The Blossoming Mind Part 2 - Nutrition and Learning

The first time I met Charlie, he was like a human pinball. I grew dizzy tracking him as he bounced from one side of the room to the other. During our session I realized that I had raised my voice to ask him questions, possibly thinking that volume would slow his pace. It didn’t. His mom courteously interrupted saying that Charlie had good days and bad days and that today was not a good one. That was my first clue, and a big one. 

Years ago, as a systems engineer, I was trained to uncover causes for changes. If it was an improvement, we wanted to repeat it, if not, I was to find the reason and eliminate it. At times I felt like “The Terminator”, though without the accent. My ears still perk up when a problem is described as intermittent. Reflexes kick in and I start searching for anything that varies along with the problem. My first clue came at snack time. Charlie only like certain foods and would eat those foods in large quantities. 

When investigating food allergies or interactions, the first place to start is with food we crave. If we “can’t live without” it, then it’s probably affecting us in one way or another. In my work the affect usually means trouble. I could suggest a dozen ways to improve Charlie’s learning environment, though our success would be limited if something he was eating or drinking was placing his brain under stress. For Charlie, it ended up being gluten, dairy, and peanut butter. Once they were eliminated from his diet, he could sit with me and chat for 20 minutes. It was amazing and a new, happier life for Charlie and his family.

  What a child consumes and breathes can have an astounding affect on their ability to control their behavior. Because of this, I begin my work with a look at NUTRITION and nourishment. 

You may be familiar with the food pyramid. Personally, I’ve always wondered why the FDA refers to it as a pyramid, when it is obviously a triangle. I’m thinking that it started out as a pyramid, a Nourishment Pyramid™, describing how to feed a whole person; body, mind, and spirit. Maybe in translation, or due to budget cuts, they decided to keep one side but forgot to change pyramid to triangle.  We’re ditching the food pyramid and replacing it with the Nourishment Pyramid™.

The four sides of the Nourishment Pyramid™ are:       

1. Body - health through nourishing food choices, activity and sleep
2. Mind - health through activity, sleep, a positive approach to challenges, support, pride, and self-esteem
3.  Spirit - health through sleep, joy, laughter, and a peace that comes with feeling connected and fulfilled
4. Learning - is unique to each person and directly affected by the other three sides.

Next we’ll focus on the Body side of the Nourishment Pyramid™.

A Blossoming Mind - part 1

“Well,” the Lily said turning to Zo, “what are your conditions, Blossom?” 

“I…I don’t have any conditions, ” Zo replied.

“Hah!”Bracken barked.

“You have to have conditions, otherwise you’d be dead” Louise said. “What are your conditions to grow? You know, do you need full sun, shade, moist roots, lots of space,…?”

“Or are you like fungi” Bracken interjected, “and grow in the dark with crap?”

“Now don’t you mind Bracken,” Lily said. “His soil is a little on the acidic side this morning.”

“What would I like my conditions to be...?” Zo thought aloud.

“Oh Seedlet, it’s not something you think about or choose, it’s your true nature.”
                                          ~ from Zo and the Knowbuddies (unpublished, still hopeful)

It seemed fitting that on Valentine’s Day I present you with a flower.


 

This particular one is a drawing compilation of my work, or you could say the ‘fruit’ of my research. (pun intended) 

At first, I approached my research a bit like a construction worker- looking to build bridges between educational theories and neuroscience - and create a structure for learners to follow. Some 30 years later, I find myself more as a unique gardener: curiously working with an organic process, sifting through the expectations, weeding out negative thoughts, and sowing supportive learning behaviors.

I help cultivate this new ground by leading my students in a playful exploration of their unique characteristics. Through conversations, questions, and simple activities, we discover how to create the places and spaces that support how they think and learn, and help them flourish and bloom.

I have come to understand that the areas depicted on the petals are intertwined in every learning experience. At times, an area may branch out and shine as genius. At other times that same area may get in the way and create a distraction or roadblock.

We will look at each petal with more detail in future posts with the same title: 

A Blossoming Mind.

Ellery Queen and the Diva

I am an Ellery Queen fan. Solving cases with Mr. Queen felt like teamwork. Sherlock Holmes had interesting cases and his attention to detail was surpassed by no one. Though I found he kept secrets, making it impossible for the reader to solve the case alongside him. Columbo was only amusing to watch. Knowing who the culprit was from the opening scene left nothing for anyone else to do but watch him drop cigar ashes and forget questions.

I imagine my office as having an Ellery Queen flavor with a dash of ‘Guy Noir - Private Investigator’. When my phone rings, I take the call knowing that somewhere, something isn’t right.

“Hello,” I say.

