Landing in detention for misbehaving in school seems to be a given: if you do the crime then you'll do the time. After all, teachers face a lot of challenges, and dealing with constant classroom disruptions shouldn't have to be one of them.
The first time I got detention was for forgetting my Spanish book. No, I wasn't causing trouble but, since I did break a rule, off I went to detention (where I stewed about how unfair it was to be punished for a simple lapse in memory). I'd like to say I learned my lesson and never forgot another book, but my second stint in detention for the same infraction seems to indicate otherwise.
So, does detention -- or other punishment-based consequences -- even work? Or is there another solution to managing unwanted behavior in schools?
Robert W. Coleman Elementary School, in Baltimore, seems to think so. The school has been offering students time in a meditation room, called the "Mindful Moment Room", instead of handing out more traditional forms of punishment.
The room is filled with pillows and soft lighting. Within it, kids are encouraged to practice deep breathing and meditation, as well as receiving guidance on how to work through their more difficult feelings and behavior. The room was created in partnership with the Holistic Life Foundation, a local non-profit organization that hosts a yoga and meditation-centered after-school program called Holistic Me, for kids pre-K to 5th grade.
Kirk Phillips, coordinator for Holistic Me, worked with the school on the project and told Upworthy, "It's amazing. You wouldn't think that little kids would meditate in silence. And they do." Phillips also said that, since implementing the program last year, there have been exactly zero suspensions.
Other schools using mindfulness and meditation programs report similarly encouraging results. Patterson Park High School, also in Baltimore, noted suspension rates are dropping and attendance is increasing. And Seth Brown, a teacher in Minnesota, noticed his students were more focused and less stressed after participating in a five-minute mindfulness exercise before and after each class period.
Just how is mindfulness improving student behavior and stress? Meditation and mindful practices, like yoga, have been around for thousands of years and science just starting to catch up. Recent studies show that mindful meditation can offer a "mental armor" against disruptive emotions as well as improving memory, attention span and focus.
As the founders of the Holistic Me program put it:
Mindfulness is the combination of awareness, centering, and being present. It is the awareness of your thoughts, emotions, actions, and energy. It is the ability to get centered and stay centered in all situations. And it is the ability to be present, not letting internal and external distractions take you from the current moment. This leads to the development of empathy, compassion, love, balance, and harmony.
Sounds like a pretty great lesson to be teaching our kids, both in and out of school.
image via: Lyn Lomasi
The first time I got detention was for forgetting my Spanish book. No, I wasn't causing trouble but, since I did break a rule, off I went to detention (where I stewed about how unfair it was to be punished for a simple lapse in memory). I'd like to say I learned my lesson and never forgot another book, but my second stint in detention for the same infraction seems to indicate otherwise.
So, does detention -- or other punishment-based consequences -- even work? Or is there another solution to managing unwanted behavior in schools?
Robert W. Coleman Elementary School, in Baltimore, seems to think so. The school has been offering students time in a meditation room, called the "Mindful Moment Room", instead of handing out more traditional forms of punishment.
The room is filled with pillows and soft lighting. Within it, kids are encouraged to practice deep breathing and meditation, as well as receiving guidance on how to work through their more difficult feelings and behavior. The room was created in partnership with the Holistic Life Foundation, a local non-profit organization that hosts a yoga and meditation-centered after-school program called Holistic Me, for kids pre-K to 5th grade.
Kirk Phillips, coordinator for Holistic Me, worked with the school on the project and told Upworthy, "It's amazing. You wouldn't think that little kids would meditate in silence. And they do." Phillips also said that, since implementing the program last year, there have been exactly zero suspensions.
Other schools using mindfulness and meditation programs report similarly encouraging results. Patterson Park High School, also in Baltimore, noted suspension rates are dropping and attendance is increasing. And Seth Brown, a teacher in Minnesota, noticed his students were more focused and less stressed after participating in a five-minute mindfulness exercise before and after each class period.
Just how is mindfulness improving student behavior and stress? Meditation and mindful practices, like yoga, have been around for thousands of years and science just starting to catch up. Recent studies show that mindful meditation can offer a "mental armor" against disruptive emotions as well as improving memory, attention span and focus.
As the founders of the Holistic Me program put it:
Mindfulness is the combination of awareness, centering, and being present. It is the awareness of your thoughts, emotions, actions, and energy. It is the ability to get centered and stay centered in all situations. And it is the ability to be present, not letting internal and external distractions take you from the current moment. This leads to the development of empathy, compassion, love, balance, and harmony.
Sounds like a pretty great lesson to be teaching our kids, both in and out of school.
image via: Lyn Lomasi