BFTP: Ruminating
Friday, June 7, 2013 at 03:29PM A weekend Blue Skunk "feature" will be a revision of an old post. I'm calling this BFTP: Blast from the Past. Original post May 27, 2008. Happy end of the school year for many of us in Minnesota. I hope all teachers take some time to ruminate when not working second jobs, teaching summer school, writing curriculum, engaging in professional development, taking classes, chaffering children, or doing the 101 other things that teachers who "have the summer off" do.
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) with no headphones or other distractions.
- Driving with the radio/CD player off. Leaving the radio/TV/music off while in the house.
- "Scheduling" at least two hours of writing time each Sat and Sun morning.
- Taking one week away from home, by myself to do nothing but write.
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 around.
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, Twitter, 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. The wisdom 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?
When and where do you find the time to ruminate?
A ruminating cow...
Reader Comments (2)
I have turned this topic over in my mind several times. I have decided to stop thinking deeply.
It chews up my "idle time" that I want for no real purpose. And it often gives me a headache.
I shall continue my quest to be shallow. ;)
Gwen,
You are a woman after my own heart! I've always said shallow wit will serve a person much better than deep intellect.
You made my day!
Doug