Executive Functioning - You've Got the Power

If humans are naturally drawn to learning, why doesn't everyone enjoy school? If everyone has unique gifts and talents, why do some people feel dumb, depressed and insignificant? If you want something different, you need to do something different. Welcome to the element is everything podcast where we discuss real world experiences, research and strategies around finding your element, what it is, how to do it, and how to support others in developing it. Please welcome your host with over 30 years experience in public education and independent learning, Terry Nova check. Imagine feeling smart, balanced, important. connected. Today is part one of four on connection is key. Last month, as we introduced the concept of finding your element, we talked a lot about the importance of self worth and mindset about how what we know and how we feel about ourselves impacts us. This month our focus is going to be on our relationship with others and learning. Wait, why don't you ask? We don't have a relationship with learning relationships or between living things between people? Well, let's think about this. A relationship is about connection. And it's only when we feel a positive connection with learning that we feel a sense of belonging, motivation, or desire to gauge and do better. From my observations, I find our relationship with learning to be most influenced by what we observe and taken from others, rather than our natural and personal experiences. When people around you are commenting, aren't you excited school is out, or oh bummer, we have to miss out on a great activity because you have to go to school. Or you should be proud of that GPA. Or worse, you should work on that GPA. We believe those to be the norm that we should not enjoy school, that school is barely a step up from prison. And that grades are how learning and our self worth are measured. And homeschoolers aren't off the hook here. Because we can be guilty of degrading language as well. For example, when we say I'm not a math person, so I can't help you, or I never liked social studies. So you just need to ask your dad. Or here's my favorite, you better do your work or I'm going to make you go to school. One of Mark Twain's famous sayings comes to mind here for me, I never let my schooling get in the way of my education. Too often we talk and act as if learning is something that happens only at school, that it has to be miserable to count as learning, and that learning rests on the shoulders of teachers. No, no and no. For better or worse. learning happens all the time and everywhere. The most impactful learning is enjoyable, and our learning is our responsibility. As a parent, your child's learning will be most influenced by not the teacher, but by you. The things you say the things you do and the home environment you create. While I'm sounding a bit like a high and mighty homeschool parent here, it's important that you know my kids attended a public high school for five semesters each. And then they both completed bachelor's degrees at public colleges. They have had their fair share of what I would consider inadequate teachers and professors. They have also had a great deal of wonderful teachers and professors. But regardless of their experience, the message was always the same. What are you going to do about the current state of what is given to you? I mean, I know it sounds a little cliche, but bottom line is it is what it is. If you have a teacher that gives exams that relate very little to what was actually taught, what are you going to do about it? every decision we make has consequences and sometimes there is not an option to achieve the consequences we want. And so we have to come up with a plan B. What's important is how you handle it. Which brings us to executive function skills. executive functioning skills relate to memory thinking and self regulation. Things like mental flexibility, adaptive thinking, time management, planning and organization, focus and self control. They're the higher level cognitive skills that help us utilize other cognitive abilities. Just like executive power, you know the power to like put plans and actions and laws into effect. executive functions are our ability to design and carry out plans and make decisions. You know, the old mom saying make good choices. Well, that's all about executive function skills. We are not born with these skills they develop over time. And just like anything, there are some who grasp these skills better than others and acquire them at higher levels. But we all have the potential to develop them. And like any living thing, environment is key. There are always anomalies, of course, those who overcome the odds and develop strong skills in spite of an unhealthy environment, and others who struggle even when they're in a healthy environment. But generally speaking, there are indeed key environmental factors and practices that can make or break the development of executive function skills. When it comes to organization, we all know the person with a place for everything and everything in its place. That one packing the planner with color coordinated event scheduled for every member of the household. We also know that absent minded professor who is smart as a whip, but can't find the car keys. While we all have the ability to develop those executive function skills necessary to bring us joy and help us achieve our goals. It's going to look different for each of us. And sometimes it