It is not about what we teach but, in the end, what the students learn. Two articles from Getting Smart, featured in Chris Unger’s A Revolution in Education newsfeed, suggest an underemphasis on “vigor” in learning diminishes student growth.
In our race towards increasing rigor, Pickering suggests, we have sacrificed connections and engagement, leading to student alienation from our schools. Instead, we need to revisit “rigor, relevance, and relationships” in a new context. That will require a reconsideration of standards, a focus on student choice, and an emphasis on connection.
Currently, however, the ~300 standards we expect all high school graduates to know and demonstrate are all about proving one’s “rigor.” A vigorous set of standards would include standards from all aspects of life and that every reasonable American adult should know and be able to do.
– Trace Pickering
In sum, our schools need to recalibrate the opportunities we provide our students to allow relationships and relevance to have an equal or greater role in regard to rigor.
In another article, Dacher Keltner, a professor of psychology at UC Berkeley, suggests that instilling brief moments of “awe” in our students’ days can increase the sense of engagement and vigor. Young people are experiencing record levels of anxiety and depression. While I don’t suggest standards are the cause of the mental health crisis, I do believe school has a role to play in offering greater meaning to our students’ lives.
Awe can be described as a moment of wonder which is beyond our natural understanding. Keltner suggests that a brief moment of awe elevates a person beyond that short period in time: “[E]verything from noticing someone’s exceptional courage and strength to experiencing the power of nature or feeling transported by soaring music or by the collective movement of people dancing.” He goes on to explain:
Brief moments of awe are good for us. For instance, research my colleagues and I conducted found that children who felt awe were more generous. They spent more time on a tedious task that benefited refugees and were more likely to donate their reward for participating in the study—a chocolate snack or a ticket to a local museum—to refugee children. Awe also benefited the children themselves by making them feel more relaxed and connected to others.
– Dacher Keltner
TAKEAWAY:
How can we, as gifted teachers, provide greater vigor in our curriculum and incorporate moments of awe? First, consider these categories:
My research from 26 cultures shows that people find awe in the “eight wonders of life,” which are: the moral beauty of others, collective movement, nature, visual design, music, spirituality, big ideas, and encountering the beginning and end of life.
– Dacher Kelter
- Allow your class to choose a guiding word such as diversity, and find small video segments or create experiences to tap into those ideas such as labeling trees or drawing the details of local floral and fauna.
- Consider a daily mindfulness moment (example), which serves as a small step towards building a reflective, awe-aware practice in your classroom.
Taking time to provide expansion and joy for our students has multiple benefits and can increase engagement in schoolwork and life for both our students and ourselves.
SOURCES
Keltner, Dacher (2023 Feb.) The Science of Wonder. Mindful. https://www.mindful.org/the-science-of-wonder/
Keltner, Dacher. (2024 Jan. 16). Small Wonders: Finding Everyday Moments of Awe. Getting Smart https://www.gettingsmart.com/2024/01/16/dacher-keltner-character-lab/
Napier, R. D., Jarvis, J. M., Clark, J., & Halsey, R. J. (2024). Influences on Career Development for Gifted Adolescent Girls in Selective Academic Programs in Australia. Gifted Child Quarterly, 68(1), 49-64. https://doi-org.ezproxy.neu.edu/10.1177/00169862231201604
Pickering, Trace. (2024, Jan. 18). “Rigor or Vigor? What Do We Want For Our Children?” Getting Smart. https://www.gettingsmart.com/2024/01/18/rigor-or-vigor-what-do-we-want-for-our-children/
Stamkou, E., Brummelman, E., Dunham, R., Nikolic, M., & Keltner, D. (2023). Awe Sparks Prosociality in Children. Psychological Science, 34(4), 455-467. https://doi.org/10.1177/09567976221150616
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