Have you ever noticed how time behaves differently depending on what you’re doing?
When you’re deeply absorbed in something you love, hours disappear in what feels like minutes. But when you’re bored, disengaged, or uninspired, even five minutes can feel endless.
This isn’t imagination. It’s a clue.
Time doesn’t change — we do. And how time feels is often the clearest signal of whether learning is feeding the spirit… or starving it.
The Strange Elasticity of Time
Sir Ken Robinson once observed something many of us recognize immediately:
When people are doing something they love and are good at, time behaves differently. It compresses. It loses its grip.
This phenomenon has a name in neuroscience and psychology: flow.
Flow occurs when challenge and skill meet, when attention is fully engaged, and when a person feels meaningfully connected to what they’re doing. In this state, the brain quiets distractions, focus sharpens, and the sense of self — and time — fades into the background.
Children experience this naturally when learning aligns with curiosity and purpose. Adults remember it when working on a passion project, creating art, solving a meaningful problem, or building something that matters.
And yet, in many classrooms, this state is rare.
The Mislabeling of Disengagement
When students are restless, distracted, or disengaged, the labels come quickly:
Lazy. Unmotivated. Not trying hard enough.
But what if those behaviors aren’t character flaws — but signals?
Signals that learning isn’t feeding their spirit.
Signals that curiosity has been replaced by compliance.
Signals that the work feels disconnected from meaning, relevance, or agency.
Children are not born disinterested in learning. In fact, curiosity is one of the most powerful forces of early childhood. Watch a toddler explore the world and you’ll see relentless focus, experimentation, and wonder.
Disengagement isn’t natural. It’s learned.
When Learning Becomes Mechanical
Many education systems prioritize coverage over connection. Efficiency over meaning. Standardization over individuality.
In these environments, learning becomes mechanical. Students are asked to move at the same pace, through the same material, in the same way — regardless of interest, readiness, or relevance.
When learning loses its human dimension, time slows to a crawl.
The brain resists what feels empty. The spirit disengages when it’s not invited to participate. And motivation evaporates when learning feels like something being done to a student rather than with them.
This isn’t laziness. It’s self-preservation.
Learning That Feeds the Spirit
Learning feeds the spirit when it does three things:
-
It connects to curiosity
Students are allowed to ask real questions — not just answer predetermined ones. -
It invites ownership
Learners have agency in how, what, or why they’re learning. -
It honors strengths and passions
Talents are discovered, not ranked. Interests are explored, not dismissed.
When these conditions exist, engagement follows naturally. Focus deepens. Effort increases — not because someone is demanding it, but because the learner wants to be there.
And that’s when time starts to disappear.
The Neuroscience Meets the Soul
From a brain perspective, flow reduces stress hormones and increases dopamine — the neurotransmitter linked to motivation and reward. Learning becomes intrinsically reinforcing.
From a human perspective, something deeper is happening.
When learning feeds the spirit, people feel alive. They feel seen. They feel connected to their own potential.
This is why artists lose track of time. Why builders forget to eat. Why learners immersed in meaningful work don’t ask, “How much longer?” — they ask, “Can I keep going?”
Education that ignores this reality doesn’t just fail to engage minds. It dulls spirits.
Rethinking What Engagement Really Means
If time drags in a classroom, it’s worth asking why.
Not: “What’s wrong with the student?”
But: “What’s missing from the learning experience?”
Engagement isn’t about entertainment. It’s about meaning.
When learning resonates, students don’t need to be pushed. When it doesn’t, no amount of pressure can manufacture genuine interest.
The goal of education shouldn’t be to manage behavior — it should be to ignite attention.
A Final Thought
When learning feeds the spirit, time bends. Focus deepens. Effort flows naturally.
So perhaps the most important question educators and parents can ask isn’t, “Are they keeping up?”
But rather:
“Does this learning make time disappear?”
Because when time flies, learning is alive.
And when learning is alive, so are the learners.
