The Brain - Part II

I think I am very aware this week on the workings of the mind. But of course when at a teacher training, it is always about the metacognative baby!

So here it was: I was driving my daughter to school while realizing in the back of my mind that I had to get to her school (somewhere I had driven hundreds of times) to the place I am training (somewhere I had driven three times.) And as I ran down the mother checklist:

"Do you have yours keys?"
"Yes."
"Cellphone."
"Yes. Two bars......."

I conducted this entire conversation, drove, worried about my class and my sub, AND plotted - in the map in my mind - how to get from Elle's high school to the other site. And I observed my thinking. What did I do?

First, I realized I wasn't the most tuned into the conversation. Pretty on the surface. It would have required me to abandon the mind map if Elle had really needed me. She was probably happy not to have me too probing:) Next, I had to turn off NPR - one too many notes. Three - I recognized I was giving the road a certain amount of attention to her school, but just enough. I knew the route.

Once I dropped her, I felt the mapping hit high gear. All my senses went on. I began to triangulate. Okay, I know A to B. How do I get to B from here? Still off my chart. I drove a bit more slowly. Give myself more time. I felt myself thinking HARD. I felt my brain stretch. I figured out C to B. My pulse sent down slightly. Down the hill, through Glen Park. Two turn options. I actually felt as if I saw the area overhead, like Google Earth. Traffic trended one way, but my gut said the other. I was in the right area but had I over or under shot? Which lane? I literally thought about the slope of the hill to gage the angle of attack. I experienced my brain working.

I nailed it. Best route. 10 minutes.

The brain is an amazing work.

DAYS to 50: 426.