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Last night my family and I sat down to watch the last episode of Limitless with Chris Hemsworth, a mini-series done by National Geographic on Disney+ about Chris Hemsworth’s journey to learn how to live a healthier and longer life. There are six episodes in the series. Each one focuses on a different health aspect that contributes to your quality of life as you age.
I learned so much from the series, but after the last episode I realized that what Chris Hemsworth learned and shared applies to the classroom. About halfway through Chris is having a conversation with Dr. B.J. Miller and he gets emotional when talking about how he isn’t as present as he would like to be. Then, he recalls a conversation he had with his mother. Chris goes on to say, “I think it affected me because I don’t want to find myself rushing through things anymore. This experience is wanting me to push pause for a little while and be much more present than I’ve been.”
I took what he said to heart and really thought about it. So much of our school day as teachers is rushed. We have to keep on pace, follow our schedule as closely as we can, and we’re always, at least I am, thinking ahead to how we’re going to fit everything in. Meetings, paperwork, lesson planning, grading, and, of course, the teaching of all the standards required to be covered in one school year.
I’ve found that when doing that I am not fully present with my students. This makes it more difficult to adjust my teaching to their needs and the day is less enjoyable. Our time with our students becomes more valuable and they gain so much more when we are present with them. That’s when we’re taking the time to hear what they have to say and further building a relationship with our students. Read more about the importance of building relationships here. Then, we can use that to further discussions, adjust for misunderstandings, and take advantage of all of those unscripted teachable moments that occur throughout the day.
And sure, we’ll still have some crazy or not-so-good days, but overall our job as teachers become more enjoyable for us. That leads to less stress, which is better for our minds and bodies. Those other things we have to accomplish will still be there. We’ll get to them as we can. It’s more important to be there for our students when we are with our students.
Also, bear in mind that when we leave school we don’t have to continue thinking about our students or the tasks we didn’t get to that day. Be present at home, too. You and your family will be better for it. If you struggle with leaving your work at work at the end of the day, read this post for tips on how to do just that.
In short, if you haven’t yet watched Limitless with Chris Hemsworth, I highly recommend it. It leaves you with a lot to think about. I applaud Chris Hemsworth and the team that helped him to put this docuseries together. Let me know what you thought of it in the comments below.
Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
