{"id":13132,"date":"2017-09-21T06:14:23","date_gmt":"2017-09-21T10:14:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/?p=13132"},"modified":"2018-04-19T15:26:56","modified_gmt":"2018-04-19T19:26:56","slug":"mindfulness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/mindfulness\/","title":{"rendered":"How to cultivate mindfulness in classrooms"},"content":{"rendered":"

The #everydaycourage of doing nothing<\/h1>\n

\"#everydaycourage\"As we cultivate more self-direction in students, their lives get more complicated. They have a greater responsibility to themselves and their success.<\/p>\n

How can we nurture the whole student as they grapple with becoming agents of their own education?<\/p>\n

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As we ask more of students these days, how do we support them in answering those new demands?<\/h3>\n

“Wait, you mean we get to learn about anything we want?” \u00a0A sea of incredulous faces stared at me with confusion and trepidatious excitement as I introduced Curiosity Projects\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0at Cornwall School, in Cornwall, Vermont. It was our first round of student-led projects. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At first, students were thrilled at the prospect of following their curiosity and developing their expertise in an area they chose. But it didn’t take long for the complaining to commence. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

My students began to realize that leading their own learning was a lot more work than sitting at a desk and doing a worksheet. They had to think, they had to decide, they had to struggle, they had to sit with uncertainty. They wanted out. They wanted to go back to the old, easy(er) way, where I as the teacher told them what to do, and they did it.<\/span><\/p>\n

One strategy that shows promise is bringing mindfulness practices into the classroom<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Mindfulness is defined as paying attention in the present moment without judgment. Originally known as meditation, early pioneers of using the practice in schools chose the term \u2018mindfulness\u2019 to make a distinction between this secular practice and other religion-based forms of meditation. But these days, as the practice is becoming more widespread, both terms are becoming acceptable.<\/p>\n

One common way to engage in the practice is sitting in stillness and silence, focusing on the rising and falling of the breath, and then returning the focus to the breath when you inevitably realize your attention has strayed. That\u2019s it. Simple, but not always easy.<\/p>\n

\"how<\/a><\/p>\n

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Practices like mindfulness can support students as they grow into more autonomous and competent learners.<\/h3>\n

Mindfulness can create space for learners to observe and know their own minds, and cultivate fertile soil for personal growth. This work nurtures in students a deeper understanding of themselves\u00a0and cultivates in them the ultimate transferable skill: the ability to consciously respond to life with presence and grace.<\/p>\n

But, you’re just sitting there<\/h3>\n

It takes #everydaycourage to create a space for sitting in silence together. \u00a0Because, to an outsider, it would look like you’re doing…nothing. \u00a0But that’s precisely what you’re doing. \u00a0Or aren’t doing.<\/p>\n

Either way.<\/p>\n

\"how<\/a><\/p>\n

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The benefits are huge: just ask my students.<\/h2>\n

Looking at the research, mindfulness seems like a panacea: improving practically every aspect of life. Early research is showing that mindfulness helps students focus better, reduces stress, improves physical well-being and academic performance, and supports social-emotional growth.\u00a0<\/a>(It does wonders for adults, too.)<\/p>\n

I’d read the research. But I was still astounded by the impact this work had on my students. I’ve been dabbling in bringing mindfulness into my work with students for the past ten years in a variety of ways. Last year, I took a deeper dive, and from January through May my sixth graders and I sat (that\u2019s what you call it when you practice mindfulness because you\u2019re, you know, just sitting there) for 10 minute sessions, four days a week. I \u00a0surveyed the students about their experience with the practice.<\/p>\n

They reported that:<\/p>\n