MINDING YOUR LIFE NEWSLETTER
Number 32
In this issue…
2012 Mindfulness in Education
Conference
Woolman Hill
Retreat
Mindfulness
is not an individual matter
Susan
Kaiser Greenland, author of The Mindful
Child: How to Help Your Kid Manage
Stress and Become Happier, Kinder, and More Compassionate, is my
inspiration when it comes to teaching interpersonal mindfulness to young people. Several years ago at a Mindfulness
in Education Network conference, Susan showed a video of a 3rd grade class
sitting in a circle on the floor. Each
child, in turn, looked at the child to his or her left and said something like,
“Hello, Bill, your eyes look brown.” The
feeling of connection that went around the circle was palpable. Susan’s book describes this and many other
interpersonal mindfulness practices that can be used with young people.
In my
math classes, I employed small group learning for many years. When classes began with five minutes of mindfulness
practice before the students started working with their groups, there was a
noticeable improvement in the presence students brought to their work. Reflecting on prompts or doing free writing
or yoga, students had the opportunity to come back to themselves in the midst
of the busy school day, and their groups subsequently accomplished more in less
time. After new groups had worked
together for a couple of weeks, I would ask the students to reflect and journal
on their group experience, notice what was going well and what wasn’t. Then I asked them to reflect on how they
might modify their participation to improve their group. When the time came for the groups to change, I
suggested students write thank you notes to each of the other members of their
group. On the rare occasion I forgot to
make time for writing these notes, I was quickly reminded.
Mindfulness
practice has an ethical dimension. It’s
not only sitting on a cushion. There are
many activist and relational mindfulness practices. However, being mindful of others with understanding
and compassion is difficult, if not impossible, when one is not mindful of
oneself. We offer a great gift to young
people when we share interpersonal as well as intrapersonal mindfulness
practices with them.
EVENTS
Minding our
Lives: Looking Deeply at the Present Moment
Sunday to Thursday, January
15 - 19, 2012
This workshop will be of general interest.
Public Lecture – Mindfulness in Education
Friday, March 9, 2012, 6:00 – 8:00p.m. (details will be forthcoming)
This lecture will be of interest to educators,
counselors, parents, and administrators.
Mindfulness in Teaching and Learning
Friday to Sunday, March 16 – 18, 2012
This conference will be of interest to educators,
counselors, administrators and parents.
Minding our
Lives: Looking Deeply at the Present Moment
Thursday to Sunday, April 26 - 29, 2012
This retreat will be of general
interest.