On Monday, I wondered about fear and whether it is linked to what Isabella wrote about in Issue #5. I finished with these questions:
And now I wonder, is the staircase required when the willing disposition is missing? If so, what does it take to cue willingness? What factors lead to it going missing?
And then Belle raised an excellent point in her comment on the smata-note about performing in environments of fear, and the importance of connection and togetherness:
It is interesting that we expect students to 'perform' in an environment of fear (read exams, assessment, etc). We rarely adequately prepare them for the psychological challenge of accessing the frontal cortex when their brain is in fight, flight or freeze. Fear can stop creativity, curiosity, intelligent thinking - yet, an authoritarian classroom is based on fear (maybe even some political campaigns!). How do we build an environment that creates a 'circle of security' that allows for flow and deep thinking?
I love that phrase ‘circle of security’.
Tonight, let’s see where a chat about fear, Isabella’s ‘staircase’, willingness and the ‘circle of security’ take us.
Look out for the chat link in your inbox, from 7:20. To contribute, hit the “Like and comment” button. I hope you can make it.
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