Years ago, teachers used to tell students to “put on their thinking caps.”  It seemed to me that students, like all people, were already always thinking, so what were teachers really trying to tell us to do?

After years as a teacher, I understand that the directive was about getting out of our own thoughts and into the teacher’s lesson.  It was about engagement with something outside of ourselves.

In fact, this is always the first step in the multi-step process of taking responsibility for school work.  The other steps include planning, execution or follow-through and self-checking.

To engage, often we must overcome anxiety, sometimes leaning into an area of discomfort.  Once engaged, we must make a plan.  Once we have a plan, we must follow-through.  Once, we’ve followed through, we must check to see if we have done what was required.  During the self-check stage, we make changes and improvements.

This set of management skills is what psychologists and others refer to as “executive function.” Some students benefit from thinking of themselves as “their own boss.” Others think of themselves as both the boss and the employee; they must give–and take– direction.  However one visualizes or discusses the process, the point is this—large projects need to be broken down into smaller pieces, and each piece needs to be managed as its own endeavor.