The young Albert Einstein was more likely to have been the child staring out of the window in class than the one bent over his books. Einstein, like many great scientists, thinkers and intellectuals, was also a documented daydreamer in the classroom.
Today, children's days tend to be highly structured and daydreaming in school is seen as time wasting and indicative of poor self-control. It is a problem which needs to be labelled and ''fixed'', sometimes medically.
Although this approach is enabling many students to focus, there are fears we may also be dulling creativity - even greatness - in the process. There is mounting research that shows the idle, ''resting'' mind is doing everything but resting, perhaps even making us smarter.
Scientific American earlier this year says,"For the first time, functional measures of the resting brain are providing new insights into network properties of the brain that are associated with IQ scores. In essence, they suggest that in smart people, distant areas of the brain communicate with each other more robustly than in less smart people."
Dr Tim Hawkes, the headmaster of The Kings School, Parramatta, recognises what he describes as "good daydreaming" and "bad daydreaming" in students. "Good daydreaming is when the mind is working on information, and for that information to lead students on journeys of imagination, unlocking creativity. Bad daydreaming is when students are thinking about an insult directed at them on Facebook. If a student was consistently daydreaming I would want to find out which type of daydreaming it is."
To nurture such critical thinking, Dr Hawkes says open-ended questions such as "If orange was a sound, what sound would it be?" or "If there was a fourth type of rock, what would it be?" will help form minds. He also garners inspiration from the Greeks, "you can choreograph wonder - you have to create a sense of wonder''.
''The Greeks only had one faculty - but it was a beauty - the faculty of wonder. The problem with teaching today is that we have an overcrowded national curriculum and narrow testing that leads to pre-prepared answers. Times of reflection are of utmost importance to foster life-long thinkers, life-long dreamers, life-long wonderers."
Dr Andrew Martin, an educational psychologist and professor at the University of Sydney, says letting your mind wander in optimistic ways, but a little more grounded in your future, can lead to good outcomes. ''It directs a child's thoughts and behaviours to relevant activities needed to realise that daydream; … it energises and inspires children; and it can enhance persistence towards a goal, especially when the chips are down …,'' Dr Martin says.
Abridged article from MIT journel.
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