BBI 2007 Session 11

Once again, great info that leads to many questions and great ideas for my classroom! Today's discussion makes me want to pay more attention to my unconscious behavior in the classroom and to teach myself to be more aware of my "I" function. I hope to use my I function to change some of my stories. I hope to be able to teach my students to be more conscious of their thoughts and behaviors and to be aware of their I function to change their stories. The thought of teaching the kids to be effective casual change agents is very exciting to me! I want my students to be conscious when they take test, but not too conscious that they get too stressed.

interesting to think about the things we do unconsciously

We all know that we do things unconsciously, but it is very informative to know why. It makes me wonder about human behavior and how much is really controlled by the I-function. it seems to me that most of out pysical actions are done unconsciously. It would be overwhelming if we had to think about every little thing that we did. I am curious about our mental behavior. What controls our mentals thoughts and actions? Are our thoughts and the responses they elicit done unconsciously? Or it is 100% controlled by the I-function. Or does the I-function come into play later as a result of trial and error. What works vs. what doesn't, what's acceptable behavior vs. what is deemed unacceptable.

What particular aspect of our discussions of the motor and sensory sides of the nervous system seem most useful for your classroom, for your teaching in general? Write some thoughts/questions in the institute forum area. I am really surprised of how much of what we do is unconscious. I think that it is a good thing!!! Why? Because it allows me to focus on other extenal stimuli that requires more attention. I like the idea that we are not totally in control of everything, because I believe that I would make a lot of mistakes, that may kill me. This gives me an awesome sense of HOPE!!!!

During last weeks' discussion I was starting to feel powerless over the outcomes in my classroom or their impact on the school, and community. Today I feel like I can have a positive impact on making students aware of their conscious and unconscious actions. By making them aware of the things that they do without thinking about them I have a better chance of helping them to account for their total "I" function which in turn will positively influence the classroom, the school, their families and hopefully the community. In a nutshell today's discussion has opened the possibility to being able to shape behavior or controll outcomes. However, I must keep in mind that there are some things that we do unconsciously that self regulate.

What really intrigues me about this morning's session is the role the I function plays in the ability to create unique and creative movements in the human body by the I function's ability to isolate, to "switch on and off" movement. I have several questions about it and wonder what implications it might have on our teaching and our students...

First, is this ability of the I function especially pronounced in those who make their life by the creative arts (dancers, figure skaters, gymnasts)? Do the brains of these people have a common variation that allows them to do this more than others?

Next, can this be extended to thinking and creativity in general? Is this something that could be applied to how a student writes or reasons?

Finally, how much of this is innate, and how much of this is learned through behavior and upbringing? Does this mean that we can teach our students to be able to isolate movement and or thought? Can our students be conditioned into being more creative, or does this mean that their brain and or muscle power is, at least to an extent, predetermined by their genetics?

A lot has been written about the relationship between the hand and the brain implying that the strenght of the brain is positively correlated to the strength of hand control. In the classroom, we have a plethora of activities that are designed to improve the eye-hand control movement and the strength of the hand. Most of the children who enter are rudimentary in these skill areas. Furthermore, when we sing the finger play song about the fingers, most cannot isolate the individual fingers. In fact, at the beginning of the year, they seem shocked that the fingers are actually able to move separately. For my current setting, in which I only have most children for one year, I see a clear development, at the the end of the year, in their ability to isolate the individual fingers as we sing the fingerplay song. By that time, most don't even remember how hard they had to work to see that the fingers were individual digits and then try to raise each finger at the appropriate time. These same children show a clear development in their ability to self-regulate behaviors, in a variety of settings, and in their pincer grasps and eye-hand control. Furthermore, their gross motors skills are refined and executed with more finesse. The question I am leading up to is whether the strengthening of hand-eye movement and hand strength is correlated to the strengthening of the I-function. If so, what are the implications for education? A friend once described the PT she received for brain damage, due to high velocity impact, and those exercises could easily have been the same as the ones I put in my classroom for the development of hand strength and hand-eye coordination.   

This issue also shows the role of awareness in mastery. 

In some cases it seems that even the I function cannot make motion happen. I am thinking of cute challenges with fingers, where the victim is shocked to find that they cannot complete a simple sounding motion command. LIke boys who cannot pick up the chair while girls can. Or the hand on the desk with the "long tom" finger tucked under and then one finds that they can raise all the other fingers except the ring finger which will not move by brain command at all, but you may pick it up with the other hand! Today I found a new one. With the other fingers collapsed against the palm the pointer can be bent all the way into a hook shape. But with the other fingers kept straigth, the pointer will ONLY bend into L shape, not a hook. When you take the tip, with the other hand, and deliberately bend it down into a hook you can feel that it is loose and disconnected, just like it were dead. Next time I am with young children I will show them this stunt since that sort of thing fascinates them. So when I-function cannot do the job, even with the strongest will behind it, feelings are going to arise. In a game or trick these feelings are funny and frustrating in a way that can be laughed off, especially if no-one can do it. But let it be the case that others, or even worse--all the others, are successful and the individual is likely to pass the point of being able to keep trying and just shuts down. Regards,

W. Keith Sgrillo Is the "I-function" operational when in a dream state or coma?