Mindfulness in Mainstream Education
GUEST WRITER: Sheila Byrne is a Middle & High School teacher who currently works in an international school in the Middle East. Sheila talks about how she is integrating mindfulness exercises into mainstream education via her own classroom practice. In this article, you will learn about:
- The benefits of teaching Mindfully.
- How you can adapt your teaching to create an environment which supports both student and teacher wellbeing.
- How Sheila taught her Grade 11 students Mindful gratitude via a letter-writing exercise that is very popular and frequently requested by her students.
You’ll also find examples of student work. This sample of work gives you a taste of some of the results teachers can get from teaching mindfulness (and teaching mindfully). It also demonstrates how a mindful approach to teaching can positively impact what in mainstream education we call a student’s “Social and Emotional Learning” (SEL) skills. Happy reading!
What is Mindfulness?
“Paying attention; On purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally.”
Jon Kabat Zinn
Mindfulness is a path to a better quality of life. It refers to training your attention to be able to rest peacefully in the present moment. Thoughts or worries about the past and future are simply observed without being attached to or judged. In this way, you can avoid being caught up in dwelling on the past or worrying about the future and can instead be present in the moment. The word mindfulness can be used to refer to both the state of being mindful, as described above, and the daily practices (e.g. meditation) that help to bring it about. It has existed for millenia, and was popularised by Jon Kabat Zinn and his Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) training. He’s seen as someone who brought Mindfulness to the masses by adapting the knowledge he gained from a Zen practitioner who gave a speech at MIT while Zinn was studying there, and then developed this into his work on Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction or ‘MBSR’ techniques.
Kabat Zinn’s work is really key today, because it played a significant role in making mindfulness practice and meditation much more accessible to all. It also ensured a completely secular application of mindfulness, which health practitioners across the world now use. These ideas can seem abstract or irrelevant to a degree but in essence Mindfulness is a practical skill which can be taught, learned and utilised as a means through which a number of chronic, debilitating illnesses and disorders can be managed but also as a way to move from monotonous auto-pilot into a cognizance and experience of the moments that make life worth living. It is a practical step in supporting overall wellbeing.
You may be someone who has an awareness of this already, or you may be feeling dismissive of this and thinking; ‘This really doesn’t apply to me.’ If so, pause for a moment and consider; When was the last time you felt completely at peace and relaxed? If you can’t remember the last time you gave yourself the gift of just relaxing happily in the moment, then think of how exhausted and overwhelmed your brain must be. Notice what happens when you:
- Drop your shoulders.
- Unclench your jaw.
- Relax the skin around your eyes.
- Take three nourishing breaths.
Now think of your students. They do not fall asleep, they pass out looking at screens. They don’t unwind, they binge-watch. They don’t take time to process, they take time to post. And they are struggling because they have not seen any other way. We model the same behaviours. Students are pushed through activities constantly, and their “down time” is a bombardment of never-ending stimuli. You cannot tell a teenager they must have less screen time when phones, laptops, tablets, apps, videos, podcasts and eBooks make up their lesson content, homework, social time and means of ‘relaxation’.
Role of Mindfulness in Education
By teaching mindfulness to our students, we can give students skills that will allow for processing, relaxation, unwinding, resilience and reflection. A toolbox from which they can draw strength to deal with overwhelming feelings or find joy in the minutiae of life. And we can give ourselves the same gift. The great news is we can do it so easily by changing so little.
We can all make changes that will allow our personal wellbeing and that of our students to thrive. Once you begin the practice of Mindfulness my hope is that you will no longer see Teaching Mindfully as another responsibility or even as best practice but simply as the nicest and easiest way to live and teach in a happy and positive environment.
We are all so used to operating in an over-scheduled, frenetic school day and with the pressure to deliver curriculum and prepare for assessments, it’s rare that we feel we have a moment to pause and take stock. We push through each hectic day on autopilot – take attendance, deliver lesson, get some grading done, communicate with parents, meeting, supervise, prep for tomorrow…it feels unstoppable. But this is just a habit. And habits can be broken.
