Static Motion

It used to be there were two states for people: motion or stillness.

In recent years, we’ve created a third category between the two. Let’s call it static motion. Kinetic stillness.

In static motion, we get the feeling of momentum, even as we are still. It is facilitated by the screens that occupy our days. It expanded from television to computers to the ubiquitous phones. We can now have the sense of great forward motion from waking till bedtime without ever moving.

The biggest problem with this is that we trick ourselves into thinking we’re moving. Building the hard skills necessary for success requires actual motion – practicing, working, repeating. The screen work we do feels just as real but doesn’t promise any corresponding distance traveled.

Teachers and parents, then, have the responsibility to A) expect and encourage kinetic motion rather than just static motion, and B) model such in our own behavior.

There is nothing wrong with screens being an important part of our life; but until we can consciously recognize the line between kinetic motion and static motion, it’s vital that we be cautious towards the screen.