Article: The Concept of Now

Why is that adults can't seem to enjoy the moment, or "the now," as many pop-psychology authors put it...and yet kids can't seem to do anything BUT that? The sad truth is that it's one of the reasons that young people fall prey to the peer pressure around them. To read Dom's article on the subject, "The Concept of Now," just click here.

Comments

[Jen]

Peer pressure is an amazing power at any age...yes, even we adults fall prey to this. It is important to remember that we can teach our students/children to use peer pressure for positive results. I have spent a great deal of time talking about this very thing in the last couple of weeks in my 6th grade room. The students are slowly seeing how to positively influence change in their peers so that more positive choices will be made. As they see what this does the next day to make everything more comfortable in class, the buy in is growing. Our focus has become very simple, "How do my actions today affect my tomorrow?" 24 hours seems to be a reasonable time span to consider. This type of learning is one of the greatest treasures involved in being a teacher, and I imagine a parent.

(Dom responds: This is a terrific point, Jen. My thanks to you, and to every teacher who helps kids become beacons for positive influence.)