![]() The faculty members that I've spoken to enjoy practicing mindfulness together. On the flip side, who are those most likely to sabotage or ignore it? Spend extra time trying to bring the potential cynics on board, and give them a chance to air their concerns. Identify the key players that could help mindfulness take root at the school. ![]() You will likely want influential or respected faculty members. Start by thinking through who could be part of this group. Find Your Champions and Saboteursįind the mindfulness champions on campus. Give your faculty a chance to familiarize themselves with mindfulness and opt into the initial trainings, as opposed to forcing it upon them as another "thing to do." If you truly want mindfulness to be effective, it's helpful when school faculty and administration respect, understand, and practice it. These are the people who set school culture. Nearly everyone I talk to agrees that it's best to start with the faculty. Be Clear About Your GoalsĪre you trying to reduce stress? Are you trying to change school culture? Are you trying to address bullying or achieve social emotional learning goals? Being clear about your goals will help focus the program and measure results. When done well, mindfulness training can help your students learn more and "save time" through increased attention and emotional regulation. But if your school makes its commitment to mindfulness a priority, time will be made. Make a Real Commitmentįinding time in your school day may be your biggest challenge. Have a roadmap that includes delivering programming to parents, students, and faculty, but be flexible and responsive once implementation begins. Do not force it or rush it - this can alienate faculty members and lead to quick endings. It will take a few years to develop a school-wide mindfulness program. However, there are some clear lessons being learned and best practices developing as schools begin to implement these programs. Schools are experimenting with how to bring mindfulness into their culture. The following lessons were informed by numerous conversations, school visits, and my own experience teaching and designing mindfulness programming.Ī quick warning: There is no "one model" out there. □ I would highly recommend this book.Below are ten tips about designing, developing, and successfully implementing such a program, gathered through my four years of working in the mindfulness and education movement: first with Inward Bound Mindfulness Education, then as a classroom teacher, and now as an independent consultant. After they help their parents to learn this too. Wow! Did they ever feel great the next day! They learned that sleep is also great for recharging. Soon, they also realized that because they were exercising and eating well, they also slept well. They eat some wonderful fruit and run around. Their brains were so tired and groggy because they hadn’t been living a healthy lifestyle and making good food and exercise choices that they weren’t aware of this. As the book continues, Simon and Poppy discover that they are sister and brother. Again, they get an energy boost but it is short-lived. They go into the fridge and eat food that is not healthy. They write that down so that they don’t forget. They soon discover that running and running may not give you an endless supply of energy. Then she notices a colored strip on Simon that is red but turns yellow when he gets up. She goes into a local house and sees a note that someone is writing about moving giving her energy. She sees a boy named Simon, lifeless against a tree. This book is about a make-believe land called “Verve” where all the people are dark and lifeless. Rath does a phenomenal job of doing this in his book THE RECHARGEABLES. Tom Rath includes sleep in his book too – why haven’t I? I always talk to the students about the importance of sleep but why not include it with nutrition and exercise? Mr. The best way to teach WHY nutrition and exercise are important. ![]() He is the author of How Full is Your Bucket? There it was. But did I really TEACH it? You know, passionately. I often taught these concepts together in the Physical Education and/or personal planning lessons. I then thought about the curriculum and the whole “work smarter not harder” idea and realized that being mindful goes hand in hand with exercise, health and nutrition. They think more, are more patient and tolerant, and seem to engage in deeper thinking when asked questions. ![]() But then I got to thinking about the learning process more and how happy, relaxed students are better learners. So, I use a few different things in my classroom for mindfulness and classroom management. Like most teachers, one size doesn’t fit all, and one resource isn’t going to do it all.
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