By Linda Flanders
Dorothy Halla-Poe, M.A., M.S., Ph.D
As we all learn to live in a Global world and
make the transition into the Information Age,
the ability to reason is essential. The Ability
to Reason is literally, “the use of the
cognitive mental powers needed to think,
reflect, make decisions, work and apply
choice”. It’s now an art-based cognitive skills
class. The Ability to Reason Class
is currently taught for Court Services in
Goodhue County, MN as an innovative approach
for early offenders in the Criminal Justice
System. After two years, we have an 81%
non-recidivism rate. This class has been
adapted for use by school Social Workers and
Special Ed teachers, plus another adaptation
for 12 Steppers in recovery. It is also
excellent for parents with pre-teen children in
“Surviving Middle School”. The reason this
approach is so effective is because it is based
on developmental and experiential learning.
Many of the young people we teach are smart,
some gifted and yet some learning disabled. No
assessment is needed because we all do the
art-based lessons together. What they all have
in common, however, are similar responses to
the questions; “What was the reason for your
behavior?” The responses include, “ I don’t
know, “I felt like it”, or, “I wasn’t
thinking”.
In class we use clay (or Play-doh) and colored
pencils (or crayons) as the learning medium.
The class is divided into two segments during
which these 5 abstract concepts are learned.
Three concepts are covered in the first class
along with basic information about how our
brain works. The second class is a review of
the first three concepts and the addition of
two new concepts.
To THINK means we have to use our body
and brain together. The brain thinks, but
doesn’t feel or move. The body can move and
feel, but it doesn’t think. Thinking is
literally “to use one’s mind rationally in
evaluating any given situation; recognizing
that situations are always changing”. To think
requires paying attention to our environment,
evaluating a situation, and deciding our course
of action.
To REFLECT means to look back upon
something that already happened. This allows us
to learn from our mistakes or from our
successes, and gives us the ability to think
backwards. Thinking backwards teaches the
developmental skill of understanding Past,
Present, and Future and allows us to learn from
experience.
To MAKE DECISIONS means the act of
making up one’s mind. This is an action word:
Think—then Do. To make decisions we must have
options to choose from, or be able to imagine
different possibilities and their potential
outcomes. When we act only on our emotions; we
are not making decisions, we’re re-acting.
Imagining different possibilities, and their
possible outcomes is the gateway to the
cerebral cortex and allows us to expand our
horizons, develop new neural pathways; learn
self-awareness and self-control.
To WORK is literally the amount of
energy one has to put out to do something. It’s
important to understand the amount of work, or
energy, we need to pursue a dream, interest or
goal. We also need to determine how much work
we’re willing to put into a goal, and whether
we have the skills necessary to achieve that
goal. This requires an honest self-assessment.
Our future is our own choice, but the bigger
the dream or the goal, the more work it will
be. Are we ready and willing?
CHOICE is the act of making a selection.
We must have a minimum of three options before
we truly have choice. When we can see only “one
way” to do, experience or think, we are acting
with an habitual mindset; one that can turn
compulsive, possibly addictive. When it’s
“this” or “that”, we’re thinking concretely. We
simply go back and forth. True choice must
involve a third possibility. The importance of
three options is that it evolves us out of that
box. Three options can be mixed and matched and
literally create other options; just like the
three Primary Colors: mix and match to create
more.
As long as students have complied with the
instructions, created the words and definitions
out of clay, and written a simple sentence to
define the concept, they have learned the
foundation of the Ability to Reason. It is up
to students to use free will and make their own
decisions. However, decisions can now be based
on reason, and not just pure emotion.
Human beings have an incredible capacity to
think, plan, create and learn from mistakes,
but these are skills that must be taught,
developed and used. That is what this class
teaches.
Questions, references and a more detailed
article are available by calling Linda
Flanders, 715-594-3880 or email taproot@redwing.net.
Or, call Dorothy Halla-Poe at 952-233-8826 or
email taprootchaska@msn.com. Training and
Ability to Reason lesson plans are available
at:
www.taprootinc.com.
About the
Author
Linda Flanders,
a former San Francisco Police Department detective is currently the CEO of Taproot, Inc., a business that “provides
education on essential social/behavioral issues-through the use of art, entertainment and digital technology.” Linda Flanders has a degree in criminal
justice and is the author of In Hollywood Endings
and How to Get One.