12 minute read
Whole Child
Dr. Nicole D. Ortegón
Say Yes to Less (and Get More): Reflections on Minimalism in Education
In their book, The Minimalist Teacher (2021), Tamera Musiowsky-Borneman and C. Y. Arnold argue that a “systemic culture of waste” has pervaded (and adversely affected) the personal and professional lives of many educators (p. 2). By contrast, they examine how a minimalist approach to teaching and learning effectuates “a simplicity that allows education to become richer and more meaningful by paring down distractions and all the waste we are faced with daily” (p. 2). Crucially, they remind their readers that more does not equate to better.
(Re)conceptualizing Waste and Clutter
Before you continue reading, pause for a moment, and reflect on how you conceptualize waste and clutter. Musiowsky-Borneman and Arnold argue that “in order to reset our mindset toward a culture of minimalism, we need to expand our thinking around what actually constitutes waste [and clutter]” (p. 25). They encourage their readers to reflect on the many facets of waste, including, but not limited to, time waste; emotional/ intellectual/psychological waste; economic waste; physical waste; and resource waste. Education clutter
also has many facets, four of which Musiowsky-Borneman and Arnold examine in depth: cluttered classroom spaces, initiative clutter, overloaded content and planning resources, and too many ways to teach so much content. What facets of waste and clutter do you encounter in your daily life?
Reconceptualizing waste and clutter enables us to identify their many facets (of which we may have not otherwise been cognizant— they nevertheless affect us). However, becoming aware of their existence enables us to moderate their deleterious effects on our health and wellbeing, a subject to which I later return.
Waste Management and Decluttering
Having identified various facets of waste and clutter, we turn our attention to waste management and decluttering. To support others in finding their purpose, focusing their priorities, and pairing down, MusiowskyBorneman and Arnold developed the Triple P Framework. The Triple P Framework is composed of the following elements: “the overarching Triple P questions [what is our purpose, what are our priorities, and how can we pare down resources], the Triple P funnel and decision-making questions to focus priorities, and the Triple P cycle” (p. 12). Other resources we might use in endeavoring to provide our students with a teaching and learning that is purposeful, intentional, meaningful, impactful, engaging, relevant, authentic,
contextualized, research/evidencebased, well-prioritized, well-aligned, and, most critically, meets the needs of the students with whom we are working might include, for example, Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe’s (2005) Understanding by Design (Backward Design), Leigh Chiarelott’s (2006) Curriculum in Context, and Jim Knight’s (2013) High-impact Instruction. Alternatively, we might strategically draw upon our collective knowledge to develop a filtering process uniquely designed to meet the diverse needs of the students with whom we are working.
Choice and Decision Fatigue
The sheer volume of options available to (or thrust upon) many educators may induce a “choice-initiated paralysis” (Musiowsky-Borneman & Arnold, 2021, p. 3). As Musiowsky-Borneman and Arnold write, “Likely no assumptions are made in stating that every educator has been a deer in the headlights, paralyzed with the amount of choice in initiatives, programs, strategies, or tools” (p. 2). Choice is favorable in that it provides us (and our students) with opportunities to exercise self-agency and achieve self-efficacy. However, an excess of choice may bring diminishing returns or what MusiowskyBorneman and Arnold would characterize as (intellectual and time) waste. Whether our choices result in diminishing returns depends on the time and effort we allocate to making our initial choice, as well as the time and effort we expend ruminating on whether we made the “correct” or “best” choice (MusiowskyBorneman & Arnold, 2021). In discussing “paralysis from decision-making,” Bruce D. Perry (2020b) describes a similar phenomenon, decision fatigue, which occurs when we have to make successive decisions without adequate relief time or when under “duress or stress.”
