5 Mindfulness Techniques for Teachers
by Guy E. White on 10 September, 2014
Do you want to get better outcomes from students? Do you want to do so while feeling more fulfilled, more healthy, or even more happy?
For about five years I’ve been seriously engaged in meditative studies. I’ve actually been attending classes, weekends, and retreats to further my practice of meditation and mindfulness. This article is about how I have applied what I have learned during these five years to my practice as a classroom teacher. How can students benefit from mindful teaching?
Through lots of time meditating (at least 15 minutes every day; now I’m averaging about 1 hour a day), much time learning from great teachers, and hundreds of pages of reading, I’ve really learned one simple thing: “Mindfulness,” a term that I hear kicked around lots these days, is really about (1) being awake, and (2) being wise.
Being awake, to sum up, has much to do with being aware of what we are thinking, doing, and speaking. Being wise is about learning great teaching. Every day, I’m learning how to be better in my skin. I’ve seen my students so much better for it.
Here are five techniques I employ in my classroom regularly:
1. Breathe Through Conflict
I’m mostly human J. My students are human. Conflict arises. Things can get “unconstructive” quite quickly. Most people hold their breath during conflict. This assists in preparing for fight/flight/freeze responses that come naturally to us human beings. Blood actually naturally leaves the front of the brain during conflict. Have you ever felt light-headed or foggy during a fight? So, whenever a conflict arises, I have gotten in the habit of breathing deeply. If I notice my heart rate is up, I always pause the interaction. I may say to a student “Can you wait outside the classroom door for a few minutes? I’ll be right there.” This allows time for the conflict to de-escalate for all involved.
2. Start With Open Questions
My natural tendency as a teacher is to feel like I know exactly what’s going on and what’s not going on in my classroom: but rarely is this supported by the facts when a conflict arises or when students are not responding to a lesson as I wish. I could armor up and get ready for battle and say something like, “You’re lazy!” or “You’re so forgetful!” Instead, I ask questions with an open mind: “What do you think is going on here?” or “How do you feel about this?” or “Why do you think we’re having this conversation right now?” The information I get is often pretty amazing.
3. Listen Like Words Are Passing Birds
Do you get pissed off when birds fly overhead? No. They are nowhere, then they appear for a short instance, and then they are gone again. Words are much the same way. I have to admit that I’m guilty of often treating words like giant boulders that have rolled into my classroom. I feel like I have to get out my pick ax and start hacking away. “Defense!” Instead, I try to see words for what they are: a blip on the screen, a blip worth hearing fully, but then letting go of. Students are not always right in their statements – sometimes what they say is quite poignant: either way, it’s just a bird. They are learning. I’m learning. I’m listening. I’m still strong if I don’t take out the pick ax.
4. Move Slower For Best Progress
Educators have been caught up in a fervor of fast movement – a natural response to a generation of lots of wasted time in many classrooms. However, just because we are moving faster does not mean we are making any more progress. Sometimes, busyness is just a cover for laziness. So, I set two intentions for the day’s lesson: (1) What is the best service I can provide these kids today? and (2) What do they need most today? Objectives, goals, and standards inform the answers to these questions. It starts with intention. My students and I don’t have to run to finish. We simply need to slow down and notice what we’re doing inside the classroom.
5. Befriend Change
Change is wrongfully my enemy. Most days, anything that makes my work feel shaky (a student and I get into conflict, a class or program gets canceled, or a lesson does not have the impact I wish) can put me into defense mode. More and more each day, I’m paying less and less attention to walling up to defend against the change, and paying more attention to the tender/exposed feeling that situations like these bring up. What is this feeling of vulnerability trying to teach me? Often, what I find out is that the “best version of me” is still learning and can’t always “have it all together.” I’m still learning.
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