The Soil of Learning

Cultivating fertile ground for conscious growth
by Simon Holzapfel, Head of School, holzapfels@darrowschool.org
I’ve been thinking about learning and consciousness lately, inspired by Anil Seth’s work on neuroscience. It’s humbling stuff, for sure, and also pretty mind-blowing.
In trying to put these insights into readily understandable words for faculty, students, and parents, I’m testing an idea about consciousness being like the soil of learning. Learning takes place within the framework of consciousness. That is fairly obvious, but there is a critical, actionable, implication: cultivate that state of consciousness attentively and you will positively and significantly impact learning. We know this in terms of emotional states — you basically become learning impaired as you become more anxious or angry. The reverse is also true — your learning is amplified as you become more engaged and involved.
Consider that the moment-to-moment consciousness we experience, as it adds up each day, is very similar to the overall quality of our lives. Fine tune those moments and you fine tune your learning. A significant element of that fine tuning necessarily involves the people you want to be surrounded by at your work or in your school. Daniel Pink gives us some important breadcrumbs: surround yourself with people who are attuned, buoyant, and clear, and you’ve got the critical soil components largely taken care of.
Imagine that, each day, most of the people you encounter display those attributes front and center. That is some rich soil for learning and thriving. I expect nothing less from myself. I encourage others to see what happens as they aim for the same.
The soil we till is the soil in which we grow. Our learning depends on it.
Simon Says… is a regular blog by Simon Holzapfel, Head of The Darrow School. Learn more about active curriculum and project-based learning at darrowschool.org.
Read Simon Holzapfel’s bio.

