Mindfulness in the Classroom
Mindfulness has become an essential part of teaching in the modern classroom and it is needed in order to properly engage the classroom. Mindfulness is a way in which an individual can properly gather their thoughts before blurting out whatever is on their mind and negatively hurting someone's feelings. This can be used by both teachers and students in the classroom. Mindfulness is essential to teachers nowadays to make sure we are properly addressing all students, for example by the proper pronouns. In the modern world people have started to take offense to being misgendered so we want to make sure as future educators we practice mindfulness and take everyone's feelings into consideration. Mindfulness can also be valuable in addressing students who are misbehaving, these types of students can easily aggravate the teacher but by practicing mindfulness we can best address the situation as we seek fit rather than having an outburst and making the situation worse. I have previously learned about mindfulness in an Asian philosophy course I took around a year ago and I feel it was nothing but beneficial in my life as it gave me the best ways to address my emotions.
In order to better practice and understand mindfulness I decided to give the app titled “Calm” a try. I gave the 7 day free trial a try and was pleasantly surprised by the variety of options available on the app to help with practicing mindfulness. They have options such as meditation techniques, music playlists, a course that you can take to learn about mindfulness, and movements that will help relax the body and mind. This app as a whole was very beneficial to my mood over a week of use. Prior to me using the app I have been very stressed and anxious. These feelings have come and gone over a period of time with no real cause. I have been looking for ways to combat these feelings for a while and with practicing mindfulness I feel much more relaxed and not as anxious. As a person I have been very hyper aware of my surroundings, scanning the area for threats such as bodily harm and violence. This is something that has not been pleasant to deal with because how can you live your life if you always believe something is out to get you. The “Calm” app did a great job getting me to chill out, and not be as focused on the bad that can happen. I believe this app would be massively beneficial to teachers in preventing teacher burnout. Teacher burnout is a problem that is leading to many teachers leaving the profession and looking for new careers. Mindfulness can be implemented to get control of your feelings and better tackle your daily tasks and challenges. I would definitely try to implement the use of mindfulness and the “Calm” app into my classroom to help students deal with the added pressures that have been placed on this generation. Depression can be caused by a cluttered mind this is why young people should practice mindfulness to prevent these sad thoughts from ever entering their mind “A 2021 study found that mindfulness courses, like many other mental health practices, can reduce anxiety, depression and stress and increase mental wellbeing within most non-clinical settings. Many people who practice mindfulness report feeling calmer and more balanced in their emotions” (Solstice)
The “Room to Breathe” film made by Mindful Schools displays the positive effects that mindfulness can have on difficult classroom environments. The film shows bad classroom environments. Mindful techniques were practiced in the classroom and it proved to be effective in bettering the learning environment and mood of the students. At the beginning of the film students are discussing their negative experiences they have gone through in school. The children are not working hard and underachieving and the school is implementing mindfulness to try and improve the mindset of the children. The mindful techniques show to be beneficial as the teachers observed that the students feel as if they have more control over their lives and actions. When I was going through my highschool experience they started to implement mindful techniques into the classroom. I always saw this as a benefit when I was in high school. They would have someone over the loudspeaker speak and tell us to practice breathing techniques, and would ask the whole school to meditate for a couple minutes while in class. Very similar to what was happening in the film. It’s good to see this happening in schools around the country, hopefully it will lead to young people taking control of their emotions and not resorting to committing crimes when they grow up.
It's important to recognize that mindfulness can also negatively affect certain students that have dealt with previous trauma “Research on mindfulness shows the practice can bring up uncomfortable feelings, and layered on top of existing trauma can be frightening or psychologically dysregulating. That’s why Himelstein stresses that no one should be forced to close their eyes or sit a certain way.” (KQED 2019). The whole point of mindful exercises is to take control of your emotions and decrease stress so it’s important to take note of negative effects so we do not increase stress levels for individuals who have already gone through trauma. These individuals most likely already have exceedingly high stress levels so we definitely don't want to make it worse.
Relaying back to a previous point that the world has changed and adolescents now undergo new challenges we can take a look at how mindfulness can help. Isolation is a big problem that can be attributed to social media. FOMO, short for Fear Of Missing Out, has increased due to adolescents posting on social media. FOMO comes from an adolescent viewing this post of an event that has happened and being upset that they didn't go or weren't invited. Isolation comes from this, feeling alone. “Nearly 40% of high school seniors report that they often feel lonely and left out.” (Mindful Schools). By practicing mindful techniques it can help with reducing the stress that comes with being alone, and being comfortable in your own skin. Not needing the approval of others and being fake in order to gain that approval. That is why mindfulness is so powerful because it allows us to learn more about ourselves and not be so reliant on outside approval.
References
Room to Breathe Film. (2015, September 21). Mindful Schools. https://www.mindfulschools.org/resources/room-to-breathe/
Schwartz, K. (2019). Nine ways to ensure your mindfulness teaching is trauma informed. KQED Mindshift. Link
se_admin. (2021, June 17). How Mindfulness Helps Teens who Struggle with Depression and Anxiety. Solstice East. https://solsticeeast.com/blog/breathe-breathe-mindfulness-helps-teens-struggle-depression-anxiety/#:~:text=Studies%20have%20suggested%20that%20mindfulness-based%20cognitive%20therapy%20is
Why is Mindfulness Needed in Education. (n.d.). Mindful Schools.
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