“Hello, I am hoping you can help me,” is the usual reply. The troubled voice on the other end of the line introduces themselves as a parent and begins to relay their concerns, which have grown into a problem. I listen as they introduce me to their child’s struggle with math or reading, or school grades, or a behavior that has been interpreted by someone as a lack of caring. After gathering details on the challenges they are facing, I ask one of the most important questions I know: 

“What does your child do well?”

“What do you mean?” they typically respond.

“What does he like to do? How does he spend his free time or what hobbies does he have?” I continue knowing that the person on the other end of the line isn’t stumped, they just need a moment to find the answers that, like the calendar on my desk, have been buried under a pile of less useful information.

After we have listed hobbies, talents, and behaviors that show up before they are invited, I explain my methods. Together we will search and discover the clues that will lead us to how we can set a path to our goal. In this regards, I see myself like the 90’s TV character MacGyver. MacGyver has this uncanny ability to use what is around him to reach his goals. By using a stick of gum, a sweat sock and a battery , MacGyver could create a device that would save himself, and his guest star, from bombs, run-a-way trains, and burning buildings.

For those of you who have yet to see an episode of MacGyver, let’s try this: pretend it’s Wednesday evening and you and I need to make dinner. As we chat about the menu, I search the kitchen for ideas.

“Well, we don’t have any tomatoes, eggs, zucchini, or cream of mushroom soup and it looks like we’re out of ranch dressing too.” I state. “ What would you like to make?” 

“That’s no help.” You’d politely reply. “Can you tell me what we do have?” 

The easiest way to make a meal is by knowing what ingredients you have work with. Similarly, the best place to start to rediscover genius is with what naturally wants to happen.

In my years of detective work, I have found Genius to be a performer. A diva who, if asked to remain quiet for too long, will read others lines from the script and make a stage entrance uninvited. When this happens, she receives bad reviews and her audience is distracted from her true talents. I work to revive Genius’s career by finding the roles that highlight her attributes and remind her audience how she naturally shines.

Whether it’s getting a high school gymnast to see how “x” walks the balance beam “=” (equal sign) to the other side, or the teenage scientist to associate his foggy thinking during a test with dropping a bowling ball into a tub of flour, giving Genius a spotlight will change the show.

erasing with snow

I love February and her clear, sunny, snow covered days. February snow is different from the other winter months. In November and December the snow is wetter and temporary, teasing skiers and angel makers. When snow falls in February, it glistens, and blankets the landscape, calming and quieting  neighborhoods. In the silence I can hear myself. I'm reminded of how much I need silence to be able to sift through the layers of my thoughts and reach the source of my creativity.

Over the years, I have learned to give myself the time to pause and let those who I am in conversation with know that I am processing. I joke with my students how it would be nice if we could have some sort of icon pop up above our head, like the hour glass symbol on a computer screen, to indicate that even though it may look like we’re just sitting here, we're actually working on a solution.

I do see resemblances of that icon when a student scrunches their nose, taps their pencil, sighs with a drawn out 'hmmm', or bounces their leg (or their entire body). For others I sense a pause when they meet the challenge and determine their strategy, searching for the motivation and path to move forward. I feel like a detective of sorts, looking for the clues; how quickly did they pick up their pencil to work on the problem, did the rhythm in their breathing change, did they rub their brow or look in a certain direction? Like a dance, I wait for the right moment to interject my question and interrupt with guidance. How long I wait depends on several key things; one being how they erase.

Over the past several years I’ve seen the two basic erasing techniques, with variations in-between. They are the "grunt and attack" method and the “sigh and dust” approach. The “grunt and attack” method conveys the frustration with getting all the way to the end of the problem and needing to start all over again. It’s an all or nothing thinking approach to the problem with the process needing to be correct every step of the way or else it isn’t as clear. Their work is like creating a sandwich and if they add the wrong condiment they’ll need to start all over or they just won’t be able to digest it. With these students I choose to interject right after they have made a mistake. I interrupt with, “Take a look at this step” or “I’m not sure you wrote what you are thinking”. They don’t mind the disruption and prefer to catch the mistake before they carry it forward.

The “sigh and dust” approach is typical of a student who views the problem as a whole. They can compartmentalize their problem solving, keeping each step separate from the one before. Their work is like a puzzle and they are able to take out what doesn’t fit and replace it with what does. Afterward, when directed to a mistake, they sigh, gently erase only what was wrong and plug in the correct values. My part is to patiently wait until they have either moved away from the paper or set their pencil down. Then I begin by telling them what they have done right and pointing out what step needs to be reviewed asking them to take a moment and refocus.

Taking time to reflect and refocus can have a different rhythm for each learner. Having that time in silence, like on this snow covered February day, is a key to the heart of learning.