Blog #6; Social Emotional/ Mindfulness

This week in class, we went into the topic of social-emotional learning and mindfulness. This is a super interesting topic that I personally feel that we do not hear of often enough. There are so many different benefits to mindfulness whether it is in or out of the classroom, and I think it definitely needs to be recognized much more in the world. We watched a film called Room to Breathe, read articles about mindfulness and also had the opportunity to choose a mindfulness app to work with, talk about and review. 

The film that we were assigned to watch this week was called; “Room to Breathe.” The film started off by showing us a classroom with a ton of behavioral issues and other struggles. This San Francisco middle school was very lucky to have a mindfulness teacher come in once a week to somewhat implement a few mindfulness based learning techniques such as meditations. You are able to tell that in the beginning, it was pretty difficult to get it started. But eventually, there was a difference made in the classroom. It started off being a very impulsive, loud, unfocused and out of control classroom, but in the end, the mindfulness techniques truly made a difference in these students and the teachers lives.

The article called "Nine Ways To Ensure Your Mindfulness Teaching Practice Is Trauma Informed," was an amazing read and definitely super informative. I think that a lot of the time, people think that sitting with your eyes closed to think and focus on breathing, etc is supposed to always be peaceful. Well, this article shows a good point. Most people wouldn't think of the fact that there are children out in the world that have different types of trauma, and doing these different exercises can be threatening, triggering or even terrifying for these students. You cannot assume that these mindfulness practices will be easy for every student. Another thing that the article discussed were some of the benefits to mindfulness; "Often mindfulness is used as a way to help students build self-regulation skills and learn to calm down when they become frustrated or angry. Cultivating those skills can be powerful for students, but many teachers say mindfulness is crucial for themselves, helping them take an extra moment before reacting to students." It is super important to know the benefits that mindfulness can have for our students, but we also need to practice mindfulness ourselves as teachers. And lastly, another important piece from this article are the actual nine steps that are super important to take into consideration. These steps include; do no harm, establish a sense of safety, build relational mindfulness, understand intersectionality and be mindful of implicit bias and culture, understand the "window of tolerance" and be on the lookout for it, the paradox of mental training, when teaching mindfulness, prioritize somatic-based exercises, don't over-identify with mindfulness logistics, and lastly, think about daily mindfulness interventions. By following these steps, you are able to safely and carefully use mindfulness with your students in the classroom.

The second article, called “Benefits of Mindfulness in Education,” is also a very informative article when it comes to mindfulness. The article shows the different challenges students are facing, including but not limited to anxiety, trauma, distraction and isolation. Considering this list of challenges, we need to find a way to help calm students' anxious nervous systems. We need to provide our students with supportive relationships, nurturing experiences and positive learning environments. Not only are our students facing struggles and challenges, but educators are as well. The article shows that 61% of educators are stressed out, 58% of educators are claiming that their mental health is “not good,” and too many educators are burnt out. Teachers need to also practice mindfulness themselves. Teaching is a really hard thing to do, and can put a lot of stress and pressure on an educator. According to the article; “Educators are tasked with teaching the next generation of leaders; yet their working conditions lack the support needed to ensure their success. Unsustainable conditions can manifest through decreased productivity and creativity, and escalate to more serious symptoms like anxiety, dissociation, frustration, and, eventually, burnout.” This article shows that yes, while our students are struggling and facing different challenges, we need to be more aware that our teachers are as well. Research shows that practicing mindfulness can help decrease stress and anxiety, strengthen resilience and emotional regulation for children as well as adults. 

The app that I decided to download for my own mindfulness experience was Headspace. Right off the bat, the app gave off positive energy, with the smiling sun character appearing as soon as you sign up. Next it asked about what was on your mind, and for this I chose staying focused. After this, the app says that there are different types of music and soundscapes as well as meditation courses. The Headspace app can give you reminders to keep your practice going, support, and inspiration. It can also give you mindfulness moments, which include thoughtful words of wisdom to add mindfulness to your everyday life. Within each different category, there are different types of music, soundscapes, exercises, mindful Earth, energy shots, workouts, wind downs, and so much more. This app surely helped me. I signed up for the free two week trial, but after that, it can be pretty expensive which is one downside. Another downside to the app is that if you do not do the free trial, there are little to no mindfulness exercises/activities for you to engage in whatsoever. After using the app for a couple of days, I noticed some improvements in my well-being. I was meditating more, having increased focus and overall felt more “stable” and less stressed out. I think overall, this app can be super beneficial for a person's day to day life, and can definitely make a positive impact on a person. I also think that using this app in the classroom can help better our students lives inside and outside of the classroom. 

After reading the articles, trying out a mindfulness application and watching the film, I have learned a lot about mindfulness. I think that mindfulness learning is something that all schools should look into implementing. Mindfulness techniques can benefit students in many different ways as learned throughout this week's articles, the app and film. Another thing that I learned from this week's topic was that not only is mindfulness important for students, but teachers too. Seeing how many teachers are experiencing stress, burn out and poor mental health is horrible. If our teachers aren’t well enough to teach, then our students can’t learn. Mindfulness is so important and should be implemented in day to day life, in and out of school. Mindfulness is for everybody, and I would definitely recommend others to try it out as well. 

Photo: https://pin.it/1T0wFg1

References:

Long, R. (director/ producer). (2012) Room To Breathe [film]. ZAP Zoetrope Aubry Productions.

Puddicombe, A. (2010) Headspace [mobile app]. 

Schwartz, K. (2019, April 08). Nine ways to ensure your Mindfulness teaching practice is trauma-informed. Retrieved March 22, 2021, from https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/53228/nine-ways-to-ensure-your-mindfulness-teaching-practice-is-trauma-informed

Why is mindfulness needed in education? (2021, February 18). Retrieved March 22, 2021, from https://www.mindfulschools.org/about-mindfulness/why-is-mindfulness-needed-in-education/