might mean we need to modify our goals. Do I have the ability to play piano like Mozart? Not a chance. Now I know that contradicts the idea behind the growth mindset. But come on, we can't ignore reality here. While I could have become a very good, maybe even accomplished pianist, if I had practice, like my mother told me when I was young, it's not likely I would ever have had the impact on the world of music as Mozart had. Had I started playing tennis at the age of three like the Williams sisters, would I have been as good an adult tennis player as them? Hmm, maybe? Maybe not. My point is we all have limits. And there are a lot of factors that play into our development, some within our control, and others not. I think it goes without saying there are situations which create challenges in developing these skills such as brain trauma and autism. But there are other influences as well. For example, anxiety, those feelings of tension and worry that impact our daily lives and cause physical changes like increased blood pressure, sweating tremors. Anxiety is the most common mental disorder of today. And it's very evidenced by the increase in research book sales, prescription medications and mindfulness products. Anxiety undermines achievement, and it comes in many forms. And although it can manifest itself in the learning environment, it may not be associated with academics at all. We can experience anxiety around a situation among family and friends, or just society in general, an argument between parent and child a comment from a friend or something like a theft in the neighborhood can all trigger concern of I'm not loved, or I'm not safe. A child can hear a negative comment about the shoes they're wearing, and it stays with them the whole day. anatomy of a cell What do I care my shoes don't match my outfit. For some unmatching shoes can have the same effect on the ability to focus and function as losing a family member. Self Esteem can create a vicious cycle. Anxiety negatively impacts our ability to focus, which then negatively impacts our ability to perform, which then creates more anxiety because now we're concerned about other people's perception. While bullying has been around as long as humans, it has become more prevalent in the last decade with technology. No longer confined to the schoolyard bullying happens more often in front of a larger audience. And bullies are now able to remain anonymous, which a lot of times tends to give them more power. One out of four people report being bullied during their adolescent years. While we talk about children needing strong social skills and self esteem to combat bullying, How much of that is directly connected to executive function skills? bullies behave as bullies, when animal instincts or primal responses are stronger than the human skills of reason and compassion. Simply put, bullies do not have the skills to navigate difficult situations without resorting to intimidation and other bullying tactics. More often than not, bullies bully because they are feeling bullied, or just feeling insignificant. So how do we build the skills that keep us from acting like a bully or being bullied? What are the modern triggers? anxiety is a natural emotion. We are hardwired for it. It is our internal fight or flight necessary for survival. Could today's technology be yesterday's saber toothed tiger? For our purpose? Here I'm using the term technology to include the internet, social media and smartphones because studies around each of them independently continue to show the same results. Multiple studies have shown that people who engage with technology often report higher levels of depression and anxiety. What is unclear, however, is what is the chicken and what is the egg? Is technology the cause of the condition? Or did the condition exist prior and those individuals turn to technology because of it? Like the printing press the internet is a double edged sword. While it improves access to information. Sometimes it can be overwhelming. Sometimes ignorance truly is bliss. Technology has been good for us. It has provided more efficiencies. It's provided us relief from mundane tasks, and it's created more time for leisure. So what are we doing with that time? Are we taking the much needed sanity break? Try stepping away from information for a couple of days and see how you feel. You might find your feel anxious because life seems slow and boring. We have become less adept at handling the slower pace of real life. How many children do we know are able to ride in a car without an iPad, television or other electronic device to entertain them? How many adults do we know can sit in the DMV or doctor's office without looking at their phone? Okay, wait, maybe the DMV is not a good example. You could watch it Gone with the Wind in its entirety in the time it takes to get help there. But anyway, this is a condition commonly referred to as popcorn brain and addiction to the constant stimulation we get from technology. That new information you just learned in your browser search, the number of likes that you get from that picture you post. The good news you read via email, all those things released dopamine that feel good chemical in the brain. Aside from doping up our brains technology gives off blue light, which has shown to disrupt the REM sleep cycle and it messes with our circadian rhythms when used before sleep. circadian rhythms is a term for our natural clock. The problem? Well, circadian rhythms also play an