I “Cannot” Choose (What to Do First) Because Everything is “Equally Important”
Imagine you are presenting at a conference. Of the three presenters, you have been assigned the last time slot. Each presenter has 15 minutes to speak. The first two presentations run long. Of the 15 minutes you thought you had to present, you now only have 5 minutes. What do you do? If you are like me, you begin reviewing your slides, quickly determining which you will skip. In essence, you are engaging in a filtering process. In preparing for the presentation, you were also engaged in a process of filtering; the slides you created represented what you perceived to be essential to your presentation. Of the slides you had initially deemed essential, you now find yourself in a situation that forces you to determine which of them are more essential. Is this
an example of minimalism? No, because a minimalist mindset is proactive rather than reactive. What the above scenario does teach us is that when necessary we engage question is, when do we engage in this process of filtering, before or after we are under duress? A minimalist mindset encourages us to accept the inevitably of having to make choices among the “equally important.” We can make these
in a process of further refinement. Musiowsky-Borneman and Arnold pose the following two questions: “How do you decide which stakeholder receives your time and effort before the others? How do you find the time to do all of these to-do’s justice” (p. 4)? In our minds, we may perceive competing demands as equally important (or perhaps they are equally important). Our actions, however, reveal that among the “equally important” we nevertheless make decisions about the order in which we attend to competing demands, as well as the time and effort we allocate to each. In other words, our actions reveal that we prioritize our priorities. This is necessary; regardless of our desire to attend to competing demands simultaneously, the reality is that doing so is impossible. When necessary, we do in fact make decisions among the “equally important.” We engage in a process of filtering. The tough choices under the best or worst possible circumstances. A minimalist mindset encourages us to be proactive rather than reactive. Perry states that poor decision-making is “almost always a hallmark of people making decisions when they’re under duress or stress” (2020b). Therefore, we owe it to ourselves and our students (and other stakeholders) to make the difficult decisions before we are forced to do so, so that we make better rather than poorer decisions. While sometimes necessary, continuing to make decisions under a state of duress is not only unhealthy but also unsustainable and a prelude to burnout. In this regard, a minimalist approach to education may afford us “the emotional and intellectual energy” necessary to continue in our vocation (Musiowsky-Borneman & Arnold, 2021, p. 25).
The Perils of Excess (or Why We Should Continue to Examine the Strengths and Limitations of a Minimalist Approach to Education)
The Deleterious Effects of Clutter
In their chapter on decluttering the physical environment, MusiowskyBorneman and Arnold caution their readers against adopting a scarcity mindset. They argue that for many schools, a lack of critical resources is an all-too-common reality, which “can lead to a scarcity mindset, the psychological effect of not having enough to meet a need, which then becomes an overwhelming and focused concern that scarcity may continue indefinitely” (p. 38). Within the context of a school, a scarcity mindset may manifest in a compulsion not to discard any resources for which we envision opportunities for future use, however remote, resulting in cluttered classrooms. A cluttered environment may induce distress and contribute to decreased productivity. Conversely, a decluttered environment may enhance our calm and encourage increased productivity (Musiowsky-Borneman & Arnold, 2021). Although this particular example illustrates the deleterious effects physical clutter may have on our health and wellbeing, all facets of waste and clutter have the potential to adversely affect our health and wellbeing. Indeed, one of the priorities in developing a culture of minimalism (within one’s classroom) is to promote positive wellbeing, reduce stress, and discourage burnout (MusiowskyBorneman & Arnold, 2021). Discouraging burnout is particularly important at this point in time, as teacher burnout and attrition have become more intense and pervasive within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic (Rebora, 2022a; Rebora, 2022b).
Whole Child Tenant #1: Healthy
While our health and wellbeing are priorities in their own rights, they may also, directly or indirectly, affect the health and wellbeing of our students (Ortegón, 2017). Students observe how we respond to distress. Consciously or unconsciously, we model emotional regulation for our students who learn from our examples. Moreover, emotional (or relational) contagion is a function of our neurobiology (Goleman et al., 2002; Fowler & Christakis, 2011; Perry & Albon, 2019; Perry, 2020a). As Daniel Goleman, Richard Boyatzis, and Annie McKee (2002) explain, through “interpersonal limbic regulation,” “our physiologies intermingle, our emotions automatically shifting into the register of the person we’re with. The open-loop design of the limbic system means that other people can change our very physiology—and so our emotions” (p. 7).
