Teachers, today, struggle to find ways to manage their classrooms without taking precious time away from their curriculum. Contemplative practices are useful tools that not only help with classroom management, but also create an atmosphere of tolerance and compassion.
A Deep Breath
Teaching students to use deep breathing methods to center their thoughts is a classic example how to create an atmosphere of tolerance and compassion with contemplative practices while enhancing learning. Students who learn to take the time to breathe deeply before tests or during stressful situations are more capable of maintaining their emotional center. In addition, deep breathing stimulates blood flow, which has a very positive effect on the processes of the brain. Students actually do better scholastically when they learn to breathe deeply.
Taking the time to do five or six deep breaths in and out can defuse the tensest situations. While taking the breaths, students can be asked to close their eyes. A guided meditation can also be given, which helps the students reflect on positive affirmations. Positive affirmations increase self-esteem, tolerance, compassion, and confidence.
Take Five
Educators in active elementary classes will find that taking five minutes for a contemplative practice helps students to become calmer and more attentive. Classroom teachers have found great success in teaching easy yoga poses to their students. During the "Take Five" time, one or two students can be asked to lead the poses. Several poses that work include: the cobra, the downward dog, the stork, and the sunrise, sunset.
In addition to contributing to classroom management, simple yoga poses enhance balance, circulation and flexibility. Furthermore, students who are differently-abled can participate with little modification during "Take Five" time.
Mindful Writing
Older students will find the use of Reflective Journals to be a great aid to learning because it allows students to evaluation situations or ideas; decide on a course of action; and finally, reflect on what was learned. Reflective Journals can have prompts assigned by the classroom teacher based on situations within the classroom dynamics, such as, "When you heard of the death of your classmate's parent, what thoughts came to you?" or, "What is your reaction to learning that art classes have been cancelled?" Prompts can also ask students to write mindfully about a certain subject they are studying. (i.e., "Who, to you, was the most interesting character in Shakespeare's Othello?") Finally, Reflective Journals can be used by the students to record their own ideas, thoughts, questions and epiphanies.
Classroom teachers should allow students the freedom to express themselves within the Reflective Journals without the worry of producing text that is correct in punctuation, grammar and/or spelling. Comments to the students should be positive, for example, "This is a very astute observation," or, "I enjoyed your description of this event."
By being allowed the time, usually fifteen minutes during class, or as homework, students learn to stop, reflect on what is going on around them, assess the situation, and make plans on what to do. This develops skills that will last a lifetime. Additionally, students who keep Reflective Journals are better able to express frustrations. Less frustration in the classroom demonstrates contemplative practices help to build tolerance and compassion.
It Works!
Teachers who know how to create tolerance and compassion with contemplative practices do not worry about classroom management. Contemplative practices, when practiced regularly, allow the practitioner to develop habits that enable them to find balance or to center, decrease stress and think mindfully, which leads to compassionate, tolerant living. In today's busy classrooms that are overstressed by standardize testing demands and canned curriculum; five to fifteen minutes of contemplative practice can make the difference in a classroom that excels or one that must constantly be managed.
