In education and child development, we emphasize progress: more skills, more knowledge, higher achievement. We want the best for our students, but how do we maximize student learning? When time is the limiting factor, do we lengthen class periods, reduce the length of breaks and recess, and favor frontal teaching so as to pack in more information? Not only does the Science of Learning say otherwise, but we have much to learn from the laws of Shemittah, which offers a striking educational parallel.
We are introduced in Parashat Behar–Bechukotai to the mitzvah of Shemittah, the proscribed time when farmers in Eretz Yisrael are required to cease planting for one year every seven to allow the land to rest. It’s a core agricultural principle that farmers cannot plan the same crops year in and year out expecting ever increasing output without resting or otherwise amending the fields. Rest fosters soil health, mitigates nutrient depletion, and restores the ecosystem of flora and fauna. More importantly, leaving the fields fallow during Shemittah reminds us that the land belongs to Hashem, and that we are not the ones in control of the outcome.
Like tending to the crops in a field, our children’s academic and social-emotional growth is not served by continuous drilling of new information and skills, but by the equally important, but alternating rhythms of hard work, followed by rest. Rest, both the short, frequent breaks during waking hours and sustained overnight sleep, is critical for memory consolidation: the process of transferring information on a cellular level from temporary to stable, long-term storage. Lack of rest contributes to poor emotional regulation, difficulty focusing, impaired learning, and compromised memory storage and retention.
Following the analogy one step further, we are reminded that our children, like the fields of a farmer, do not ultimately belong to us, but to Hashem. Each of our children is unique and learns at his or her own pace and depth. Learning can’t be rushed, and skills and content must be taught according to a child’s level of readiness. With feeding, nurturing, tending, cultivating, weeding out the misunderstandings, and, yes, resting, our children internalized tremendous amounts of knowledge over time. We, their parents and teachers, then get to enjoy the bountiful nachat to see our children flourish with increasing capability and understanding as they grow. Of course, we know that learning is not always an easy process, with obstacles and setbacks along the way that test not only their patience, but ours, as well. At times like those, especially, we remember that Hashem is in charge, and with His help, we and our children can overcome any challenges and learn lessons from those experiences that will serve us well in the future.
May we take from Behar–Bechukotai and Shemittah, in particular, the lesson that healthy development, whether of the crops in the field, or the children we are raising, comes from investing the time, energy, and commitment into cultivating their growth, then permitting them the time to rest and reset in preparation for the successes iy”H that will follow.
Shabbat shalom!