Attending As a Skill

One of the fifteen skills we focus on in education is attending.   Attending means “to be present” and “to differentiate details through sensory focus.”  In this time-driven, highly stimulated, and fragmented world our attention is constantly being pulled and diced by alarms, devices, media conditioning, people, and busy schedules.  The aptitude to attend to one activity at a time for more than 5 minutes, 15 minutes, or 45 minutes seems to be diminishing and should possibly be placed on an endangered skills list.  

Yet, attending may be the foundational skill of which all other skills are built upon. In other words, the skill that rules them all. In the past with fewer distractions, more physical activity through rigorous chores, less supercharged highly-processed or synthesized foods, and longer sleep opportunities, humans have attended to activities for far longer periods.   About twenty years ago, I read about Flow theory, developed by psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, which describes the mental state of complete absorption in an activity where one feels fully engaged, motivated, and happy.  It had been one of the greatest joys of my life to spend an hour or more on a single activity for a sport in trying to master a skill, read a book, or build something as a child.  The loss of a sense of time and deep satisfaction in tapping into another level of human consciousness was well worth the cost of attending to a single activity.  

Attending is like a muscle.  It must be exercised and built over time.  As an adult, I find that I must rediscover the joy of attending on a regular basis by pushing out the alarms, devices, media conditioning, and busyness while encouraging my children to attend as well.  Faith, marriage, and children are three institutions that are also receding in the Western world.  I know of no better way to move my focus off of myself and onto worthwhile contemplations, logistics, and relationships but through proximity and affiliation with them.      

If education is not about building the muscle and skill of attending while at the same time encouraging faith, marriage, and children then I am not sure it is worth restoring or saving.