Much of the literature about stress and its effects on children is
focused on how these various groups can learn how to “cope,”
“adapt,” and/or “manage” stress. Practicing mindfulness, on
the other hand, is about becoming familiar with how one responds to
stress and, as important, how one can differentiate between stressors
that generate beneficial actions and ones that escalate distress and
discomfort. It was the latter approach that characterized the
year-long mindfulness project that a group of racial, ethnic, and
culturally diverse fifth graders in a local Boston public school
participated in during the AY2016-2017. The facilitator of the project
met with participating students for an average of 75 minutes, once per
week. In large and small group discussions and numerous creative
techniques and processes (e.g., photography, symbolic art) the
participants explored, documented, and assessed how they experienced
various forms of mindfulness and how those processes informed their
thinking, emotions, and actions. As important, participating in the
project provided the young people with opportunities to become
‘mindfulness ambassadors’ who brought mindfulness into their
families, school, and respective communities. Engaging in mindfulness
practices provided the young people with opportunities to develop
life-long, skillful ways to become familiar with their minds, increase
their self-awareness, more effectively respond to difficult thoughts
and emotions, and provide strategies to foster positive connections
with others. In addition, sharing and exploring strategies for
developing a mindful perspective contributed to creating an
environment for learning that intersected with young people’s
capacity to be critical thinkers and thoughtful decision-makers. The
greatest contribution of the book is that it is threaded with the
voices of young girls and boys who speak about themselves, their
thoughts and emotions, their experiences with fear, anxiety, success,
and failure with directness, honesty, and a confidence in their skills
and abilities. Their participation in the project demonstrates the
possibilities classroom teachers have to integrate mindfulness
practices into the school day. As important, teachers are invited to
hone their own mindfulness practices to ensure that they are
intentionally working with their own thoughts, emotions, and
assumptions as they relate to the students they teach.
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A Meeting of the Minds
Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9781498595445
Publisert
2019
Utgave
1. utgave
Utgiver
Bloomsbury USA
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok
Forfatter