I recently posted an article on Mindfulness, “Mindfulness is Good for the Heart as Well as the Soul”. In that article, I talked a little about Mindfulness in schools and how this can have a profound impact on children, teens, and their learning. Today I will expand on how teachers can bring Mindfulness into their classrooms as well as how parents can support this learning in the home. Additionally, there is a multitude of personal benefits for teachers who embrace this learning model in their classrooms.
The Hesitation Around Mindfulness in Schools
Most people work from the assumption that mindfulness is good, embracing a tried and trusted approach to managing and calming one’s emotions, especially for school-aged children. There are some points of caution however that are worth addressing.
The first is that there needs to be support for teachers. When it comes to any school initiative, it is not typically whether or not the approach is a good one or not, it is rather the professional development that teachers receive which determines its success. To achieve success, the support needs to be consistent and teachers need to feel confident with the material. One resource available for this purpose comes from Mindful Schools which supports the implementation of mindfulness in schools through teacher education.
The second point of caution addresses the many systemic and racial injustices present in our communities. In my research for this article, I came across a wide range of information regarding the way in which mindfulness can be a disservice to communities of color. Mindfulness has “come up” through the mainstream as being associated with white, privileged communities. Teaching mindfulness needs to be done within the context of the implicit bias that is present in our schools. Data around school discipline largely skews towards people of color, that is to say, that there is a disproportionate number of suspensions and discipline events for black and brown children as compared to their white counterparts.
One method schools have used to implement mindfulness is in response to a discipline event. In this instance, bringing a student of color to a place where they can practice mindfulness after a situation that has possibly triggered an array of feelings due to a life met with adversity is not the message we want to reinforce. In this case, we run the risk of reinforcing a message of pacifying a reaction to systemic injustice, that there should be acceptance of inequity by implying that children’s response is the problem rather than the inequity itself. Mindfulness cannot be used to reinforce a system of injustice, but as a manner to support overall healthy regulation and empowerment.
The counter-argument here is the idea that mindfulness can make a person less biased, as discussed in an article published by Berkley University’s Greater Good Magazine, Three Ways Mindfulness Can Make you Less Biased. The takeaway is that when done well, mindfulness can work to break down the barriers of bias and inequity, so long as we do it with intention and awareness of the inherent dangers and messaging.
Approaches to Bringing Mindfulness into the Classroom
Despite some of these above words of caution, we know that the benefits of bringing mindfulness into our schools are there. Some of the most noteworthy are; increased mental focus, better grades, a decrease in symptoms of anxiety, increased empathy and enhanced social relationships. And when all that good stuff is happening for a student, the natural consequence is a better self-image and healthy self-esteem.
Mindfulness can be incorporated into schools and classrooms in a variety of ways. Some teachers may be looking for an alternative solution to challenges in the classroom and decide to do their own thing, by implementing strategies on their own. Some schools have mindfulness classes and other schools may have it as a part of the social-emotional curriculum in the building. Regardless of who or how it is brought into the school building, one of the best things teachers can do is to integrate the practice into the classroom environment and approach to learning.
A Word About the Social-Emotional Curriculum
Often we see mindfulness being implemented in schools through the social-emotional curriculum of a school or district, this is sometimes referred to as social-emotional learning. Social-Emotional Learning is a multi-layered approach to learning which incorporates social-emotional competencies such as relationship building, empathy, and increasing awareness of self and social situations. Regardless of whether it is brought into the classroom via a curriculum or by teacher preference, the research says it all, check it out for yourself. There is a very comprehensive report done by Mindfulschools.org which can be found here.
Strategies to Bring Mindfulness to the Classroom
If you are looking to bring mindfulness into your classroom on your own, there are a few general ways that you can go about it. I have broken them down in terms of structure and activities.
Classroom Structure
When I think of classroom structure, I think about the physical setting. To build a classroom that is conducive to mindfulness and embraces the mindfulness approach you might consider setting up a few little stations like a gratitude corner or having a jar on your desk where students can put their “noisy thoughts” before beginning a class. You could make this an activity or lesson, where you set the norms and expectations for this jar. Things like confidentiality, what will be done with the thoughts in the jar or other concerns a student might have around this. You could also consider having a variety of posters around the classroom that highlight the ideas around awareness and positivity, the growth mindset, and zones of regulation are a few that come to mind Positive psychology published an article that provides a lot of helpful information about teaching mindfulness in schools.
Activities
If you would like to incorporate mindfulness with lessons and activities there are many guides out there with practical tools that can simplify this process for you. One such guide is a resource that was shared with me by a colleague called “30 days of Mindfulness in the Classroom”, by Calm.com. If you aren’t familiar with Calm, they have a popular mediation app that many people find helpful when incorporating mindfulness into their life. This guide will give you, as the title implies, 30 different activities or lessons that you can use in your classroom which has links to a lot of free content from Calm.com along with scripts, reflection questions, and their “calm tip” in each of their lessons.
Three examples of activities that can be implemented into the classroom are:
- beginning a class with an exercise like the “mindful minute”
- Incorporating new ways for students to heighten their senses and awareness of their surroundings, a simple activity where they connect to the 5 senses is one way to do this. If you are in need of a content break you could pause and engage in this activity by asking students to identify something they see, hear, smell, feel (physically), or taste.
- Another possibility might be engaging in a process where students identify their feelings about the material they are learning, clearly, this will look very different depending on the grade level, but it could be a simple check-in and acknowledgment of the fact that the material is challenging. It would be an opportunity to do a temperature check, to see what the group needs at that point.
Anything that brings a person to the here and now is what mindfulness is all about. These are just a few quick thoughts, I have included links to various resources and guides that will be helpful depending on the way in which you want to approach mindfulness in school. But keep in mind that it doesn’t have to be complicated, pick one or two things and do it once or twice a week and see how it goes. By implementing these practices, you will be teaching your students to connect with their senses and feelings about situations and new experiences and they may forget the math and science you are teaching them but they will probably remember the way in which they feel.
Benefits for Teachers
I would be remiss if I didn’t address the way in which mindfulness can also support teachers with their practice of teaching. We know that teaching is really really really hard work. I know that I could not do what many of you as teachers do and I do know that you need support to continue doing what you do. I see it day in and day out the mental fatigue, the stress, the overworked look of exhaustion.
If what they say is true, that teaching is the best way to learn something, which I can personally attest to, then teachers who teach mindfulness will have an approach to life and learning that can transform their practice (need I say life?) and therefore their student’s success. It has also been shown to fend off stress and burnout. I included this Ted Talk which I think highlights these exact points nicely.
Parents Supporting Mindfulness at Home
Needless to say, it takes a village, and parents are an essential part of that village. By carrying over some of the language used in schools as well as the ideas that are being taught around self-regulation, awareness, and social-emotional learning you will be fortifying that bridge between home and school which will significantly benefit your child’s overall success in school and in life. A few things to keep in mind and that you can do to build that bridge between home and schools are:
- Connect with your child’s teachers, ask questions and ask what you can do at home to help reinforce the learning happening in school.
- Model the learning and behavior you want to see in your child
- Listen to your child, ask them questions about what they are learning and what they liked or didn’t like, and why.
- Understand the differences between you and your children as well as that of other children. Support and nurture the interests that your child shows and don’t compare to those around them, siblings, or friends.
Finally…
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