The answer to the above heading has a great deal to do with how you finish the next sentence here. ” I teach…………………………..”! ( Please fill in the dotted lines before you read ahead)
A picture is worth a thousand words( and also an excellent alternate tool for teaching) and the one below can introduce with definition, the topic in discussion today.
When we face our students every day – every class, what fills up the mind the most? Is it the prescribed pressure of race, competitions and completion or is the joy of knowing and educating the “student” ?
Mindfulness ; in general ; is being aware of your body, mind, and feelings in the current moment and accepting your reality for what it is without judgement. And mindfulness inside classrooms (for educators) is the answer to the first question above- ” I teach “CHILDREN”. The process is entirely different when we actually think primarily about the children(and their emotions) whom we have decided to teach our subject expertise.
Never once will we ever question the intent or the dedication of the teachers who are devoted to making a positive difference in children’s lives. But the fact is that many of them are not well prepared for the social and emotional demands of today’s classroom. Unrealistic timelines, inadequate staffing,daily paperwork, frequent examinations, poor income incentives students with poor self regulation often add to the teachers’ woes leading them to feel exhausted, discouraged and less creative inside classrooms.
“Mindfulness is a simple yet powerful skill for peace and productivity in the classroom”
Below are few tried and tested ways for educators to practice mindfulness with themselves first and thereon with their students inside classrooms
Do Grounding – Before every single session – Mindfulness , through grounding , helps teachers understand their own emotions better. Grounding ( in any technique) helps calm the breath and emotions and helps stay in the present moment. It shifts our “reactions” to “responses” and helps the teacher regulate classroom behavior much better ; than taking children’ interruptions personally . You can do it together with your children too – 60 seconds is all it takes 🙂
2. Never take a student’s comment/behaviour personally – Behaviour is communication and growing up children lack the vocabulary and the smart brain skills to communicate effectively how they are “feeling”. Yes! The feelings and its reasons is all that we need to enquire.
3. Be Non-Judgmentally & Mindfully Aware with students who are unable to manage their emotions – Most classrooms have students who frequently misbehave or challenge the teachers and peer with their unregulated behaviour. Mindful awareness helps us attend to what’s happening with the child that triggers the misbehave. Techniques of naming,shaming,blaming,bias and judgement will only help attack the student and not the reason behind the behaviour.
4. Changing from “CONTROL” to “MANAGE” – A lot shifts in emotions and subsequent behaviour( in children and in adults) when we stop controlling core emotions and start learning how to manage them. Accepting and understanding that the development of children’s’ logical brain is a project in progress , the mindful solution is resolving issues through empathetic dialogues and discussions. Managing emotions also includes appreciating them for their non-academic skills and creating safe spaces for them to express what they exactly feel.
Mindfulness may seem a slow and tepid process initially , BUT IT FOR SURE helps educators bring out the best in them and in their students and truly experience the “joy of teaching”
Article written by Capt Lekshmy Natarajan(Retd),Co-Founder ,HEAL Foundation
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