Week 13 - (Final Module)

Week 13 – Beyond the Classroom - December 3 - 7

Research:

§  Adarkar, A., & Keiser, D. L. (2007). The Buddha in the classroom.

The authors of this article (2007) asked the question: “what are the tools that would allow educators to renew their sense of compassion with themselves and their students?” (p. 247). They then suggested that “to teach with a moral lens, especially one centered in compassion and reinforced by an awareness of suffering, may require taking stands that challenge the dominant quantitative paradigm based on high-stakes testing and accountability” (p. 247). After their discussion of what Buddhist principles can offer, they suggest that “even stripped of traditional Buddhist methodology, the basic elements of meditative practice are still powerful tools” (p. 257) and then cite a teacher who utilized “Just One Minute” – a moment of stillness “to ground and focus her class” (p. 257). They concluded that “when we encourage educators to stop, meditate, and focus on being mindful, they become compassionate not just toward their students, but toward themselves … compassion is caring for the self through the detour of the other. As educators face the multifaceted challenges before them, they need faith that a compassionate approach to students and their suffering will indeed lead to more enlightened students as well as a more caring and attentive society” (p. 259).

§  Deringer, S. A. (2017). Mindful Place-Based Education: Mapping the Literature.

This article (and literature review) published in The Journal of Experiential Education (2017) proposed mindful place-based education; “place-based education is the process of using the local community and environment as a starting point to teach concepts in language arts, mathematics, social studies, science and other subjects across the curriculum” (p. 335). The author suggested that “a mindful place-based pedagogy may help teachers and students experience place in a deeper way and think more critically about the societal norms and power structures that surround them” (p. 333). The elements of place-based education include cultural studies, community process, and environmental education; mindfulness focuses on mindful practices for wellbeing and the drawing of novel distinctions; the elements inherent in both place-based education and mindfulness include environmental justice, problem-posing, social justice, and engagement. Because of this overlap, the author suggested that “the concept of mindfulness may be able to strengthen place-based education by challenging students and teachers to approach their communities with greater sensitivity and openness to new information” (p. 345). Derringer concludes that “the use of mindful place-based education may result in a strengthened pedagogy that is more equipped to fulfill the needs of local communities and contextualize education for students in a rapidly globalizing educational system” (p. 346).  

§  Hamel, E. C., Shaw, S., & Taylor, T. S. (2013). Toward a new mindfulness: Explorations of home and community literacies.

Three teachers created a study group (published article 2013) with the “concern that dominant literacy practices continued to leave too many children in the margins of successful teaching, and [were] interested in the potential for utilizing home and community literacies in the classroom … we began meeting every other week after school to read, engage, and discuss how the group might identify, value, and utilize the multiple literacies of diverse students, especially with regard to classroom practices” (p. 428, author’s italics). What they discovered was that “there was a great deal to explore within ourselves long before we could think with much specificity about classroom practice” (p. 428). Their findings “emphasize the importance of committing extended time to teachers’ self-study as related to understanding home and community literacies. Even with research focusing on self-study related to diversity issues, the investment in and support for such work in schools continues to be neglected; rarely do school systems provide the time and support necessary for educators to explore what that means in any real depth” (p. 429). The authors discovered “long-term discussions allowed us to begin holding ourselves and each other accountable for deficit perspectives that came to the surface through our talk” (p. 434). They concluded that “with continued opportunities to study, reflect, engage in conversation, and ask[ing] new questions, we will be able to rebuild educational experiences to create a more just system that truly supports every child. The importance of this finding cannot be underestimated as policymakers, administrators, and staff developers consider what it takes to support teacher growth and student success” (p. 438, author’s italics).

§  Hyland, T. (2013). Moral education, mindfulness, and social engagement.

This article (2013) features a discussion about the degrading of education, specifically in the UK, and how mindfulness practice can encourage more focus on human emotions and social/community justice. From the abstract: “this article suggests ways of foregrounding social capital through programs that incorporate ‘mindfulness’ – non-judgmental present moment attention and awareness drawn from Buddhist traditions – as a means of rejuvenating the affective domain of learning concerned with emotions and values” (p. 1). Hyland stated that “there is a need for a re-affirmation of the importance of fostering of moral and emotional development characteristic of the affective domain” (p. 5). Referencing Buddhist philosophy, and Thich Nhat Hanh, the author noted that “like any process or activity that is concerned principally with introspection and a focus on inner thoughts and feelings, there seems to be a natural tendency to assign it a limited value because of its apparent passivity and subjective inward-looking character” (p. 5). He then concluded that “along with most other public institutions, education has been debilitated and grossly mutated by this materialistic and instrumentalist culture of the last few decades … change will not be brought about by purely intellectual and cognitive means (cogito) … but by giving equal attention to sentio, the crucial sphere of human emotions” (p. 7). According to this author, “mindfulness approaches have been proved particularly effective in this respect” (p. 7). It is suggested that mindfulness precepts and values (found in Buddhist traditions) can facilitate and inspire community wellbeing and trust that could lead to rejuvenation of the “affective domain of education” (p. 7).

Discuss the potential benefits/liabilities of mindfulness education in communities

This is a rather mismatched group of research articles, but still with the thread that mindfulness can be a potential benefit for students, teachers, community, and society. From introducing stripped-down Buddhist practices into the classroom, to encouraging a more balanced approach between cogito and sentio, to mindful place-based education, to a group of teachers meeting to discuss improved literacy only to discover they needed more awareness of themselves in the process, the suggestions are similar: encouraging awareness and compassion is needed in all arenas, including education.

I see very few liabilities to introducing secular mindfulness practices into these areas. Perhaps caution needs to be exercised in activities of extended meditation (especially in upper grades), as there can be some risk of re-surfacing trauma or even disassociation, but with short mindfulness techniques for elementary students such as stress-reduction breath attention or calming mantras such as “I am calm now,” I don’t see much risk.* There is a concern of introducing religious/spiritual practices that may contradict (somehow) with parental religious training, in which case a discussion with parents would be warranted and wishes respected. But, on the whole, I don’t see much problem, and much potential benefit, to introducing mindfulness techniques that can be used as activity transitions, stress-reduction, and a means to foster prosocial behaviors.

The meditation teacher/leader at the silent retreat I attended made a simple statement: mindfulness (meditation) is not a Buddhist practice, but a human practice. I do believe that we all need to practice stillness and awareness – being present in life now rather than ruminating on the past or worrying about the future – in order to experience and engage in life fully. Sharing techniques to facilitate a practice of mindful awareness and stillness to all ages can only be a benefit to the whole (in my opinion).

*I have received my copy of Trauma-Sensitive Classroom: Building Resilience with Compassionate Teaching, by P. Jennings (2018) – I will be reading through it on the break prior to starting my internship.