Rewild Your Attention

This post was originally published on 11.11.21 as a part of a newsletter sent to teachers in the district I serve.  

I came across the above image on Twitter a week or so ago. It made me think. First, that there is perhaps some truth to it. Second, it’s probably exaggerated for a wow-factor. Pacman’s mouth should probably be open more. Third, how do we make Pacman’s mouth open wider? and how do we make learning more relevant to students’ lives now and in the future?

Let’s start by Rewilding Your Attention. What’s that saying? “Garbage In, Garbage Out.” Or as the cool cats say, “GIGO.” The quality of output is determined by the quality of the input. We can control the input: What are we reading? What are we watching? Who are we reading from? etc. I’m guilty of looking for quick fixes or getting stuck on certain authors, but maybe it’s time we find different inspiration: inspiration from others in the trenches doing the dirty work right alongside us. I asked some of my Five Star colleagues to share some Humans Worth Following that might not be as mainstream or EduFamous. I received some shares, but I’d love for more to be added to the Wakelet collection. Who inspires you?

Maybe it takes, as Seth Godin says, more effort. Expending more effort than most people think is sufficient. This is attention to detail. Care in design. Follow through in customer service. This is an embrace of elegance and wabisabi and the opposite of laziness. This is bringing care (which is rare and precious) to work even if most people would look for a shortcut instead. More effort creates beauty and magic and remarkability. Perfectionism is a false hope and a place to hide. Effort, on the other hand, is our best chance to do work that matters. But, I know and you know that everyone is tired, effort-ed out, and your plates are full. So, as you go about looking for ways to design lessons, create content, or make school more relevant, toss out the garbage that doesn’t move us forward. Focus your attention and input on the end goal, but zoom into those things that make the most impact. Perhaps less is more? Rewild Your Attention.