With regard to emotional contagion, children and adults share a common neurological response; in other words, we are all susceptible to its effects (Perry, 2020a). Dysregulated adults are unable “to effectively intervene with a child” (Perry & Albon, 2019, p. 29). However, as Perry states, “If we regulate ourselves, if we take care of ourselves, we’re going to be able to help the people around us stay calmer, and everybody’s going to be physically, emotionally, and socially healthier” (Perry, 2020a). A minimalist mindset assists us in reducing the waste and clutter in our lives. Reducing the waste and clutter in our lives positively influences our health and wellbeing (Musiowsky-Borneman & Arnold, 2021). Our health and wellbeing in turn influence the health and wellbeing of those around us, of the children and adults with whom we interact. A whole-child approach to teaching and learning charges us with providing for the health and wellbeing of our students, faculty, and staff (ASCD Library, 2022). Cultivating a culture of minimalism in our schools may positively affect not only our health and wellbeing but also that of those around us, including the students with whom we work. Moreover, adopting a minimalist mindset, affords educators and students with opportunities to learn about and practice a healthy lifestyle that teaches us to “maximize existing resources in the community and create a lifelong practice and lifestyle of appreciation, efficiency, and sustainability” (MusiowskyBorneman & Arnold, 2021, p. 23).
Key Takeaways
All educators engage in a filtering process. We need to ask ourselves, what filters we are using and why, and whether they are meeting the needs of the students with whom we are working. If not, what changes do we need to make, why, and how can we achieve them?
In addition to the first set of questions, we need to ask ourselves when, why, and under what circumstances we are engaging in a process of filtering. Engaging in a filtering process while under duress is at times necessary, but it is not ideal (and may contribute to burnout). How can we incorporate a minimalist mindset and mindful approach to filtering into our regular practice? A minimalist approach to teaching and learning is proactive, not reactive. In the beginning, the “simplicity” described by Musiowsky-Borneman and Arnold requires front-loaded heavy lifting, if you will, before the benefits of a minimalist approach to teaching and learning can be realized (p. 2).
A minimalist approach to teaching and learning is dynamic and cyclical. Purposes, priorities, and resources change. Most importantly, our students’ needs change, and we have a responsibility to adapt our teaching and learning to meet their needs. A minimalist mindset may positively influence educators’ health and wellbeing, reducing stress, while enhancing calm and mitigating the potential for teacher burnout. Not only is our health and wellbeing important in and of itself, but it may also influence that of those around us, both children and adults. Developing a culture of minimalism in our schools may positively affect not only our health and wellbeing but also that of those around us, including the students with whom we work.
References
ASCD Library. (n.d.). Whole child tenet #1: Healthy.https://library.ascd.
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Chiarelott, L. (2006). Curriculum in context: Designing curriculum and instruction for teaching and learning in context. Thomson Wadsworth. Fowler, J. H., & Christakis, N. A. (2011). Connected: The surprising power of our social networks and how they shape our lives—How your friends’ friends’ friends affect everything you feel, think, and do. Little, Brown Spark. Goleman, D., Boyatzis, R. E., & McKee, A. (2002). The new leaders: Transforming the art of leadership into the science of results. Little, Brown. Knight, J. (2013). High-impact instruction: A framework for great teaching.
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Wiggins, G. P., & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by design (Expanded 2nd ed). Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Dr. Ortegón is an Associate Professor of Curriculum and Instruction at Concordia University Chicago. She is Program Leader of the masters and doctoral programs in Curriculum and Instruction, Curriculum and Instruction with a focus on Trauma and Resilience, and Differentiated Instruction. She holds a Ph.D. in cultural and educational policy studies from Loyola University Chicago and an Ed.M. in technology in education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Dr. Ortegón has taught courses in Education at the college and university level for over ten years. She formerly taught fifth through eighth grade Reading, English, Social Studies, Science, and Religion at St. Paul Lutheran Church and School in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood. She also has experience in instructional coaching, study abroad, and education outreach.
