CAN WE HARNESS THE POWER OF QUANTUM PHYSICS TO IMPROVE TEACHER WELLBEING ?
BY : CATHERINE O ’ FARRELL
As educators , we are all familiar with the self-fulfilling prophecy – the experiment where there are two classes of mixed ability students – one teacher is told their class is highly able while the other is told that their class is of very low ability – sure enough , by the end of a term , the class where the teacher believes the students to be of lower ability is performing significantly less well than their equal peers while the class labelled as highly able advanced beyond their previous expectations . The expectation created the reality . The prophecy was fulfilled .
A recent YouGov survey , as part of the Teacher Wellbeing Index , found that over half of teachers in the UK say their mental health has declined significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic revealing a profession feeling unsupported and unappreciated ( EducationSupport . org . uk , 2021 ). USA Today ( Jan , 2021 ) reported widespread concerns headlining that “ teacher ’ s mental health suffers in ways they ’ ve never experienced ”. The Bastion , in 2020 , reported the hidden threat to teachers across India ; as declining mental health during the Pandemic – it is , essentially , the hidden pandemic , waltzing hand in hand with the COVID-19 pandemic , but attacking silently .
What if we could turn the selffulfilling prophecy effect to our advantage and use this concept on developing positive wellbeing for teachers ?
The connection between quantum physics and how the brain functions , including the consciousness , has become a topic of deep discussions from a scientific , philosophical , psychological and existential point of view over the past years .
How is this relevant to wellbeing ?
Given the enormous computational power of the brain one might more appropriately ask “ How could this NOT be relevant to wellbeing ?”
Paolo Di Sia , in a paper on Mindfulness , Consciousness and Quantum Physics , discusses how recent developments in the quantum revolution demonstrate the connection between quantum physics and aspects of psychology with implications for living a fully aware life .
The brain is an extremely complex reality , probably the most complex known to man and complex quantum systems are notoriously difficult to analyze and manipulate . Difficult but not impossible .
How is the brain quantum ?
“ Two fundamental biophysical operations are the basis of processing information in the brain : the chemical transmission through the synaptic slice and the generation of action potentials . They include thousands of neurotransmitter ions and molecules , coupled in such a way to be extended for dozens of micrometers ” De Sia . The brain is essentially , and this is supported by thousands of research papers , a complex quantum world .
Now , this sounds very science heavy but bear with me !
So , if the brain is a quantum world – we can therefore apply theories of quantum physics to it – right ?
Right ! So how do we do it ?
Quantum theory relates to the role of the conscious observer in the act of measurement .
Can our thoughts change the course of events and change our reality ?
Think of Schrodinger ’ s cat !
It is possible to change our reality from what we are experiencing now , if we start to change the way we think ?
If we apply theories of quantum physics to the brain- then the answer is Yes . We can change how our
40 Term 3 Apr - Jun 2021
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