matching tracksuits

At an in-service a couple of weeks ago, we received the little research tidbit that middle-school-aged students have a maximum attention span of some eleven minutes or so. The implication — made very explicit by the presenter — was that our lessons should have activity changes every fifteen minutes or so. You know, in order to keep students engaged and focused.

No mention was made about trying to expand and stretch students’ attention span and ability to stay on task for more than a relative nanosecond. And the notion that we could just say, “Look — today you’re just going to have to focus on this for more than a few minutes” was implicitly ruled out.

Which is good, because in high school, college, and beyond, all you really need is an ability to focus for about fifteen minutes in order to be successful.

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I’m constantly amazed at all the things L has to learn, and how quickly she learns them. She learned those things waving around in front of her face were hers, and then she learned to control them. She’s figured out that those growths from her lower body are hers, too, and she’s learning to control them too.

Both those examples are very concrete.

Lately she’s been getting into the abstract.

We noticed last night, for instance, that she’s figured out a major fact about the world around her: it generally stays in the same place, and it’s she that moves. She was watching K load the dishwasher, and I turn around 180 degrees. She quickly turned her head and continued watching. And it took me just a couple of seconds to realize the significance of what she’d done. I turned back around again; she turned her head again, and giggled when K kissed her cheek.

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