Mindfulness does not mean stopping and sitting on the floor to meditate. Mindfulness is a skill whereby you can bring your attention fully to the present moment and by practicing it, you can not only notice your thoughts, physical feelings and emotions; but you can actively make alterations and adjustments if needed. When you are able to do this, you can pass this on to your students.
A student who can recognise and self-regulate moods and emotions can prepare themselves for new learning. A student who can problem-solve calmly will be better prepared for critical thinking. A student who feels physically comfortable and at ease is ready to engage in a lesson. A student who understands that it is okay to feel overwhelmed, because they can seek support and address the issue, will raise their hand and ask you questions.
The benefits to the individual are benefits to the classroom as a whole. If everyone in the room (teachers included) feel more resilient and confidant in their abilities to cope with the stresses and pressures that can and will arise in the classroom, everyone benefits. By embedding Mindful practices in your pedagogy, the atmosphere of the room and thus the wellbeing of all in attendance is more positive and supportive. If you choose to take the time to practice Mindfulness and bring a focused attention to you teaching and learning, you may just be surprised by what it is that you observe and how easy it is to make small changes that can have a huge impact.
How can teachers adopt a Mindful approach TO THEIR teaching?
“Teacher stress has both economic and personal implications – it can lead to stress-related employee absenteeism and may also result in teacher burnout and affect pupil outcomes” (Kyriacou, 1987).
There is a plethora of ways to begin teaching more Mindfully but step one is, and always will be to begin a Mindful practice of your own. This can be done in many different ways using apps like Headspace which provides specific resources for teachers. Alternatively, you can simply engage with any of the many other Mindfulness education resources available online. Once you begin to notice and feel the effects of Mindfulness, this will begin to impact your classroom and your day-to-day teaching. I have spent the last few years compiling resources for a wide variety of subject areas as well as whole-school resources, because it is recognised that for wellbeing programs to be impactful in schools, they should be integrated within the curricula of every class across all subject areas, as opposed to separated into a single ‘wellness’ class (Jones, S., Bouffard, S., 2012). I am English teacher so it was very easy for me to see how allowing students time, awareness and skillset of personal attentiveness would have a positive impact on their academic performance as well as their overall wellbeing.
MY APPROACH
One of the lessons that I use to do this frequently is a gratitude practice linked to a studied text. The lesson begins as many of mine do, with a seated moment of breathing to bring focus and attention. I then explain to students the benefits of a Mindful practice – practicing gratitude. We watch videos and discuss and then I set the challenge. Students are asked to write a letter of gratitude to someone in their lives they truly appreciate.
During this activity there is no timer set, I allow casual seating (floor, cushion etc) and I play instrumental music from YouTube. My students love this time and request it frequently. They know that I will leave them be to think, create, problem solve or write during these periods and the work they produce continually blows me away. I also have this time to sit, breathe and simply allow learning to take place without frantically trying to deliver content; this has been a true gift to my teaching experience.
When the letters are complete, I extend the challenge to students to read their letters to their chosen recipient. In 2020 this has been adapted slightly and I’m allowing phone calls but encourage eye-contact! They then reflect on the experience and share their responses with me. And it is one of those activities that can fuel me for the next few hectic weeks.
A SAMPLE OF WORK FROM MY STUDENTS’ RESPONSES
These are just some ways that we can build mindfulness into education. There are so many other ways to incorporate Mindfulness in your teaching, your classroom and your life. While I did this Letter of Gratitude exercise with my Grade 11 students, I recommend a simplified version, a Gratitude Postcard exercise, that’s suitable for Middle School.
It is my hope that for all teachers adapting slightly can yield bounteous rewards which will support the wellbeing of the students in front of us, all well as our own.
REFERENCES
Kyriacou, C. (1987 in print, 2006 online) “Teacher Stress and Burnout An International Review”. Educational Research, 29, pp. 146-152.
About the author
Sheila Byrne is an English, Classical Studies and History Secondary level teacher with over 10 years of teaching experience, the majority of which was in International Schools. She is currently employed in the Middle East as an English Language Arts Teacher. Sheila designs and shares teaching resources as well as facilitating online Professional Teacher Development. Sheila has completed training with the Irish Mindfulness Academy and is a certified member of the International Mindfulness and Meditation Alliance.
