attention has been wrested away from us it seems , leaving us with a feeling of distraction .
We know from experience that , while distraction is seldom coupled with happiness , welldeployed attention and contentment are frequent companions . Think of sitting quietly on a porch , attentive while children whom you love play on the lawn . You notice how they interact , smiling at the ways their actions confirm what you know about their characters . You see their fun , and you take joy in the mere thought of it . Your experience is a world away from the misery of meddlesome whatifs and whys . Your attention to these children in their play , the joy that attention generates , and the strengthened love the experience inspires , these things all together illustrate how sustained attention can gently shape our well-being and the health of the social fabric around us .
However , attention is a baffling human faculty . Those of us who have been teachers have spent our entire careers begging students to pay attention because attention is the foundation of learning .
Unfortunately for teachers and students alike , the human capacity to focus our attention directly through our will is limited . Students can do it ; we can do it , but we tire , and , before long , distractions intervene . Accordingly , teachers devise strategies to pique students ’ interest so that the students ’ attention is focused not as much by their will as by their desire to meet a challenge , to unravel a problem , or to uncover knowledge . When the conditions are right — particularly when students come to love a subject — the boundaries restricting our span of attention seem to fall away , and our learning feels deep , rich , and sustained .
Maybe sustained attentiveness is somewhat like happiness . The more we seek it directly , the more it eludes us . This is where teacher craft can guide us . Just as teachers aim to inspire students to fall in love with a subject , we need to set the conditions for ourselves to fall in love with the world around us and all the people in it . Lovers pay attention .
Lloyd Den Boer is a retired educator living in Edmonton . He lives with his wife Audrey in an unremarkable piece of the world , but one with lots to love — the wonder of children and grandchildren , neighbours with fascinating histories , and streets lined with tall , gracious elms .
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