Patricia Riley
Mindfulness. What comes to mind when one says that word? Merriam-Webster defines being "mindful" as "aware of something that may be important.” Wikipedia has several definitions of this theory, one of which is “Mindfulness as a psychological concept is the focusing of attention and awareness, based on the concept of mindfulness in Buddhist meditation." One of the first qualities a teacher must instill in her students is the ability to focus their attention. There are studies that show that the ability to focus and redirect or re-center oneself would greatly enhance the educational experience of students. To introduce “mindfulness” as part of the school curriculum beginning with kindergarten would only prove to be one of the best investments for students and teachers alike to enrich the learning experience as well as teaching better coping skills to kids to use in their private lives.
“Kindness, caring, empathy, being able to de-center from your own point of view and listen deeply to others—these are values that should be cultivated in our classrooms,” says Mark Greenberg, director of the Prevention Research Center for the Promotion of Human Development at Penn State University. This is a quote found in an article written by Barry Boyce called “A Real Education, A Mindful Society” on the Shambhala Sun website. These values can be developed beginning in kindergarten. Taught correctly this method has the capability of providing a solid foundation for students to learn to handle stress and conflicts in a more constructive manner as well as teaching them how to focus to be more effective students. Students, as well as gaining the ability to more calmly and rationally interact with their peers and teachers, will be able to use what has been learned in school when they are surrounded by family and the natural stressors that come with being part of that unit.
When children are taught mindfulness as part of the curriculum, they acquire the ability or knowledge of how to step back from an issue and to more thoughtfully look for a solution. Boyce tells in his article, 'One of the practices they use is the turtle. “We tell a story about a little turtle who has lots of problems,” he [Greenberg] says. “The turtle sometimes gets very sad or very mad, but then the turtle goes into her shell, where it’s very quiet and she can take some deep breaths and calm down and think, ‘What’s going on with me? How am I feeling?’" Greenberg continues to describe how the children are taught to recognize when they need a break and so when the child is prompted to "do the turtle" she will consciously be able to calm herself.
bell hooks writes that “Students do not become critical thinkers overnight. First, they must embrace the joy and power of thinking itself.” While the purpose of mindfulness is to still the mind, it also readies the student to begin or continue the “joy and power of thinking itself”. In learning to meditate and becoming mindful than one would naturally open their consciousness to a freer flow of thought.
John Gattos recommendations are well worth mentioning: “help your own (children) to develop an inner life so that they’ll never be bored.” “Challenge your kids with plenty of solitude so that they can learn to enjoy their own company”. Meditation and becoming mindful are an essential component in putting children in the zone where they can better appreciate having a bit of solitude in their hectic day.
One of the many benefits of learning and using mindfulness is the potential that the student will become more successful in school and out. Mindfulness encourages self-control. According to an article written by Jerry Large in the Seattle Times “Grit is one of the characteristics of successful people. Here’s a list of the others: self-control, zest, social intelligence, gratitude, optimism, and curiosity.” I would offer the suggestion that all of these characteristics are further enhanced by the use of mindfulness in the pursuit of a successful education.
Another advantage to teaching and using mindfulness is that there is less disruption when students have learned to be mindful of their environment. Part of learning mindfulness is becoming more aware of the impact each person has on their surroundings whether it is their behavior in class or at home. When a student is disruptive the teacher must take time away from the rest of the class to deal with his/her misbehavior. The focus is taken off the class and put on that one student. This takes up valuable teaching time for both teacher and student. When children learn to handle their negative and sometimes destructive behaviors in a calmer manner they are less likely to act out and cause a distraction to the rest of the class which in turn would actually reduce the amount of wasted class time.
The costs of implementing mindfulness are actually not prohibitive. There are grants that are available from the US Department of Education and resources are becoming available to teach the teacher as well as the students. Various private institutes and foundations are currently working with some schools in the eastern United States implementing yoga techniques in schools and studying its effectiveness. Also as Coach Webb demonstrated in the movie Chalk, the time commitment needed to incorporate mindfulness or yoga practices is no more than any other lesson plan. She merely substitutes yoga for other activities in her Physical Education class. A few minutes at the beginning of the school day would be ample time to learn and then practice on a daily basis the calming techniques needed for a successful day.
To be an effective tool, mindfulness would necessarily be, at least introduced to the families of children. The National Institute on Drug Abuse recently gave a grant to the Prevention Research Center for the Promotion of Human Development at Penn State University to follow the effectiveness of a seven week program given to parents to teach them better parenting skills. The program focused on teaching parents to be more aware of their childrens actions and reactions and asked the parents to recall their own experiences when dealing with the daily struggles as well as the successes of their children.
There are many concepts that are useful and necessary to aid in the acquisition of a great education. Mindfulness, critical thinking, grit, and others are all important ideas for students to apply to their lives. A solid foundation in one the most useful and needed concepts is the ability to be aware, to be conscious, to be mindful, and to even be peaceful. As the Dalai Lama says, “We can never obtain peace in the outer world until we make peace with ourselves.
Dalai Lama
Works Cited
Boyce, Barry. “A Real Education”(The Mindful Society). Shambhala Sun. May 2012. Web Dec. 3, 2013
hooks, bell. Teaching Critical Thinking Practical Wisdom. Routledge. Sept. 19, 2013 Print
Large, Jerry. “Gift of Grit, curiosity help kids succeed”. SeattleTimes.com Sep. 23, 2013 Web Nov. 25, 2013
Chalk. Dir. Mike Akel. Perf. Troy Schremmer, Janelle Schremmer, Shannon Haragan. Somedaysoon Productions. 2007 DVD
Gatto, John. “Against School” wesjones.com. Harpers Magazine. Sept. 2003
Web Nov. 12 2013
Wikipedia. Mindfulness (psychology) Nov.19, 2013
Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Mindful. Dec. 12, 2013
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