Bringing Calm To The Classroom

By Timothy Iverson

I sit on my pillow in a quiet space, surrounded by sympathetic adults. Under me, the cool hardwood floors. Nearby, the tick of a clock. The instructor leads us gently through a tour of our minds, sharing  insights to transform our lives. I have not known peace like this for decades. I am learning the practice of mindfulness.

Fast-forward 15 years to a busy middle- school. I step into the hallway between classes and hear a dull roar that I’ve heard before. Turning a corner, I see students shouting and gathering around two girls sprawled on the floor, fighting. Within seconds I am on the floor, trying to separate the girls. I am joined by another adult, and a police officer. One of the adults pleads, “Breathe!”, as we hold tightly to one student, trying to keep her from continuing the scuffle. For a precious few moments we all stop, breathing in and out. A moment of stillness….. The young lady chooses to calm herself. The fight is over.

I step back in my room, and have to move right into another class. No break for me.

Twenty-five faces eye me, wondering why I am walking in late. I notice my racing heart, and fast breathing.

I tell the group that I need a brain break, and they know what I mean. I ring the bell, and we move right into silence. For a few moments, I take care of myself, noticing and calming my hyped-up, sympathetic nervous system. I regain my balance, and the class begins. Again, my mindfulness training has kicked in, enabling me to move forward and get through the rest of the day.

In the last decade, the practice of mindfulness has made its way from hospitals and therapy clinics, into the schoolroom. In the 1970s, pioneers like Herbert Benson and Jon Kabat-Zinn adapted ancient spiritual techniques to help their patients cope with stress, chronic pain, high blood pressure, and more. Like minimalist painters, they stripped away unnecessary elements from these practices and shaped them in a way that would be palatable for modern Americans. Patients were not required to sign on to any new beliefs or ideas, other than than having faith that these practices could work.

When Jon Kabat-Zinn described hospitals as “Dukkha magnets” (Dukkha being an ancient word that, roughly translated, means something like pervasive unsatisfactoriness), he could just as easily have applied that term to schools. From crowded classrooms, to budget cuts, bullying,  and debates about standardized testing, teachers and students are exposed daily to the realities of stress, frustration, and pain.

As more educators started practicing mindfulness in their own lives, it inevitably filtered into their classrooms. Why? Because the techniques are simple to learn and maintain, and everyone benefits- including teachers.

After honing my own practice for several years, I began sharing mindfulness with staff and students at my middle school in New Brighton, Minnesota. The response among teachers  was so positive that I was asked to provide more trainings, both in-person, and in the form of guided recordings which teachers could use on their computers. Eventually, our leadership team voted to implement a school- wide mindfulness break (sometimes called  a brain break), for all students. We will begin our 6th year this fall.

Mindfulness in education is not a cure or a magic bullet. There will always be challenges to work with. But it’s a powerful tool- perhaps even a “miracle” as Thich Nhat Hanh calls it. When I have students ask me for a brain break, or to ring the bell,  because they need a moment of stillness in their lives, that is a miracle. When I see students with eyes closed, learning to work with the distractions in their minds, that too, is a miracle.

Since mindfulness is ideally a voluntary  practice, it has to be handled with care and sensitivity in a school setting. Teachers are overwhelmed with initiatives, and often have to implement several new ideas every fall- from technology, curriculum, or classroom management. Although some argue that mindfulness is not another “add on” for educators, it can feel  that way.

The trainings I’ve offered our staff have always been voluntary and “easy going”, with a focus on the needs of the teachers themselves. This in itself seems healing. Practices are short and simple, using secular language. I use terms like, stress reduction, emotional intelligence, self -awareness, and self- regulation, and of course, mindfulness. Teachers are asked to do a nearly impossible job, and any compassion we can offer them is welcome.

At Highview where I teach, we have always offered  a variety of mindfulness practices, instead of implementing one set curriculum (of which there are many excellent ones). There are plusses and minuses to each approach, but our teachers seem to like the variety.

One challenge we face at Highview is staff turnover, which means every fall we have new teachers who may know nothing about mindfulness, much less being mindfulness practitioners.

So for newcomers, we offer  trainings and resources, and encourage very simple ways to get started in their classrooms, like taking some deep breaths, or having a few moments of silence. Then, as teachers get more comfortable, they can begin exploring the longer practices and other resources. We’ve  provided scripts for teachers to use, as well as desktop (computer) audios, which many have found very useful. In addition, there are fine online sites which teachers use, like Calm.com, which uses visuals and sound, in addition to verbal guidance. The term mindfulness has definitely become part of the culture at Highview, even if our practice isn’t always perfect.

Another  challenge for teachers is that some students will be resistant. I have found little difficulty with short practices, like listening to the sound of the bell, a few deep breaths, or looking around the room for colors, in an “I spy” way. Longer practices, or even movement practices, can elicit groans or sometimes outright refusal. Let’s face it. We often have resistance in our own minds. Why wouldn’t we encounter resistance in 30 other minds, especially teenage minds ?

If we think of a class as a collective mind, resistance is entirely normal and to be expected. I usually allow it to be there and push on with the practice of the day. In some cases I will stop and remind the class what we are doing. At other times, I’ll  talk to students privately about their behavior, and find out what is going on with them. I try to stay calm and mindful. I try to inquire.

On rare occasions, I notice anger or frustration arising in me, and make that my object of mindfulness, even if it takes several moments of our time. I remember that ultimately, mindfulness is NOT about a particular result, even calmness. It’s about just noticing what’s happening, even if that is very unpleasant in the moment. We often can’t control others, in spite of what our teacher training tells us, and it’s no different with mindfulness. We can only control our own reaction. If a distraction is ignored, it will often subside on its own. Distractions are part of our personal, as well as  classroom,  practice.

It’s also important to establish a rationale  for sharing mindfulness with kids. Let students know up-front why they will be doing this. What are the benefits to them- or to the world? You might focus on the way mindfulness reduces stress in the brain and body, or how mindfulness is used by famous athletes to enhance focus and performance. An excellent video I have used is the TEDx talk by AnneMarie Rossi, entitled, “Why aren’t we teaching you mindfulness?” And Dr. Daniel  Siegel has some nice youtube talks about the brain. You might talk about the dangers of being distracted, and how mindfulness can increase your present moment awareness. We have lots of discussions about how mindfulness can help in the “real” world.

For formal brain break time, our default expectation is silence.  We ask students to respect the right of others to some quiet time, or to follow the practice if they choose.

When things don’t go as I’d hoped, I try to  persevere – and encourage students to keep at it too. Like much in life, gentle but firm is key. And, I don’t hesitate to switch things up when needed: move, go outside…do another practice  like relaxation, or gratitude.

Academics are just starting to study the efficacy of mindfulness in schools, and preliminary findings look promising. But as stress, violence,  and mental health become larger topics in society, portable, “DIY” approaches like mindfulness are here to stay.

Teachers will no doubt rely on studies and scientific findings to support the  implementation of mindfulness in their classrooms. But reams of data aren’t the reason teachers are moving into this territory, or why they will continue this practice.

When someone has truly tasted calm and clarity in the midst of chaos, that may be all the data they need.

Tim’s blog— highviewmindfulness.blogspot.com

Mindfulness in education network— mindfuled.org

Mindful schools—- mindfulschools.org 

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