To help develop an understanding of meditation, one of the 10 ways the students learned how to tame their monkey mind, students will be spending 3 minutes each day in meditation. The meditation presented can be found in the "Headspace" app for kids. The students have been asked to simply focus on "being present" and not to worry about whether they feel they are becoming "good" or "bad" at meditation. Prior to each meditation, they will be shown a short animation that provides insight on "how" to meditate. The bell ringers this week will consist of summarizing each animation. Students must be present in class in order to complete each bell ringer.
Jon Kabat-Zinn is best known for introducing mindfulness to western culture with his MBSR technique (mindfulness-based stress reduction) that he created to help patients suffering with severe anxiety due to trauma. Mindfulness is now very commonly practiced. It is what arises when we are paying attention in the present moment on purpose and non-judgmentally. On Monday and Tuesday, the students brainstormed several terms to help them understand the difference between the terms "Mind Full" and "Mindful". In addition, the students read two excerpts about mindfulness from Kabat-Zinn's book entitled, Mindfulness for Beginners. The students were required to answer the following 3 questions from their reading, and to memorize the definition of mindfulness.
1. What is Jon Kabat-Zinn's definition for "mindfulness"?
2. What is the difference between the "doing mode" and the "being mode" of our mind?
3. What 2 things are necessary in order to shift from the "doing mode" to the "being mode"?
On Wednesday and Thursday, despite the shortened class periods due to the 7th and 8th grade testing schedule, my leadership students continued their meditation practices and added to their understanding of mindfulness by viewing and discussing the following two videos:
VIDEO: What is Mindfulness?
This video illustrated the following truth:
Mindfulness allows you to respond wisely to things that happen to you rather than blindly reacting to events without thinking.
We also learned about 4 ways to practice mindfulness:
1. Stay in the present.2. Be only the observer of your thoughts.
3. Engage your senses.
4. Transform your relationship with your problems.
The students were required to memorize these 4 important ways to practice mindfulness. To do so, we discussed multiple ways to memorize material including reciting it over and over, writing it down and quizzing yourself, and creating an acronym. On Thursday, the students were quizzed on these 4 ways to practice mindfulness.
On Friday, the students began with another meditation practice, and then they completed a letter to their parents (see below):
December 7, 2018
Dear Mom and/or Dad,
1. Please read over what I have written on these handouts. Then, have a discussion with me and let me explain to you how I can "transform my relationship with my problems" so that I can live more mindfully and become more successful in handling my problems.
2. Also, please acknowledge that we have had this discussion by placing your signature on the line below:
_____________________________
(Parent's signature)
(Parent's signature)
Thank you for supporting my leadership development.
Sincerely,
______________________________ Class Period: _______
(Student's name)
After writing this letter the students brainstormed to complete the following handouts which were attached to the above letter to their parents:
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