Where Did the Body Go?

Rethinking classroom learning without the chair

A kid after my own heart! I loved digging in dirt piles to play with my plastic army men — well, that and riding my bike to investigate new streets and new sights

As I struggle to find time to get out of my chair and go outside for chores and play these long northern hemisphere summer days, I feel my body protesting the imbalance. I’m absorbed in office tasks that I really want to do, so it takes really being firm with myself sometimes to put on the hiking boots and hat, the first steps to getting a move on.

When I think about how essential being physically active has been to me over the decades, I weep for what our younger generations have lost and what they have chosen to lose during the precipitous rise in sedentary pursuits.

Whether it’s playing video games, designing graphics, keeping up with the barbarians inside the gates of democracy, and/or writing on Substack, a good chunk of our time these days is spent sitting or lying down. Similar to an LSD experience, you may have a lot going on internally, but to an outside observer, you’re not doing much.

And when it comes to children of school age, their free-time choices can compound the problem of terrible choices by the adults in charge of teaching and learning. The emphasis on MORE seat time to do MORE of what never worked in the first place (rote learning of random facts) meant eliminating almost all physical education and arts and hands-on science in favor of more sitting down.

The consequences, both for us as individuals and us as a nation, are anything but benign. Though the current vogue is to pooh-pooh medical science, and experts in particular, the facts do not lie. The results of inactivity are well-catalogued: obesity, heart disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, and a depressed, reward-seeking populace.

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What an inviting, fun environment for discovery!

The Problem: A Disembodied Approach to Learning

• Modern classrooms are built for passivity: sit, listen, write, repeat.

• Yet neuroscience, developmental psychology, and embodied cognition research all say: learning is physical, and thought is scattered throughout the body.

• Movement enhances memory, attention, problem-solving, and emotional regulation.

• But in most schools, physical activity is siloed into brief, rare PE blocks, recess (if it exists), or movement breaks that are often treated as "off-task" behavior.

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The Science: Mind = Brain + Body

• Dopamine, serotonin, and acetylcholine—all linked to learning and motivation—are enhanced by physical activity.

• Movement increases blood flow to the brain, which boosts executive function and working memory.

• Sensorimotor engagement (e.g. gesture, roleplay, hands-on tools) anchors abstract thinking in real-world experiences.

• Kids with ADHD, sensory processing challenges, or trauma histories often require movement to regulate and learn—yet they’re punished for fidgeting or pacing.

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Helping kids build on their natural curiosity is next to impossible in sedentary classrooms, but a natural outcome of engaged ones

A Better Classroom Model: Physically Engaged Learning

What does that look like?

• Math: skip counting with steps, measuring the room, using body-based ratios.

• Literacy: act out stories, use gestures while spelling, physically sequence plot events.

• History: simulations, timelines walked on the floor, re-enactments.

• Science: kinesthetic models of molecular movement, orbit dances, gravity games.

• Language learning: TPR (Total Physical Response), pantomime vocabulary.

Physically engaging learning isn’t a gimmick—it’s how the brain evolved to learn.

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Sidebar: Fitness and the Classroom Brain

• The fact that less than 25% of U.S. youth meet daily movement guidelines isn’t just a public health issue—it’s a learning issue.

• Sedentary bodies are often tired, dysregulated, and inattentive.

• Fit kids show higher cognitive flexibility, better attention regulation, and improved mood—all prerequisites for classroom success.

• Bringing movement into instruction, not just around it, addresses both learning and health at once.

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Chairs Aren’t the Problem—Stillness Is

Schools aren’t broken because students aren’t doing their jobs. They’re failing because students are asked to learn in a way that denies their biology.

It’s time to update our model of “being on task.” Stillness is not a sign of learning—engagement is. And movement is one of the fastest, most reliable, and most visible paths to engagement.

So — how do we make classroom instruction more like the video games our kids can’t tear themselves away from? Let’s see what’s so darned irresistible about gaming.

🎯 Why Movement Can't Compete (Yet): The Dopamine Gap Between Gaming and Classrooms

In the race for a child’s attention, movement and learning are losing—and the opponent is well-equipped. Video games deliver what classrooms don’t: a constant stream of dopamine-driven rewards. And that difference isn’t just about entertainment; it’s about brain chemistry.

🎮 Gaming: A Dopamine Superhighway

Games are built around a powerful behavioral loop:

• Instant feedback (score jumps, coins, effects)

• Clear, achievable goals (beat the boss, level up)

• Surprises and risk (where’d that boss come from? can I get the loot?)

• Autonomy (I choose my character, path, and strategy)

• Social affirmation (leaderboards, emotes, chats)

Each element triggers a small dopamine release—a neurochemical “yes!” that reinforces engagement and encourages repetition. That’s why kids can focus for hours while gaming but struggle through 30 minutes of reading or worksheets.

🧑‍🏫 Classrooms and Fitness Programs: The Dopamine Desert

Contrast that with most school environments:

• Feedback is delayed by days.

• Goals are often abstract and long-term (“understand algebra” or “get fit”).

• Surprises are stressful, not rewarding (pop quizzes vs. loot chests).

• Control is limited; choices are nearly unheard-of.

• Structured movement is often forced, uniform, or competitive in ways that discourage rather than invite.

It’s no wonder that over 70% of kids don’t meet the recommended daily activity levels. The environments we expect them to thrive in are not structured to hook the brain the way digital worlds are.

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🛠️ The Fix: Build Instruction that Competes —Neurologically

If we want kids strengthen their minds by exercising both brains and bodies, we need to think like game designers:

• Frequent wins: Use short, satisfying challenges inside of longer units.

• Visible progress: Let kids track improvement visually—think badges, levels, or scoreboards. The Harvard Project Zero strategy set, Making Learning Visible is an incredibly effective example.

• Autonomy & exploration: Let them choose activities or invent games, or invent new rules to old games.

• Immediate feedback: Focused, authentic praise, clear metrics, or just fun visual markers help reinforce the importance of keeping the body moving.

• Surprise & delight: Unexpected changes, challenges, or rewards keep dopamine flowing.

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🚨 2026: No Children Left on Their Behinds

Our kids aren’t “lazy”—they’re responding logically to systems built without their brain chemistry in mind. A national education reform strategy must not just make space for movement; it must make learning active and rewarding. Until we match the behavioral design sophistication of digital platforms, our schools will continue to trail behind—and so will children’s health. 🦉