In this approach to observation we do not discount our previous experience and memories. Nor do we dismiss all the valuable theories and skills in management, development and methods. Neither do we ignore the important lessons that we have learned working with particular children. All intellectual skills such as speculation, theorizing, problem solving, and judging information are very useful, if not used to separate us from being open to the fuliness and unexpecteaness of the educational situation. When teachers are stuck in some abstraction that doesn't reflect the present situation it creates anxiety.
Children can tell when teachers are seeing a situation dearly.
When we pay attention to our senses and thoughts we open to our natural emotional faculties. Upon entering a learning environment to observe or teach, we experience a rich interconnected whole. The senses serve as receptors for that wholeness, transmitting the raw information of whatever we are drawn to, repulsed by, or tend to overlook. This invokes our emotional responses. Working with emotions is perhaps the most challenging dimension of contemplative education, often seemingly inconsistent with our ideals of compassionate and effective teaching.