by Ann Reavey, School Counselor

We don’t need to look beyond Viktor Frankl, Nelson Mandela, Ruby Bridges, or Hellen Keller to know that a higher purpose can provide the impetus to overcome immense challenges. However, motivation is a fickle muse. When obstacles are less monumental than the fight for human dignity, motivation may be harder to summon. Investing time and energy in an exploratory project, word study, or math practice probably does not feel deeply important. 

Skill-building for a lower or middle school student can be challenging even when we are not in the midst of a global pandemic. Certainly, the quotidian work of education pales in significance when families are facing serious illness and/or financial hardship. I would argue that the practice of learning enables connection with a higher purpose, which can serve as an anchor in a turbulent sea.

In every Sabot classroom, we see that when children construct their own knowledge, the more routine aspects of learning become infused with purpose, curiosity, and wonder. We believe that the process of education is what matters, not merely the knowledge acquired. The journey to the answer is far more important than the answer itself.

In his book Drive , Daniel Pink writes:

Engagement with Seesaw or Google Classroom is not the carrot. These platforms are tools that we must wield to maintain our connection, skills, and collaborative projects. Our educational tools have changed, and we will experience cognitive dissonance as we adjust to new conduits of learning. But we will not reject the learning process simply because these tools are initially difficult. Thinking flexibly and persisting are two habits of mind that emerge under duress but yield tremendous growth and opportunity.

Sitting with the discomfort of a new way of learning nurtures the skills that students need to make sense of the complicated world around them. Reading for understanding and information, writing for communication and expression, quantitative and qualitative reasoning for critical thinking – all of these skills are enhanced with practice and purpose.

A daily journal that seems a chore can become an outlet for worries and a crucible for solutions. A history reading can provide context and reference for the economic collapse unfolding around us. The discipline of focus needed when listening to others’ opinions can also be leveraged to listen to the inner voice that informs our values and morals.

I believe our 5th Grade Teacher-Researchers, Marla Wilson and Jon Patmore, said it best:

As counterintuitive as it may sound, engaging with classmates, teachers, and the activities of the school day provides students with the opportunity to have personal agency in a world that feels increasingly out of control.

Finding a student’s zone of proximal development and maintaining reasonable expectations with Connected Learning demands persistence. This means sitting with a student through the discomfort of skill-building – sometimes providing a break but also extending the encouragement to return to the task. I know this is hard. You can do this.

As psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi states in his book, Flow : “Most enjoyable activities are not natural; they demand an effort that initially one is reluctant to make. But once the interaction starts to provide feedback to the person’s skills, it usually begins to be intrinsically rewarding.” As parents and educators, we must provide support for our students to find that magical balance between challenge and joy.

When we stay in connection with our learning community, despite the many difficulties, we honor that deep human need to seek meaning and purpose in our lives. Our routines and learning tools have changed dramatically, but we will craft them into worthy vehicles for our curiosity, dreams, joy, and wonder.

Read more in Scientific American : Everyday Routines Make Life Feel More Meaningful

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