Neuroscience of Caring

A colleague shared this article by Zaretta Hammond.  As educators and parents it is important for us to show our children we care, see their unique gifts, and expect their best.

The Neuroscience of Caring and Being Cared For

There’s real science behind this idea of caring as the on-ramp to learning. When we feel cared for, our brain is flooded with neurotransmitters and hormones like oxytocin, the same hormone that makes moms fall in love with their babies even after the pain and effort of labor. These “happy chemicals” tell our pre-frontal cortex, the thinking part of the brain, that all is safe socially, emotionally and physically. All systems are a go for learning.

What happens if you don’t feel safe or cared for? Ain’t no learning happening. The flood of stress hormones like cortisol divert blood from the pre-frontal cortex to the amygdala, an almond-shaped organ in our reptilian brain, in preparation for fight or flight. Not the time for learning. The brain is signaling us that it’s time to respond to threats, not lay back and chill.

It’s just like insisting your kids eat their vegetables and refusing to let them eat donuts for dinner. You know veggies are good for them. And while donuts may make them happy in the moment, it’s not in their best interest in the long run.

Hammond is an educator and writer passionate about teaching and learning. She lives in the San Francisco Bay area. 

Reading Principles

Author B. Sanders states, "The critical role of reading widely cannot be overemphasized. - The importance of practicing, using and 'living' literacy is often overlooked."  

What does this mean to us as educators and parents?  We need to provide more opportunities for our children to read, read, read.  We should model good reading as well as what readers do when they hit tricky words or have difficulty understanding a text.  Talk purposefully about the text and what it means to us.  Reading can have a powerful effect on our children!  Research shows that the amount students read affects not only their reading skills, fluency, and comprehension, but significantly affects their overall academic achievement as well as their knowledge of the world.   Our goal is to read, read, read!