Students are constantly dealing with carrying the stress of school on a daily basis. Adults and especially teachers sometimes forget how stressful school really is for kids nowadays. As more students received education, more competition to be “the best” is at stake. For our blog post this week our class focused on Social Emotional and Mindfulness. We had to watch the documentary Room to Breath as well as well as two articles which both focused on the importance of mindfulness in the classroom.
As I watched the documentary Room to Breath I quickly noticed how the teachers talked about the two separate “types” of students. In the documentary the school that is being filmed has divided the classes into the honors program students and the general education students. While I was viewing the film I saw how the teachers would talk about the general ed. students and I felt that they did not show any compassion for them. When the teachers in the film would talk about the general education students they would always point out the negative. Later on in the documentary a quote that stuck out to me was “I think they all feel like the underdogs, no one is routing for them.” I think this quote couldn't be any more truthful. Obviously these kids are struggling and teachers need to start to understand that not all students learn the same way. As the film went on and the students began to use mindfulness techniques, improvement was beginning to show. This documentary was a great representation of the vast importance of mindfulness techniques and the beneficial outcomes. When the classroom first started the mindfulness techniques it was awkward for the students and they did not take it so seriously. But as time progressed, one student even claimed that she didn't think she “was ever gonna use it.”
The articles we read also emphasize the importance of mindfulness in the classroom. In the article, Nine Ways to Ensure Your Mindfulness Teaching Practice is Trauma-Informed, the author Katrina Schwartz goes into details on how mindfulness practice can be helpful in the classroom. Even though Schwartz does say the benefits of mindfulness, she also warns the reader and teachers that certain kids perform mindfulness techniques differently due to the fact that "practice can bring up uncomfortable feelings, and layered on top of existing trauma can be frightening or psychologically dysregulating" (Schwartz, 2019).
Not only is mindfulness just beneficial practice to use in the classroom, but anyone can practice mindfulness techniques. With advancement in technology in the past years apps have been made for anyone's personal use to practice mindfulness An app that I have used for myself is called Reflective-Journal & Al Diary. This app helps with breathing meditation and also encourages their audience to journal their thoughts and feelings to help get rid of any negative thoughts. I feel that it is important for educators to be informed about all these helpful apps that their students could easily access to help them with mindfulness techniques. With these apps being so accessible it could allow students to continue their practice with mindfulness even outside of the classroom.
Documentary: Long, R. (director/ producer). (2012) Room To Breathe [film]. ZAP Zoetrope Aubry Productions.
Article: Schwartz, K. (2019). Nine ways to ensure your mindfulness teaching is trauma informed. KQED Mindshift. Link (Links to an external site.)
Article: Why is Mindfulness Needed in Education. (n.d.). Mindful Schools
App; Reflectly ApS. (2017). Reflectly- Journal & Al Diary (version 3.20.2) [Mobile App] App Store.
Photo: alisa_rut/Adobe Stock
Comments
Post a Comment