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Reclaiming Boredom
July 31, 2015
Character consists of what you do on the third and fourth tries.
-James A. Michener

"It is rare that we allow ourselves to simply observe the world," points out Richard Newton in his book, The Little Book of Thinking Big (Capstone, 2014).

"It's all too easy to reach for a device to occupy our minds, to plug music into our ears and drown out our subconscious, to invite social media noise into our heads, or catapult angry birds at forts and switch off our brains altogether. Noticing, contemplation, inspiration, the next big thing often arises out of boredom; an unsung champion of thinking big. Smartphones have sucked the juice out of boredom. What used to be a rich and fertile compost for idle noticing and contemplation, is now desiccated. Like grains of sand, boredom has been blown away by the distractions of silicon circuitry.

"Reclaim it! Boredom surfaces ideas like a grow bag produces tomatoes."





Learning From the Bumps in the Road

As you read about the bumps the authors have encountered throughout their careers, you will be encouraged and challenged to think more deeply and openly about your own practices and philosophies. You will gain a renewed sense of purpose as you help children reach their full potential. And, you will discover — as the authors did — that every bump in the road is an invitation to grow and opportunity to learn.

 

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Comments (1)

Displaying 1 Comment
Andrianna · July 31, 2015
United States


I fully agree with Mr. Newton that we need to 'unplug.' However, I am not in agreement with the word 'boredom,' If we model, teach, allow ourselves and children to contemplate, notice - indeed to think about things, this is a far cry from boredom. That's my 2-cents worth.



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