Why We Need a Slow Schools Movement
We have slow foods, slow fashion, we need slow schools-holistic, sustainable, purpose driven
I know almost nothing about cars. I can identify cars mostly by color, and appreciate their utility. I am totally content being a passenger.
But there are two things that I know about cars.
We can drive fast in a car is because cars have brakes. (The Paradox of Speed.)
We cannot move forward when we are switching gears.

Bottom line: To keep pace with life, we need to utilize our brakes- slowing down and stopping with care. And we need to be particularly careful during times of change.
In order to keep our speed and productivity, we need to take the time to slow down and recharge.
Every moment of our lives, and our classes, do not need to be structured and planned. In fact, it’s better if we do not plan every moment, as it is in those moments that we learn how to carry conversations, self-direct learning and work, get creative and daydream.
The Big Idea
Recent research shows that breaks are an essential part of learning. But the benefits extend beyond the psychological well-being. Particularly for younger students, regular breaks throughout the school day can be an effective way to reduce disruptive behavior. In a series of recent studies, short physical activity breaks in the classroom improved students’ behavior, increasing the effort they put into their activities as well as their ability to stay on task.
We need to reframe productivity with the reminder that it includes breaks.
Research has found that breaks are necessary for:
Increased productivity and efficiency.
Creative ideas to happen, more here.
Making Big Ideas Usable
So evidence from research in multiple fields, and in automobiles, trellis us that we need to slow down in order to speed up. Especially in times of change or transition, taking brakes/breaks are what make change and speed possible.
So I asked 10 friends from 19 different fields what sorts of ideas their industries have for breaks.
A daily free period that allows young people to engage in periods of intense concentration of ninety minutes or less and free time to completely change the channel.
A daily mindfulness practice slows us down and improves stress response. When we slow down, we regenerate so we can hit max speed without burning out.
Practicing being fully present for a specific period each day. Continuous partial attention describes the current state of mind as we connect to all areas of life that are now possible — as a result we pay only partial attention to anything.
A daily tech-free walk that teaches you that not everything in life needs a purpose or goal. It trains you to let ideas slowly mingle in the mind.
Incorporating creative habits every day. If you're wondering where to start — or how to focus on creating — this is a good listen (or read!) to help focus on creating over expecting.
A celebration of slow over the celebration of busyness and support those who set parameters to live whole lives and do good work.
A search for Slow Guides. Seek out mentors who are living an authentic life and then be a mentor to others.
Giving grace to others who are experiencing overwhelm, especially at this time in the world.
So as you pursue your life's adventure and set out at breakneck speed, never forget the Paradox of Speed. Never forget to build and appreciate the brakes in your life.
sparks to ignite
attention liberation, attention reparations by adrienne maree brown
attention is one of our most valuable resources.
in your own life, attention is what determines the quality of your lived experience. if your attention stays on what’s wrong, on your powerlessness and pain, you can become identified with a victimized, power under narrative, and that will grow.
if your attention is instead on gratitude, collective power, experimentation, curiosity and celebration, these things will grow in your life.
all the manifestors know this.
This week’s Consideranew micropodcast that invites you to discover something new, or see a familiar thing in a new way.
This past Wednesday featured the inspired words of the amazing Sunanna Chand:
"We can't go back to a world in which young people feel like they have no power, and are the least valued and least heard stakeholders in a system that is supposedly built for them." - @SunannaC
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Schools paced to student's ability to learn and grow are an important contribution to our society. Advent of the Autistic children should teach us that not only does our medicine need to change but our education system also. There are now more alternatives for education than ever before. Too many children don't have access to them due to the cost their families can't afford. The system needs to change for the benifit of not only students but teachers and administrators as well as our country's economics. Let us make change gentle and easy for all - that's a huge challenge due to the huge investment in administrative structure. Change will come, but it will take many of us working together to accomplish it.
I love slow school, one that's holistic,
inclusive and purpose driven.We need to
slowdown in adding new things everyday
and rethink, reevaluate repurpose, reject,
re-establish, rejuvenate and rejoice
learning and learning centres.No wonder
why change is not sustainable even when
it's most needed in the poor system of
mass socialization aka schooling!! It gets
worse everyday because we keep piling
up load after load with very old, rusty &
corrosive foundations, weathered by lots
of wear & tear of it’s time! If we don’t shift our rethinking, we may as well end up repairing parts of the old beam and when it finally breaks, it may be too chaotic & costly to even know what we need or necessary for learning.
Hmm! this got me thinking about systemic and structural understanding of teaching vs instructions.Slow-School principle is thought provoking and would love to chat more about.
Thank you for sharing this.