Principles of Body-Centered Education

The Sordid History of the Brain-Body Debate

I used to think of my brain and body as two separate entities. I thought of learning from only a cognitive perspective without any regard for the body or affective experience.

The pursuit of thought has long been associated with not only the acquisition of knowledge but also with Truth and existence. It was French mathematician and philosopher, Rene Descartes, who said, “Cogito, ergo sum” or I think therefore, I am.

Picture this. The year is 1677, and two theorists are engaged in a rhetorical dual. Both contenders are already dead, but it doesn’t make the debate any less significant. Descartes, the champion and visionary crowd favorite, drops an initial blow based on his tried-and-true rationalism: we are composed of two separate parts- mind and body (Eakin, 2003). Radical theorist Baruch Spinoza, the challenger, delivers a hook: our “body and mind are not two separate entities but one continuous substance” (Eakin, 2003). The crowd boos and calls Spinoza a mad fiend, but Spinoza is emboldened, throwing in that, in fact, the “mind exists purely for the body’s sake to ensure its survival” (Eakin, 2003). The crowd will not allow their precious, rationalist visionary or the precious mind to be dethroned. How ridiculous to think the mind could be subservient to the body! they shouted. Crowding the ring, the people take down Spinoza, vilifying him and burying his theory, thus solidifying rational thought as (1) supreme and (2) separate from the body for centuries to come.

This non sequitur highlights two things—first, the age and significance of the mind-body debate, and second, how much our culture influences our beliefs about mind and body.

Leading Neuroscience on the Brain & Body

Back to the present moment. I am lucky enough to have been immersed in the field of somatic psychology for the last 12 years. In that time, my belief system has shifted from the mind and body being separate entities, from the mind reigning supreme over the body, to a new, but no less controversial, understanding: that the body holds wisdom, and our bodies prime us for action based on past experience. Emotions and thoughts come later.

Leading neuroscientist, Lisa Feldman Barrett, recently introduced this radical theory—that our bodies are primed for action and that action engages even before we have conscious awareness (2017).

In other words, if you thought your mind was in charge of your body’s actions, you're a few milliseconds too late.

Jokes aside, this “new” and radical theory has thrown psychologists and neuroscientists back into the age-old debate over who is really in charge – brain or body. Despite the decades of research in her favor, many in the field are having a difficult time conceptualizing the shift in the hierarchy of the brain and body.

Barrett’s research has compelling implications in the classroom.

• First, it means our students are likely enacting patterns of action outside of their conscious awareness.
• Second, it suggests that just because we may teach to the brain, doesn’t mean the body will learn.

In somatic psychotherapy, there is an emphasis on the body over the mind. The mind can trick us, but the body knows the truth. A simple example is when we try to convince ourselves that we are fine, and we might say, “I’m fine!” but we feel a sinking feeling in our gut. To navigate through our thoughts to the real meaning, somatic psychotherapy suggests that we drop the words, and focus on the body. What does feeling fine feel like in your body? What do you notice in your body right now? And in this way, we can work with memory and create new learning without words (Ogden & Fisher, 2025).

Principles of Body-Centered Education

I have developed a few guiding principles based on psychology and current neuroscience that I apply now in education.

• We can engage the body (physical state, emotions, etc.) in learning, and doing so elicits intrinsic motivation.
• We can solidify newly learned material by incorporating movement, especially through enjoyable movement like play.
• When we teach (and learn) through our whole organization of experience (cognition, emotion, five-sense perception, movement, and somatic responses) (Ogden & Fisher, 2015), we can strengthen our ability to recall that information.

Body-centered Education in the Classroom

How can we, as educators, bring the wisdom of the body into our classrooms?

The kids in “Dear Teacher: Heartfelt Advice for Teachers from Students with Autism” have some excellent ideas (Brainhighways, 2015).

1. Break Down Implicit Biases

First, be curious about our implicit biases about what it means to pay attention or engage in class.

Consider where our belief systems about what constitutes paying attention come from.

• What did you learn about paying attention as a child?
• When a student is looking out the window, how does it make you feel?
• Do you rely on eye contact to assess your students’ levels of engagement?
• What else could you rely on?

“Even though I’m not looking at you, I can still pay attention,” a boy in the video explains (Brainhighways, 2015).

Sometimes what appears to be disengagement is actually a strategy for self-regulation.

Learners on the Autism spectrum, as well as those with ADHD, are often sensitive to stimulation (Graetz & Sisson, 2016). Dividing attention between two stimuli – visual and auditory can be confusing, distracting, or overwhelming. Looking away may help a learner to focus on the words.

When a learner who is overwhelmed by stimuli is focusing on a test, noise-canceling headphones or music without words can help drown out other sounds in the room that would otherwise be distracting. Allowing students to self-regulate and titrate the multitude of stimuli in class using resources of their choice will help them focus. Normalizing this need will help them not feel singled out for needing to do so.

2. Lead with Empathy

Assume good intentions. Doing so requires our own commitment to lifelong learning and professional development.

According to Campbell et al. (2003), our attitudes toward students with learning differences correlate to our practice in the classroom.

“I know it doesn’t always seem like it, but I really do want to listen and learn,” says a boy in the video (Brainhighways, 2015).

