Flow

Sierra, 8th grade, pursues an insect in the Pathfinder woods.

It's Sunday, time for our family to regroup.  I attempt to put a dent in the never-ending laundry, get all seven of us together for a hike, and maybe cook something a little special for dinner.  Another Sunday ritual we have is taking stock of any school projects that may be underway.  My daughter, Sierra, has been working on one particular project just about all week-end and is into her sixth hour of it today.  Trust me, it's a good thing.  Read on.

Sierra is experiencing what has been called by psychologists as FLOW:  she is so engaged in her task at-hand that she is completely unaware of the time that is passing.  It is a wonderful state of mind to be in, fully harnessing one's cognitive and affective domains, associated with joy and pure motivation.  Hmm...pure motivation.  Not a bad way for a kid to feel when working on a science project, I'd say.  Today, and over the last two weeks, she has found and pinned 25 insects to a board.  Separately, she lists for each insect the name, its place in the food web, habitat, and counties in which it can be found.  Additionally, she is crafting a poster of the monarch butterfly lifecycle.  She discusses migration and the current destruction of the monarch's habitat.  She has completed three close up pencil drawings, carefully detailed with the aid of a magnifying glass.  She goes on to identify certain physical features of these insects and explains how they have physically adapted to their habitat. She finishes with three questions she still wonders about each.

This is purposeful, beautiful assignment design.  It is a wonderful example of the multiple intelligences approach to learning that is a Pathfinder fundamental.   By running through the woods in search of bugs, kinesthetic and naturalistic needs are met.  Spatial, artistic talents are nurtured through close up pencil drawings and poster creation.   As kids compare their insects and discuss what they see, interpersonal intelligences are piqued.  When they research, analyze, and explain their findings to the class, the logical modality is enabled.

The richness of what Sierra will gain from this assignment goes far beyond entomology.  I have watched her and her classmates proudly sweeping the wooded campus with their bug nets (they carry them throughout the day, not just during science class - you never know when you might spot a good bug). She told me a story of one particular bug pursuit when she didn't have her net. It was exceptionally fast, and most difficult to capture. In the end, the sun revealed the insect's shadow as it hid underneath the leaf's surface, and without further hesitation, her hands cupped and captured it in a fury of victory.  At home she peruses the internet, learning how to sift through the massive quantity of information to find what she is looking for. This not memorizing facts; she is learning to gather information and synthesize it, to consider a topic in connection to surrounding topics, to wonder and find out and make meaning out of something.

Back to FLOW.  Did I mention that Sierra was singing throughout this process?  She would work for an hour or two, humming or chatting with her siblings.  She might get up and get a snack, pirouetting and pas de bouree-ing over to the pantry, and return for another hour or two.  She would move from detailed drawing, to reading on the computer, to tickling her sister, to printing and cutting and gluing...all the while singing.  This is NOT the behavior of a frustrated, angry, or bored 13 year-old.  This is the behavior of a young teen who is enjoying her work, to the point that the work has unquestionably become play, and that is something worth blogging about.

-- Tricia Moore, parent