mind that need to be taken into account before
learning can occur.
The Emotional Mind
A natural part of us being human beings is our range of
emotional states. These emotions are very useful in lots of different ways.
However, there are some emotional states that simply switch off the
learning parts of our brain. So, during these times it does not matter
what amazing, highly effective teaching show is going on, no learning will take
place.
The Everyday-Routine Mind
Now let’s say that the brain is not overwhelmed with
emotions, it still does not mean that the brain is ready to learn. Most of the
time it idles along relying on prior experience and routine to complete tasks
that it has completed before with simple modifications. It does not really want
to use up valuable calories that are needed for learning something new.
A BOOSTED Mind!
One of the aims of our BOOST! program is to assist the
students in being able to regulate their emotional mind, (for eg. Using their
left brain to help deal with their right brain emotions), to help ensure not
only their happiness but also that their brain is more likely to be in a state
capable of learning.
Another aim of BOOST! and the Mind-Brain Education
techniques that the teachers are beginning to utilise in the classroom, is to
ensure that the mind is as focused as possible and is ready to learn.
So even when we agree that the aim of school is learning we
need to understand what that means for the learner and the teacher.