How does consciousness play a role in education?

(Philip, 2007, p. 9)

I’m really fascinated by a lot of these concepts coming together: education, adolescence and, now, consciousness. So we have these adolescents that are not always conscious of the ever-changing feelings that flow through their minds and bodies and then, we put them in the context of a classroom. What is a teacher supposed to do with all of that? We can explain consciousness, but do you think it’s important that we teach it? As educators we obviously have to value our content and the limited instruction time we’re given, but when do we begin to value the little humans in our classrooms more than the content we teach? And when/if we begin to do that, how will we ensure that we’re valuing their personal experiences in this world, especially during such a critical point in their lives? I’m personally very intrigued by trauma-informed education, for instance, and how it focuses on teaching children how to orally and cognitively connect the left and right hemispheres of their brain to be able to identify and express the way they feel. There are tremendous advantages for children with traumatic backgrounds to be able to do this, but I’d personally argue that it’s equally important for all children to learn to do the same. So what if educators were actually trained to help students, especially adolescents, express what they’re feeling and unlock their consciousness? I wonder how helpful this type of education would be.