When we have a better understanding of how learning happens, of the role of the body in learning, and how learning differences affect a child’s ability to adhere to a (dare I say) Luddite code of conduct in school, we can relate to our students who may otherwise be labeled as disruptive, disengaged, or otherwise problematic. In addition to priming ourselves for acceptance, we can foster empathy in our other students.

Another girl in the video pleads, “Please don’t take away my recess” (Brainhighways, 2015).

In another video, called, “Be a Mr. Jensen” in which Clint Pulver (2017) describes his struggles in school and the impact one teacher made on him. Pulver, like many children with learning differences, had trouble sitting still. When he would try to focus, he would often, without realizing it, start tapping his fingers or pencil on the desk. It annoyed other learners and the teacher, and he was often disciplined for this. The "solution" he was given was to sit on his hands. Which, spoiler alter, didn’t work. One teacher, Mr. Jensen, asked Clint to stay after class one day. He was sure he was in trouble. Instead of reprimanding him, Mr. Jensen asked Clint a question—if he had ever thought of playing the drums—and he gifted him his first set of drumsticks. At that moment, Clint felt appreciated and respected for who he was. He experienced pride for his giftedness that he had been shamed by for so long.

Dupper (2010) argues that repeatedly disciplining learners who “don’t have the necessary skills to behave appropriately in school will not result in more desirable behaviors” (p.17). Low-teacher control disciplinary methods, such as Love and Logic, allow educators to engage in empathy and delay consequences (Delisio, 2008), which in turn reduces the amount of shame the learner feels. We are relational beings, and when we, as educators, have an understanding of our own responses, we can remain regulated and in social engagement with our learners.

3. Enlist the Body as an Ally

Rather than working against the body by asking students to sit still, stop rocking, stop tapping, or, worse, removing them from the room, let’s enlist the body as an ally in the learning process.

“Let me get up and move when I’m learning…. Let me rock or slouch in my chair!” (Brainhighways, 2015).

Even if we can’t envision a classroom where learners are moving around the whole time, we can incorporate movement into our schedules. The easiest way to do this is through the use of state-changers. State-changers shift the input or output of information or the environment. The attention span of a 15-year-old is about 15 minutes (and this may be shorter based on learning differences). If we can change the state of the learner every 15 minutes, we are helping them stay engaged and focused. We are inviting the body into the room.

Case Example: The Great Gatsby

I’m including a brief description of a prereading lesson for The Great Gatsby that I developed for high school students with learning differences. Throughout two class periods, I utilized various parts of the school to host learning stations that students traveled to in small groups.

Learning Stations

1. Art Gallery (Thematic Context)

• Pictures of thematic imagery from the novel were displayed in an "art gallery" in the cafeteria (e.g., the green light, the valley of ashes, etc.).
• Learners viewed the pieces and took on the role of a journalist reviewing the art of their choosing.

2. The Phone Interview (Historical and Political Context)

• Learners used a school telephone to call two teachers on break. One teacher represented a farmer entrenched in “old culture,” and the other a city-goer who embodied the “new culture” of the 1920s. I provided the teachers with scripts prior to the activity.
• Learners conducted an interview with each teacher, who answered from character.

3. Letters from Prison (Ethical Context)

• Learners encountered a series of letters and various other personal effects from a person imprisoned due to a consequence of their 1920s new-culture lifestyle.
• They were tasked with piecing the clues to the crime together, akin to a mystery game.

4. The Party (Ethical Context)

• Learners indulged in an extravagant party, with music, dancing, chocolate bon-bons, and sparkling cider, indicative of the extravagant parties of the 1920s.
• The only requirement of this station was to indulge and have fun.

By changing the input and output of information through the various learning stations, and allowing students to move around the school, eat and drink, dance, engage with hands-on materials, be curious about clues, and laugh at their teachers in character, I developed a body-centered learning experience with lasting impact. My students had the best time, and when the relevant information came up later in the novel, they remembered! They were keen to engage in conversation because they had an embodied experience.

When we teach from a body-centered approach, we can create meaningful experiences that engage students and strengthen neurological connections.

References

Barrett, L. F. (2017). How emotions are made: the secret life of the brain. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Brainhighways. (2015, August 28). Dear teacher: Heartfelt advice for teachers from students [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/lTMLzXzgB_

Campbell, J., Gilmore, L., & Cuskelly, M. (2003, December). Changing student teachers’ attitudes towards disability and inclusion. Journal of Intellectual & Developmental Disability, 8(4), 369-379. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/4305/1/4305.pdf

Delisio, E.R. (2008). Practicing Love & Logic can mean happier schools. Education World. https://www.educationworld.com/a_admin/admin/admin536.shtml

Dupper, D. R. (2010). A new model of school discipline: Engaging students and preventing behavior problems. Oxford University Press.

Eakin, E. (2003, April 19). I Feel, Therefore I Am. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/19/books/i-feel-therefore-i-am.html

Graetz, J., & Sisson, L. (2016, April 5). Autism spectrum disorder in the classroom [PowerPoint slides]. Oakland University. https://wwwp.oakland.edu/Assets/Oakland/cetl/files-and-documents/PowerPoints/Winter2016Workshops/ASDintheClassroom.pdf

Ogden, P., & Fisher, J. (2015). Sensorimotor psychotherapy: Interventions for trauma and attachment. New York: W.W. Norton & Company.

Pulver, C. (2017, December 23). Inspirational video- Be a Mr. Jensen- MUST WATCH!! [Video file]. https://youtu.be/4p5286T_kn0