MINDFULNESS MEDITATION IN THE CLASS

MINDFULNESS MEDITATION IN THE CLASS

 

THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE NOMINEE (NOMINATED BY THE LATE MARTIN LUTHER KING JR) THICH NHAT HANH  SPEAKS  ON MINDFULNESS IN EDUCATION .

 

What is mindfulness in education?

Children need to learn to take care of themselves because schools can be very stressful. They need guidelines on ways to be calm, be able to return to the present moment, to be able to handle their emotions and realise that their emotions are not in their control. This guideline is what we call mindfulness training.
   Mindfulness meditation is the practice of stopping and becoming aware of what we are thinking and doing, in other words, introspecting. The more we are mindful of our thoughts, speech and actions, the more concentration and clarity we develop on what we are doing and the greater is our depth of understanding of a situation.

What is the role of teachers and parents?

 
Teachers and parents have to become role models for young people. Through mindful practices such as mindful breathing and mindful walking, they must be able to stop and look deeply and be calm in order to see the root and the consequence of an event/action/act with understanding and peace. If teachers can do that, children will follow it as well. Similarly, we have to learn how to handle our anger without venting frustration on our children. We have to reach out and help diffuse the violence within ourselves.
   Mindfulness can be incorporated into the school, and the classroom. I can recall a mathematics teacher, who has come to several retreats at Plum Village, a retreat centre in France established by me, who had a difficult time in his classroom because he would get angry in no time, and consequently used to throw chalk at his students. After he practiced mindfulness for a while, he transformed dramatically. He further shared the practice with the children also wherein they had to stop everything and clap their hands every 15 minutes to practice breathing and smiling. His students enjoyed practicing with him and his class made good progress. Soon every class in the school adopted my techniques. We should practice mindful meditation collectively, because looking deeply into our situation is not an individual matter. We have to combine our individual insights into collective wisdom.

How can students learn to practice mindfulness?

Students need deep relaxation to overcome the stress of contemporary lives. There are several exercises that can help children practice mindfulness: practicing with a bell, pebble meditation, deep relaxation, touching the earth for children, snack meditation and embracing strong emotions.
   In snack meditation, for instance, students and teacher sit together in a circle and enjoy eating together in silence. The children are taught to wait to begin eating until everyone has got a snack and a drink. Further, the teacher can direct the conversation of looking deeply into the snack or just ask a few questions and then let students share and ask questions.