The article assigned by Dr. Holtzmann last week illustrates how teachers can begin to integrate mindfulness activities into their classrooms through few different methods. I thought the idea of a "still quiet place" was a pretty cool one; and one I thought that anyone could incorporate into their lives. I've heard before that if you take just five or ten minutes each day and do absolutely nothing (and I mean nothing-no phones, no TV, no reading, etc.), it can drastically improve your outlook and productivity. The idea of having a class where if a student is stressed, they are allowed to take a few minutes and just relax is appealing to me, and I would assume students too. Each day, a high school student has to navigate somewhere between four and six different subjects, while simultaneously managing their social lives and whatever else they might have going on outside the school building. It's easy to see why some students respond by acting out or neglecting work they might see as tedious. As a teacher, I think it's important to be able to acknowledge this perspective, and allow our students to take a break if they need it.
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
The Importance of Mindfulness as a Teacher and Student
Everyone suffers from stress at some point in their lives, and deal with it in different ways. Some become masterful organizers and make sure to plan for personal leisure time, some get frustrated and just make the best of it, and some deal with it in unhealthy outlets like smoking or drinking. As a future teacher and current student, the concept of mindfulness, and the need for reflection is vitally important. I've seen many occasions, from my past experience in high school to current classes at RIC in which a teacher is visibly frazzled, and it does affect the class, whether they notice it or not. As someone who wants to create a classroom atmosphere that is calm and inviting to students; a place where students should feel more at home than at school, I know I need to find ways to avoid bringing my own personal stresses into the classroom.
The article assigned by Dr. Holtzmann last week illustrates how teachers can begin to integrate mindfulness activities into their classrooms through few different methods. I thought the idea of a "still quiet place" was a pretty cool one; and one I thought that anyone could incorporate into their lives. I've heard before that if you take just five or ten minutes each day and do absolutely nothing (and I mean nothing-no phones, no TV, no reading, etc.), it can drastically improve your outlook and productivity. The idea of having a class where if a student is stressed, they are allowed to take a few minutes and just relax is appealing to me, and I would assume students too. Each day, a high school student has to navigate somewhere between four and six different subjects, while simultaneously managing their social lives and whatever else they might have going on outside the school building. It's easy to see why some students respond by acting out or neglecting work they might see as tedious. As a teacher, I think it's important to be able to acknowledge this perspective, and allow our students to take a break if they need it.
Now more than ever, with high-stakes testing riddling student's (and teacher's) already-packed curriculum and, as the article stated, epidemic levels of attention disorders, eating disorders, and other self-destructive behaviors affecting students, teachers need to be mindful of themselves and their students. Attached is a relatively short video produced by the ever-prescient and intelligent "Ted Talks," in which mindfulness in classrooms is discussed.
The article assigned by Dr. Holtzmann last week illustrates how teachers can begin to integrate mindfulness activities into their classrooms through few different methods. I thought the idea of a "still quiet place" was a pretty cool one; and one I thought that anyone could incorporate into their lives. I've heard before that if you take just five or ten minutes each day and do absolutely nothing (and I mean nothing-no phones, no TV, no reading, etc.), it can drastically improve your outlook and productivity. The idea of having a class where if a student is stressed, they are allowed to take a few minutes and just relax is appealing to me, and I would assume students too. Each day, a high school student has to navigate somewhere between four and six different subjects, while simultaneously managing their social lives and whatever else they might have going on outside the school building. It's easy to see why some students respond by acting out or neglecting work they might see as tedious. As a teacher, I think it's important to be able to acknowledge this perspective, and allow our students to take a break if they need it.
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It's pretty crazy when you think about everything that some people have to balance. In college, there's school, there are jobs, sometimes more than one, there's family, relationships, friendships, alone time, all put together, all with their own types of stress, all at the same time... How do we do it? It is during these years that we are at our busiest in my opinion. Prioritizing these things is important, and can sometimes lead to undesirable outcomes, sometimes we have to say no to friends due to an essay that's due tomorrow...and if we say yes, well, then our grades take a hit, it's almost impossible to keep everyone/everything happy. Me personally, I think I do a decent job of keeping things straight, I will pretty much never say no to a night out, and I still find a way to do my homework, why? Because I would rather sacrifice sleep than enjoying life...that's just me though. Sometimes, after working a 13 hour shift at my restaurant, I will go out with either friends, or out to the gym, I rarely go home and go to bed, because I don't want to waste my young adult years, Irresponsible?...maybe....do I regret it?....no. Anyways, I also agree that having a welcoming classroom is important, but a welcoming classroom begins with a welcoming teacher. A teacher who is respectful, and respectable .
ReplyDeleteI agree. I think teachers lose sight of what students go through on a day to day basis. They often like to think that their class is the only thing that matters, but they have 120 students that all have complex lives, and it's foolish to think that they have the ability to leave all of their issues at home. They spend upwards of 8 hours each day at school, so that is just impossible. This is especially true in areas that are at or below the poverty line. If a students are dealing with issues at home, which may include death, divorce, etc., why would they care about what is going on in 3rd period English. It's just an overall good teaching practice to implement this into the classroom. And as you were saying, while the "still quiet place" example was used in a lower grade classroom, I think this basic concept should be used in all grade levels.
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