Saturday, July 8, 2017

Reality Check: Is Mindfulness Accessible in Our Classrooms?

Mindfulness: awareness, acceptance and adaptability. Each requiring a personal reflection setting allowing one to notice the needs of others. To respond in kindness, not react with frustration. To listen with intent and purpose, not wait for your turn to interject. To admit to oneself that you may not have all the answers, that you will require the assistance of others. That curve balls and speed bumps are expected, cherished as a part of life, not problems that are meant to cause anxiety. When one becomes honest with oneself and sees the world as a place of opportunity and growth and one seizes these junctures wholeheartedly, embracing probability and contingency, this is mindfulness. It is not a fleeting emotion or reminder to be nice. It is a mindset, a freedom to believe in oneself and others. To not see individuals as separate entities, but together a unit, that forms the foundation of compassion and trust. This seems like a wildly, fictional state of mind only possible through meditation and constant redirection. But, it is not, it is a simple strategy to implement into any classroom through modeling and maintaining strong, respectful and trusting relationships with our students. If we are truly intent on being mindful we can create a movement, a slow wave, that can trickle into every crevice of our school.

It comes down to changing our vernacular: the classroom is ours not mine, there is no "sit down" but "settle in to learning, let’s find our learning spot and focus." When students enter the room every day, as educators we generally greet them with a smile and a "welcome back," but what if instead we ask them a question "are you in the mood for turbo flight, hot air balloon ride or kite flying?" I asked my students this one day. They were admittedly perplexed but, they wrote their answers on sticky notes and put them on the objectives wall. This is how I divided them into groups for the day. Those who were energetic and ready for the topsy-turvy fighter jet ride were put in one group- they debated and discussed cross-breeding plants and the pros and cons of GMO's. Those who wanted a hot air balloon ride were calmer, needed to just do a little research, find some evidence to support or counter-argue cross-breeding and GMO's. The kite fliers, were very introverted this day, so I had them watch and analyze a video on GMO's. Then at the end of class the three groups converged and shared their information. This was mindfulness at its best, choice not based on desire but on how one felt that day. It worked well and I plan on doing it more often with different options: white water rafting, inter-tubing or canoeing with a partner for example.

Choice is one way to give students the reigns, but other strategies of mindfulness provide more personal control. Breathing is a technique that at first, I must admit causes a lot of giggling and rolling of the eyes. But, after a few times, especially before a test, they begin to implement it themselves. You can noticeably see their backs and facial muscles relax, their focus strengthen and their resolve take over. Their test scores increased after we began using slow breathing to calm and center ourselves. When we take brain breaks, I ask them if we need a quiet reflective break or a get up and stretch break. Either way just taking 2 minutes every 15-20 minutes to just be calm, keeps our classroom more mindful. At times, we need to dance around and release energy while others we need to encircle ourselves with a sense of warmth and home and this brings us to a place where we feel comfortable and cozy and the discussions take on a dinner table ambiance, reconnecting us as a family.

We talk a lot about how we address one another, and how our words have impact. This is probably the hardest strategy to integrate: respectful and positive words. At first students slip up a lot, I model "I appreciate your opinion, but I disagree because..." and "thank you for taking time to help me, I understand that we all need to ask for help sometimes." This creates a sense of gratitude and humility. Over the course of a few weeks, they begin to address the needs of others with a supportive outlook and rather than a sense of competition and control the classroom becomes one of cooperation and elevation. As a group, they are stronger. Our classroom is almost 100% student-centered and to maintain a balanced and fruitful atmosphere, mindfulness must be the underlying sentiment. It must be a part of everything we do. It is more than words and eye contact, it is body language and facial expressions. Mindfulness permeates, infuses itself in all of us. I become calmer, more quirky and spontaneous, students welcome the turbulence of colliding with science, they expect it, they enjoy it. It is the scaffolding for the problem-solving and collaboration that evolves from our mindful companionship. 


Presence of mind and spirit, residence of consideration, circumspection and caution. Personal reflection, community feedback and responsiveness all combine to form a prudent, fastidious, diligent classroom. Open-minded, forward-thinking and conscientious. Reality check, things go wrong, students misbehave, lessons fail. It is inevitable. But with mindful strategies in place the bounce back is moments rather than minutes. When students feel in control of their frustrations, are aware of the way they think and feel, they can face them head on. They can adapt, accept and move on with ease. We must trust at first sight. Model strategies for a positive culture and thoughtful atmosphere and then allow students to make mistakes and re-center themselves on their own. Our minds are our own and only we can determine our frame of mind and attitude for the day. Provide students a mindful learning space, emanate joy from every pore, smile, laugh and play and naturally a place of mindfulness will emerge.

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