The Classroom: Where thinking happens
“Today I think we’re rapidly losing the ability to think deeply at all, regardless of how much space we can find in our schedules for these efforts.” His evidence at the national level and personal level are worth paying close attention to.
My first reaction to his conclusion that we are losing our ability to think, put me back into my latter 20th century classroom. Every day my students and I pursued ideas, problems, circumstances…. All of it uninterrupted (except for an occasional PA announcement and of course the bell at the end of the period.) No phones in the room, no computers on desks. My students and me pursuing together whatever the topic. I am grateful when I hear from former students, “You taught me how to think, Mr. Thoms.” Yes, we took time to think in class.
The classroom is where uninterrupted time is possible, is necessary. Without devices, teacher and students can engage, make eye contact. When a voice speaks, others listen, ideas surface, are explored, and lead to more ideas. Nothing else steps in to seek attention, because only teacher and students are in the room.
Read Newport’s essay. He covers our diminishing attention spans, the role of smartphones, and AI concerns. He cites the thinking prowess of Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King.
His comment, “What is a TikTok video if not a digital Dorito?” captures his view on social media. And his comment in support of reading struck home for me: “Perhaps consuming a few dozen book pages a day should become the new 10,000 daily steps — a basic foundation of activity to maintain cognitive fitness.”
It seems that the more I learn about what is undermining schools and teachers, the more I see the classroom as one of America’s saving graces, but only if they have agency. Where teacher and students can be themselves in search of knowledge, understanding, where good character is cherished, and where each person is encouraged to become the best they can be.
“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forward” (Kierkegaard)
I write to bring ideas and methods from my life as a teacher in the latter half of the 20th century to help teachers and the public to “live forward” in this century. My latest book, “Teacher in the Rye: Doing It My Way” is available on Amazon. And I welcome comments here on my Substack or by email at frankthoms3@gmail.com.
