Focus. awareness and respect. rigor and resilience. Growth mindset. reflection. These are the cornerstones of learning, behavior and personal growth. Each an element of a thriving student-centered classroom. All are trainable skills that can be intentionally taught and cultivated to strengthen student opportunities for growth and success. This year especially, I have come to realize that the extent to which I purposefully and mindfully incorporate them into the "community" of learning the more students integrate them into their personal learning styles. Mindful awareness is just as important as academic skills because it teaches students how to balance their emotions, stay focused, and take ownership of their behavior. When they take responsibility, they become proactive and behavior in turn becomes more on-task and respectful.
Mindful awareness in the classroom has the capacity to train students to nurture these qualities for progress and realization, as well as get them centered on their own needs. While some educators may be hesitant to include mindfulness in the classroom, they need not be because it is simply a way of equipping students with tools to help with attention and focus when they work. Breathing, reflection, ritualized pauses, and modeling strategies like STOP and RAIN provide students with tools they will be able to use the rest of their lives. STOP (Stop, Take a breath, observe, proceed) is a great technique to model for students- it gets them to think before they speak. To be more aware of others, their emotions and how to be empathetic and sympathetic. Not only are students to quick to judgement, they are also very self-centered and any time they can pause and reflect is a good thing.
RAIN (Recognize, Accept, Investigate emotions with non-attachment). These skills help students face their emotions, embrace them. Often we are told to "let it go", but what we really should do when we are full of stress and anxiety is to solve it, not let it go or it will come back until we do. A growth mindset encourages students to approach this mental focus as a practice, while examining the root of their stress and anxiety. Rather than coming from a place of shame or blame, this enables students to be more curious and aware of what they do and why they do it. It brings about a sense of responsibility rather then embarrassment. Everyone deals with stress, a temper, even frustration. It is how we solve it that matters. The earlier our children learn these coping and solution methods the sooner they will be able to refocus their attention to learning rather then anxiety.
Every student is unique. Every school has its atmosphere and culture. In order to accommodate the most students tools for mindfulness need to vary. One thing is for sure though: students need to be trained to cultivate tools for success. Whether they are academic tools, emotional tools or social skills students need to be taught how to stay individual and also fit in with their community of learners. This is particularly true for at-risk students who may not have sufficient prior access to such tools. Though there is no singular path, mindfulness is one way of accomplishing this. Mindfulness has made a tremendous difference for my students this year. We breathe calmly before a test, use our words, pause and reflect during times of frustration, and take many ritualized pauses to make sure we are all mindful and aware of those around us and their needs as well as our own. Mindful awareness has allowed my classroom to become a community rather then a classroom.
Bache, Christopher M. The Living Classroom: Teaching and Collective Consciousness.
Hart, Tobin. “Opening the Contemplative Mind in the Classroom,” Journal of Transformative Education, Vol. 2 No. 1, January 2004.
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