To get a visual representation of the following parts, hold up an arm and make a fist. The forearm represents the brainstem and your fist is the mid-brain. Wrap your other hand over your fist to represents the cortex.
 
In our Confirmation program, we spend a lot of time sharing with kids about the Trinity. Did you know that there is another important trinity to think about when working with kids? It’s called the triune brain: the brainstem, the mid-brain, and the cortex
 
Before you think I’m going to get too deep in to medical school-type jargon, please realize that the more I’ve read about brain function, the more I’ve discovered how important it is to, as Faith Inkubators says, “teach the way the brain learns.” In thinking specifically about the triune brain, I’ve discovered that each of the parts plays a very specific role in how we learn. Think of the brainstem as responding to the climate, the mid-brain to the community and the cortex to the curriculum. When impulses occur in the brain, they travel from the brainstem to the midbrain, and finally to the cortex. To put things in more practical terms, think of this path as flowing from climate to community to curriculum. Notice the order. Learning takes place if the climate and community are taken care of first. Learning is the last thing the “on the brain’s mind.”
 
Brainstem/Climate – This part of our brain responds to physical climate and the “safety” of the climate. If a kid is too warm, too cold, too hungry, etc., chances are they’ll “stay in their brainstem” and won’t be ready to learn. If a child feels threatened physically or emotionally in any way by someone in his or her group (rolling eyes during highs and lows, put-downs, sarcasm), they won’t be ready to focus on learning and listening to what the teacher has to teach.
 
What can you do? First think about the space you use for both large group time and small group time and see if your physical climate is comfortable. Use the “Arranging a Small Group Space” test from the FINK Guide Training Manual to see how your space rates. Make any changes you need to in order to create a comfortable climate for learning. Next take steps toward eliminating threat in your small group. Create a “brain-affirming learning climate” that eliminates threat:
 
•  Create a sense of belonging in your group by special handshakes, a group name, and rituals. I bought everyone in my small group the same color pen and we called ourselves the “purple girls”. One of my Guides had her group create a “covenant” and begins each session reviewing the group’s expectations. We used a travel theme (based on Jeremiah 29:11) for confirmation this year and assigned each group a road sign. It was an instant group identity, some groups are still trying to figure out what their road sign means!
 
•  Allow kids to write down their answers and share them in pairs before sharing them with the large group. By sharing them with a partner first, they will discover if they have “the right answer” and will be more comfortable sharing it with everyone. I at times have had my girls share what their partner said rather than their own ideas, if you are sharing someone else’s thoughts it is less threatening.
 
•   Tell your group your expectations and the behaviors you find acceptable. Be consistent! Your group is watching you and if you let “threats” happen, individuals or even your whole group will shut down. Even a simple “sigh” can cause individuals to throw that “switch” and retreat into their brainstem. I made the mistake of not calling my girls on this and deeply regret what it did do some of the individuals in our group.
 
Once the climate is taken care of, your group is on the way to being ready to learn. Look for more on this triune brain concept, specifically ideas mid-brain/community and the cortex/curriculum, in future editions of the FINKmonthly e-newsletter.
 
Tracy Lysne (tlysne@attbi.com) is the Guide Development Specialist at Trinity Lutheran Church in Stillwater, Minnesota. Tracy is also the Senior High Breakfast Club leader for a group of four young women who began as a Head to the Heart confirmation small group.