{"id":550,"date":"2017-06-30T10:26:38","date_gmt":"2017-06-29T22:26:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/baby.geek.nz\/?p=550"},"modified":"2017-07-03T08:29:12","modified_gmt":"2017-07-02T20:29:12","slug":"living-in-all-kinds-of-worlds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/baby.geek.nz\/?p=550","title":{"rendered":"living in all kinds of worlds"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"IMG_4071\"<\/a>Yesterday there was lots of media chat from our Ministry of Education about the digital focus of this next chapter of NZ education. \u00a0That’s their priority.<\/p>\n

Because we live in a digital world.<\/p>\n

Cool.<\/p>\n

But as a mate reminded me, let’s just ensure we don’t lose sight of our natural focus. \u00a0Because we also live in the natural world.<\/p>\n

And our relational focus. \u00a0Because we also live in a relational world.<\/p>\n

An emotional world.<\/p>\n

A sensory world.<\/p>\n

And without a shadow of a lie, all kinds of sciences collide on the notion that there is a unifying reason we have evolved the brains and skills we have – the ones capable of the incredible and complex things our brains can do … like building iPads, for flip’s sake!<\/p>\n

(I mean, I can barely understand the TELEPHONE , let alone bluetooth, wifi, or how to create an app. \u00a0Full credit to the mighty cortexes and superb fine motor skills! \u00a0Hooray for the opposable thumb!)<\/p>\n

Friends, the reason we can do all that stuff is because we are social mammals. \u00a0Evolutionarily, we are not the strongest or the fastest. \u00a0But we win because we know how to function in groups. \u00a0We developed language. \u00a0Accumulated knowledge over generations.<\/p>\n

We are top of the food chain because we have nurtured this brain into being. \u00a0 And now we have this brain that has developed into something capable of witnessing itself<\/em> for the first time in history (thanks to extraordinary brain imaging technologies). \u00a0I mean, at random, let me share an example of the profound stuff we are figuring out. \u00a0This is just one of a quadrillion things published, it just happened to hit my inbox this week. \u00a0From Harvard, about the way that pondering hardwired! \u00a0<\/a>YUM!<\/p>\n

I love what Dr Tara Brach says when she reminds us that with our understanding of neuroplacticity “We can train our ways of paying attention”. \u00a0She encourages excitement in living now: “at this juncture of our evolutionary history … we can actually evolve our own brains. \u00a0We can choose to pay attention in ways that open up our heart and mind”.<\/p>\n

Right on!<\/p>\n

So let’s try not to lose sight of all that. \u00a0The digital world is cool, but it’s our social brains that brought us here. \u00a0Undermine the health of them and … YIKES. \u00a0It’s like icing a beautiful cake but then obsessing so much about the icing that the cake itself might be raw. \u00a0Or mouldy. \u00a0Or something.<\/p>\n

Here is a special treat … my dear friend Nathan courageously advocating for children on ‘Nine to Noon’ on RNZ.<\/a>\u00a0The question: Does NZ education policy align with recognised research? \u00a0(the answer … um … nope). \u00a0Love it. \u00a0Those parenting sections on a Thursday morn are often really good. \u00a0I miss them all the time but LOOK! \u00a0Oh, wondrous internet! \u00a0We can find them all here.<\/a><\/p>\n

What a time to be alive! \u00a0Hot running water, and now all this!<\/p>\n

Anyway, big thanks to the hardworking and glorious teachers of young folk in North Canterbury who came to the meeting yesterday. \u00a0Thanks to Swannanoa for hosting. \u00a0Amazing. \u00a0Can’t wait till next time. \u00a0But we failed to set a venue … d’oh.<\/p>\n

If I may, I just need to clear a few tabs.<\/p>\n

A few things from Scientific American, this one is why dads downplay their feelings<\/a>, and it led me to the wonderland of journalistic adventure that is The Conversation, from Australia. \u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

This is a wicked downloadable pamphlet from the Campaign for a Commercial Free<\/a>Childhood, <\/a>it’s a fact sheet about screen time and you need it. \u00a0 You will be able to get one from the excellent people at the Amberley Medical Centre when we have our “Technoference” prez on the 2nd of August. \u00a0That’s a wednesday.<\/p>\n

Nerd alert (Me, too) this is the Journal of the Psychology of Popular Media Culture<\/a>, and with much love to soon-to-return-home Lauren for alerting me to Sherry Turkle, here is an amazing Ted Talk. <\/a><\/p>\n

Arohanui,<\/p>\n

Stay warm, kiwis. \u00a0And stay cool, if you’re lucky enough to be somewhere warm.<\/p>\n

x x x<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Yesterday there was lots of media chat from our Ministry of Education about the digital focus of this next chapter of NZ education. \u00a0That’s their priority. Because we live in a digital world. Cool. But as a mate reminded me, … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[29,25,14,2,5,23,18,7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/baby.geek.nz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/550"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/baby.geek.nz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/baby.geek.nz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/baby.geek.nz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/baby.geek.nz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=550"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"http:\/\/baby.geek.nz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/550\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":554,"href":"http:\/\/baby.geek.nz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/550\/revisions\/554"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/baby.geek.nz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=550"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/baby.geek.nz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=550"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/baby.geek.nz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=550"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}