Our brains do a lot of work in order to learn, and a lot of mental skills happen in the background. Noble teachers help students learn to organize, prioritize, use flexible thinking, and exercise self-control. Those are executive functions, and that is the topic of today’s episode.
Gayle Cole:
Where would any of us be without executive functioning?
According to the website understood.org, “Executive function is a set of mental skills. It includes working memory, flexible thinking, and self-control. We use these skills every day to learn, work, and manage daily life. Trouble with executive function can make it hard to focus, follow directions, and handle emotions, among other things.”
So, what that quote from Understood.org is saying, is that our brain does a lot of work in order to learn, and there are skills that we can build so our brain is more effective at learning. At Noble, we understand that. We teach all the academic content students need to know, but we also teach and assess executive functioning as a crucial part of our curriculum. All schools should, but in schools with large class sizes and rigid schedules, it unfortunately can fall to the wayside. I have talked to current and past Noble Academy parents who say our focus on executive functioning helps improve learning for kids, and the result can have positive effects on family life as well.
Angela:
So the executive functioning support that is in place at this school is phenomenal in that he knows exactly what he needs to do. The amount that's given to him to do is very appropriate, and that's a huge deal for me. I very much feel like children need time at home to live a life outside of school.
He has an appropriate amount of work. He knows what to do. He knows that he can contact his teachers at nighttime if necessary to get clarity on, an assignment. And he is not asking me for help. He's not asking me for clarity.
The planner that Noble uses with all of the students is amazing. Before my son leaves each individual class, he writes down what the homework is for that day. His teacher will initial that he has completed writing down what his homework is. And then at the end of the day, his adviser looks over all of this with him.
And then I sign the planner at night, which ensures that I have looked at his planner. And then there's an area that reminds us to get in, if we can, 20 minutes of reading daily.
This has been a fabulous game changer for us in that we actually know what homework is. My son actually knows what his homework is. He knows in advance when he's having tests, he knows that he is expected to study for those tests in advance.
It just teaches him to plan. It teaches him to use his time wisely. It teaches him to prioritize. These are all skills we need as adults. Those skills aren't going to magically happen at 18 if you're not appropriately and incrementally teaching those skills as they get older.
The executive functioning that's in place is amazing, and I see him growing in his confidence. And I also see him being more interested in school in general. He's just more interested in school. And I think that's because he does feel more confident.
MICHELLE:
When he was in middle school and starting to make that transition, like moving to different classes and having to keep up with materials, assignments, different teachers, again, that was a big struggle for him. So, knowing that Noble wasn't just gonna teach curriculum and content in a different way, but they were trying to prepare him to learn how to deal with some of those shifts and changes that are part of that, you know, a typical kind of educational experience, I think it was incredibly important. So, learning that he had an opportunity at the very start of the day to come to an advising group to kind of reflect on the day, what do you need to do to be prepared, How do you take notes in your planner so that you can go back and reference this? Okay. We're also gonna regroup at the end of the day. I can't tell you when he was, you know, in elementary school, at his previous school, how many times he'd come home and there'd be homework and he wouldn't have a book or he wouldn't have the worksheet that he was supposed to complete. So even the check-ins at the close of the day to make sure you have everything that you need, you're clear about what you need to accomplish for homework that night, It made our evenings much more enjoyable. I mean, he obviously still had homework, which I think is part of that, you know, excellence in curriculum and still pushing the kids to achieve as much as they can. But we had far fewer, you know, arguments, if you will, in the evening about not having your book, not being clear about what your homework is supposed to be. And I think any parent, with a child that has ADHD or some, you know, struggles with organization, they've all I think we've all probably had some of those nights, and they're they can be rough.
So not to have to do that every evening was a huge relief. And so I think it was through the advising, helping them develop the tools and and, like, the habitual like, the habits.
Declan:
Everything seems very intentional at Noble is the way I put it. Like, the word intentional that, you know, from the, the agenda, to the scheduling, the Scheduling, like the snake scheduling or how would you call that? Waterfall schedule? The waterfall schedule. The, you know, the small class sizes, the additional time sort of, I don't know what you call that sort of resource time or the one on one time that they have, the extra help time…
The advisory time sort of, you know, so starting the day or finishing the day with the advisory time, the electives and the clubs, you know, the focus on executive functioning. Everything is very intentional. Our previous experience was, it was either accidental or, dare I say it, on some occasions, it almost felt sort of, you know, begrudging, sort of like, well, okay. Well, you know, just sort of will I guess we'll have to do that.
Joy:
At Noble, our daughter is able and willing, and will just do it on her own, log on to the system and see what her current grades are and she'll report that.
There was none of that before, I think everything was just too overwhelming and too much, but she's really being taught these skills that are going to benefit her, throughout her educational career and life.
GAYLE:
You just heard from Angela, Declan, and Joy, three current Noble Middle School parents. All three have been on previous Blue and Gold Chat episodes, and they share something else important: they were willing to relocate their families for the sole purpose of enrolling in Noble Academy. If you have not heard those stories, I hope you will consider going back to give them a listen. You also heard from Michelle, a past parent, whose son is grown and a plumber now, and her stories on previous episodes of the Blue and Gold Chat really speak to her commitment to understanding her son, and following his lead in some ways as he revealed what he needed in order to succeed.
Over the course of this season, we have also heard from past Noble students, and not only do they remember what they learned about executive functioning, but they see the value in continuing to use those skills in their careers and everyday lives. If you are a regular Blue and Gold Chat listener, you may remember Greg, who currently works in finance. He and his sister Clare both attended Noble quite a few years back, and their mother Jane still sometimes covers our Upper School front desk when we need a hand. All three graciously allowed me to interview them. In my conversation with Greg, he shared something we didn’t include previously, because I wanted to save it for today.
Gayle:
We often talk about executive functioning skills at Noble. Is there any strategy that you still use today, whether it’s organizing your notes or something else, that you learned at Noble?
Greg: The biggest thing I use in my day-to-day life came from Mr. Miller. I wasn't very good at math and struggled to process everything. We'd come in early on certain days, take a blank piece of paper, and break down the problem in the simplest way possible. That’s been incredibly beneficial with all the financial math in my job and was a big reason why I was able to get my licenses.
I would love to thank all my teachers at Noble for giving me the confidence I lacked and pushing me forward. Looking back, it's an unforgettable experience, and I'm so thankful for it.
Gayle:
Dr. Russell Barkley, a psychologist known internationally for his expertise on ADHD, said, “Executive functioning is not about knowing things. It’s about using what you know for effective performance in life-for social, occupational, and educational effectiveness.” I am proud of the work we do at Noble to help students use their knowledge effectively. It’s just one of the many reasons that our Knights Say, “I am proud to be Noble.”