As my first practicum is quickly approaching, I’m beginning to think about different ways I can bring meditation into classrooms and share it with future students. I outlined some of the benefits of meditating in my previous post and I think those benefits would also apply in classrooms, helping to make my future classroom an enjoyable and low-stress environment for everyone.
One article from Edutopia suggests that regular meditation in classrooms can help students manage transitions, refocus them on school work, as well as promote compassion and respect within the classroom community (Kuranishi, 2016).
That same article provides some advice on how to best integrate meditation into classroom routines. Some tips that stuck out to me was the importance of teachers having a personal meditation practice before sharing it with students, teaching students about the benefits of meditating, offering students options and practicing a variety of different types of meditation.
This article also recommends being consistent, which I think is really important when trying to establish routines and teach students something new. Consistency is also how everyone will be able to experience the maximum benefits of a meditation practice.
“Mediation and concentration are the way to a life of serenity”
Baba Ram Dass
The video below leads the viewer through a quick 3-minute body scan and is a great way to have students check-in with themselves at any point during the school day.
