Ruminating
Tuesday, May 27, 2008 at 08:57PM ruminate: 1 : to go over in the mind repeatedly and often casually or slowly 2 : to chew repeatedly for an extended period (M-W.com)
Susan Sedro at Adventures in Educational Blogging shares her frustration at having little time for "deep thinking" and asks her readers:
... how do you make space for deeper thinking? Are you able to ponder deeper thoughts in the midst of business or do you need a clear mental space for it? What strategies have been working for you? Frenetic minds want to know!
It's a great question and this was my response to her:
My sanity (what little remains) demands quiet time to think. I find this by:
- Walking every day for at least an hour (well, almost every day).
- Driving with the radio/CD player off.
- "Scheduling" at least two hours of writing time each Sat and Sun morning.
Not much, but it is what I can eke out. I refuse to get an iPod because I am afraid it would steal even these brief moments of quiet for me. [Doesn't anyone else remember the short story "Harrison Bergeron" by Kurt Vonnegut?]
Too often we are so hell-bent on obtaining information, keeping up, we don't take the time to really ponder what we've taken in.
One of my favorite words is "ruminate." I am not sure which meaning came first - chewing on ideas and information metaphorically or chewing grasses and cud literally. But I like the image of bringing something back up and extracting more nutrient from it a second or third time.
Do Web 2.0 tools encourage or discourage rumination, or as Susan terms it, deep thinking? As I write this or anything I know others will be reading, I am forced to take at least minimal care to consider, organize and articulate my experiences and readings. To think a little harder and longer about stuff than I might normally do. On the other hand, RSS feeds, e-mail newsletters, blog posts, Nings, micro-blogging, and other tools are bringing me more information faster than ever. Without the gift of added hours in the day. Can't one say that he is not finished thinking about a thing without being labeled "indecisive" anymore?
I worry that in our haste to know the facts about the new, we refuse to take the time to consider the implications of the new.
And if we as educators don't slow down and reflect, analyse, consider, doubt, challenge, and dissect, who will be the model of these behaviors for our students?
Where do you find the time to ruminate?
A ruminating cow...
Original image from <http://www.apl385.com/leutasch/index.htm>
Reader Comments (8)
Hi Doug --
I am glad you brought this subject up -- very timely!!! Thank you!
With all the newest and best tools out there to use -- Web 2.0ish -- you would think that I would have great satisfaction in my productivity -- but actually, it is much to the contrary.
You would think that with so many advances on tools, there would be more hours in my day, but again, to the contrary -- I find there to be less.
And you would think that I would be happier with all the availability of tools and networking options -- but, alas, I find myself to be even more dis-satisfied. (both with myself and with others!)
So to what end?? Is all this "wonderful tech talk" really all what it says it will be? Or are we falling even deeper into pleasing a generation who demands instant results and instant gratification? And putting into the least amount of effort yet expect the greatest reward? (at least that is what I am seeing!)
I am taking the summer off to "ruminate". (smiles) I have narrowed my blog reading down to 12 blogs and am twittering WAY less than usual. I am talking with people who have NO regard for TECH and finding out WHY and (smiles) how they still get so much done -- and seem happy too!
Thanks for letting me think my thoughts on your blog.
Jennifer Wagner
@jen,
You are most welcome. I look forward to reading some of your ruminations!
Doug
Doug- I think Web 2.0 plays a role in the lack of reflection and deep thinking because there is always more to learn. More tools to learn, more information to gather, more resources to investigate. But thats true of the Internet in general, not just 2.0. That was true when television replaced radio, when radio supplemented newspapers.
I have learned more in the last year of my life online than in all my years in college. I have heard more good ideas, listened and read more smart people, and reflected through comments/twitter/blogs/nings more in depth than ever before.
In fact, all these tools is what has made me want to reflect, or ruminate. Nothing has interested me as much as what I have learned about technology and teaching this year. Its been really satisfying. I know I'm a much better teacher because of all the info, because of my desire to gather it, and because I stop to think of how it will best help my kids.
As for when I ruminate without the noise of info tapping at me, hmmmmmmm
We were recently having this same conversation at school about our students--and how little time they have to ruminate. And wondering how we can expect the best out of the or expect creativity and innovation when they are stressed and rushed all the time.
I think ruminating is such an important thing for all of us. This time of year, I'm very aware of the rush of things catching up with me and the lack of reflection time catching up with me as well.
Even the word ruminate makes you slow down, doesn't it?
I think technology (like blogs) both help us reflect but also sometimes hinders us because there is so much coming at us all the time, and the pace can be frenetic.
It is important to find our own ways to define that time for rumination, but also to help our students identify the importance of it for their own creativity, and to help them define strategies that carve out that space for themselves.
By the way, here's the post I wrote after we had that conversation at our campus.
http://futura.edublogs.org/2008/05/14/creating-space-for-thought/
Hi Doug,
In a word: YOGA. I practice yoga regularly and after a good session I often have -- need, even -- plenty of time to ruminate. And sometimes those ruminations manifest themselves into action, other times into a blog, and sometimes they just stay in back burner mode. Or disappear! Finding time to think would not be possible for me without having a regular yoga practice. I highly recommend it!
@ Thanks, Cory. I really appreciate the positive outlook you have about this. If and how any technology impacts us, I am growing more convinced, is directly related to our own learning style and it is difficult and unwise to make too many generalizations.
@ Carolyn, great blog post. How will we help students gain "thinking" time?
All the very best,
Doug
Hi Doug,
I also LOVE the word ruminate and introduce it to my English classes each year. The other word I use often is percolate. I actually don't drink coffee, but I have an image of ideas, TONS of ideas - the posts collected by my aggregator - filtering through my slow drip brain... I've actually said to friends - "the idea is just percolating right now"... or germinating (that's another term I use for thoughts that are not yet ready to burst into blossom. As to when I find the time... I've noticed that my best deep thinking seems to be when I'm doing something automatic such as a long walk, (outside or on the treadmill), driving a long distance, or doing some kind of mindless chore (folding laundry or ironing). The thinking doesn't creep in until I'm at least 30 minutes into the activity though. I wonder if, someday, just like scientists have discovered stages of sleep, they will also discover stages of thought... linked to amounts of time... scattered thought occurs in the first 1-3 minutes of reflection ... in the next 6-10 minutes thought waves change slightly in intensity... then, beginning at about the 20 - 30 minutes, the brain....
I absolutely treasure Sat. mornings because that's time I use to catch up on posts, and podcasts. After reading or listening to them, I find myself thinking about them usually several days later.
Germinate... percolate... ruminate...deep thinking is GREAT!