essential role and executive functioning. Each of us has a crono type, a pattern in which we are at our peak and are low in a 24 hour period when it comes to regulating emotions, focusing attention, organizing a project planning a day and even seeing different points of view. There is evidence that attention deficit hyperactive disorder or ADHD is a result of circadian rhythm being out of sync due to delayed release of nighttime melatonin. a night owl can wake feeling like he's flying into a tornado for the better part of the morning. Is it any wonder ADHD and anxiety often come as a package deal and talk about ADHD. That brings me to this topic of physical exercise. Studies of children have found that regular physical exercise, especially aerobic exercise can expand working memory. It also improves selective attention and the ability to ignore disruptive impulses. Regular exercise and overall fitness have been linked to academic achievement as well as success on specific tasks like safely crossing a busy street while talking on a cell phone. Even though we all know that's not a good idea. I remember a student I had in my sixth grade class back in the 90s. I'm going to call him Charlie. He had quite the reputation as the wild child Every teacher knew of him, even if they'd never met him. I had him during the afternoon, his witching hour, whenever Charlie got wound up the energy in the entire classroom changed. The more he tried to control it, the worse it got. One day I just told him, You know what, Charlie, just go out, run a lap, walk it off, whatever you need to do, and come back when you're ready. After spending some time trying to figure out if this was some sort of setup, he left that the classroom. I'm sure he contemplated leaving the campus or just not returning to class at all. But he didn't do it. He ran a lap and he came back. He entered the room. I smiled at him helped him transition back to work, and all was good. I never had problems with Charlie again. When it came up in a discussion with him. Months later, I told him, I was surprised he had never asked to go out for a run. After that. He said he didn't need to. He ran his lap during lunch before going to his afternoon classes. On his own sixth grade Charlie learned how to manage himself. While executive functioning reaches its peak levels and young adults it can still be improved with aerobic exercise long into the senior years. studies on young adults find that those who exercise regularly post quicker reaction times give more accurate responses and are more effective at detecting errors when engaged in fast paced tasks. Research on older adults has found that regular aerobic exercise can boost the executive functions that typically deteriorate with age. Lastly, a correlation has been found between healthy eating and high levels of executive function performance as well as unhealthy eating lower levels of executive function performance. One study specifically confirmed that high fat and sugar impede neuroplasticity, the brain's ability to change and adapt. Lastly, a correlation has been found between healthy eating and high levels of executive function performance as well as unhealthy eating and lower levels of executive function performance. One study specifically confirmed that high fat and sugar impede neuroplasticity the brain's ability to change and adapt. Sugar sends a rush of pleasure to the brain, which interferes with our inhibition to say no to sugary treats, which then undermines our ability to delay gratification. If you want to put your children to the test offer a favorite treat, tell them they can have it now. Or if they wait until you get back they'll get to. There's a well known experiment called the marshmallow experiment. You can find it online or go to our website to find the link to one of them. It's pretty cute. And a final note, like anything executive function skills develop with practice. In order to learn to filter distractions, one needs to be exposed to distractions. In order to learn to switch gears, one must experience real world exposure to a daily schedule and then the unexpected. This is where the Goldilocks syndrome comes into play. Because stress and boredom can both impair executive functioning, it's not good to have too many distractions and is not helpful to have none at all. So how do you get it just right, you need to try to identify when executive function skills are strong and weak. For example, if the issue is organization, is it most evident when being expected to shift from one thing to another? Or is it from being easily distracted with focusing on just one task? Is it something that can be improved by making lists or taking the time to return materials where they belong? Sometimes we jump too quickly to the idea of a learning disability when it could be solved with more structure, self reflection, and meaningful purpose. Check out the element is everything website for a list of strategies to develop empathy, humility, mental flexibility and confidence for improved executive function. Join us next time as we meet with a licensed family counselor and positive discipline trainer about finding connection through a sense of belonging. As always, if you found anything in this podcast worth knowing, please share it with a friend teacher, a business leader or other decision maker. Likewise, if you have any feedback you can offer me please contact me through the element is everything website. Thank you for being part of my element, ecosystem.