THINKING ABOUT YOUR THINKING - THE METACOGNITIVE PROCESS

When I was a young teacher in Iowa many years ago, I attended a six-week workshop at our local education area office. We met Tuesday nights from five-thirty to about nine o’clock for six weeks. I don’t really remember why I signed up for this particular workshop series, it might have been the certificate renewal credit or that other friends from school were taking it. I honestly don’t remember today. I do know it wasn’t the topic of the workshop it was titled, “The Brain.” I was okay smart – but I wasn’t scholarly.

“The Brain” heady stuff (pun intended) for a second-or-third year teacher and coach. Yet, something from that workshop has stuck with me for nearly forty years – I remember the instructor talking about the metacognitive process, metacognition, which she loosely defined as “thinking about your thinking.” It fascinated me then and it haunts me today. 

As you might expect – the politics of the day, coupled with all the challenges we face as Americans, as human, has had me thinking about my thinking. Thinking about why I believe what I believe, who I choose to associate with, and why I do the things that I do. 

And then this morning on my daily walk around the neighborhood I saw a friend I see every morning – we sometimes talk for a moment, other times we toss out a greeting as we continue to walk on in opposite directions keeping to some unknown schedule that retired and out of work people have. Still other times we just nod and continue on as more important things pull us deeper into the day.  

Today was like any other day – we nodded a knowing nod, which I took to be about the election. Then I started thinking. Thinking about my thinking and why I thought that. Not just about why I assumed my neighbor shared the same sense of politic as I did since we had never talked about politics or anything really, but about how I really see people. And why I tend to make judgments about them and what they may be thinking. 

I think I have tended to make superficial judgements in who I like – perhaps based on a reflection of my own sense of how they fit into “my” world. Or how they respond to me, the knowing nod, the passing witty comment, or how they speak generally – do they seem happy, positive, and fun.  Or is it perhaps what they wear or is it that they look like they “belong.” 

I think my thinking has been flawed. 

A ton of stuff has happened in the past forty-eight hours – there is an opportunity for all of us to think about our thinking. To rethink our view of who can and who can’t, of who should and who shouldn’t. We can rethink our use of power and privilege. We can rethink how we treat each other, and we can think about how our thoughts limit our and perhaps the possibilities of others and on the flip side – we can think about how a change in our thinking can empower, inspire and enrich others. 

I can’t help thinking that if you are reading this – you think about your thinking and you understand the power of engaging in the metacognitive process – and you intuitively know the power of positive thought.  I can’t know what you are thinking. I can’t think for you, but I can tell you this … I am rethinking everything. It’s time for a change.

Think about that.

Back to my neighbor …

Problem Solving

How does your team solve the problems of the day – at Thoughts2Lead we take a careful methodical approach leading to lasting solutions. We intentionally go slow to go fast.

We focus on the understanding the problem; getting everyone around the table to actively define and actually articulate the problem.

Once we know the problem, we generate as many thoughtful solutions as possible – withholding judgment and resisting the urge to offer comment. Once we have a pool of possible solutions, we begin to assess their viability and we generate a list of pro’s and con’s. Once we can clearly see the risks and benefits of our solution set – we can make an informed choice that takes us forward.

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Truth Can Come From Unlikely Voices

Years ago, I had just finished speaking to a local group and while it wasn’t my best speech, I was proud of the fact that I had gotten more than a few rounds of applause and I had finally named some of those who I believed had created the conditions I found myself in.

The good Lord has a way of humbling you when you start letting your ego drive you, or in Baton Rouge as a few of the locals described it … started to smell yourself, because he sent an Miss Linda to me. At first, I thought this sweet older woman was coming up to congratulate me on my remarks but when that boney finger started waiving; I knew it was not congratulations she had in mind. Ms. Linda first introduced herself and then leaned in close and said, “Mr. Superintendent, you might think you are all that but let me tell you a thing or two. First, when you point your finger at someone else, look at your hand and you will see three fingers pointing right back at you. And second, ‘dem people aren’t here any-more and these kids are counting on you.”

I learned in that moment that blaming and sidestepping your responsibility wasn’t going to make us better. Pointing out what others hadn’t done wasn’t productive. It wasn’t going to make us better. It didn’t motivate or inspire others. Rather it kept us focused on the very things we wanted to move beyond.

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