Lower School Curriculum
Enrichment Programs

Attention and the Pause

Whether listening to the teacher or shooting a ball through a hoop, learning how to give full and steady attention is the key. The child who harnesses his or her power of attention has established an essential skill for success in life.

A central practice at PhilosophyDay School is what we call the “Pause”. At key moments in the day – at the beginning and end of each lesson, before and after lunch, before starting any important piece of work – the whole class is enjoined to fall still and sit quietly with their eyes closed for a few moments and rest in the deep underlying stillness and peace of their own being. The activity about to be embarked on is then ‘offered’, as it were, to the indwelling Spirit, or God. The result at the end is likewise ‘offered up.’

In a busy and often quite noisy school day, these moments of shared quiet are a great blessing, and they bring a sense of order to the entire day.