On mindfulness exercises in the classroom

“STOP talking! Keep quiet! Listen! Focus!” a teacher blurts out. How powerful are these words to redirect attention? How effective are they to curb undesirable behaviour? Have students focused on and engaged with the lesson or task at hand in response to the teacher’s call, or have they just kept quiet out of fear while their minds meander?

Every teacher wants his/her students to pay attention, to focus, to behave, to be engaged, to be responsive, and above all, to learn. This desire is shared by teachers globally. However, at some point, students tend to lack focus, get easily distracted and agitated, feel anxious, or even become aggressive. Innumerable factors are affecting these. At the classroom level, one reason could be shifting from one subject to another. For example, a class begins with English, followed by Filipino, then Mathematics, then Araling Panlipunan, and lastly Science. Imagine teachers coming in one after another with his or her repertoire. One lesson ends and after a few seconds, another unrelated lesson begins. That requires “switching off and on” of one’s focus between unrelated subjects with unrelated lessons, especially when conscious integration of lessons across disciplines is not practiced. Isn’t that stressful on the part of the students? Children are not machines that can quickly shift focus by a flick of a finger or a touch of a button. The mind needs time to properly transition and shift, to effectively receive and process a new set of information or tasks.

Realizing that, I looked for a way to help children transition. I discovered a precious tool, the integration of Mindfulness Practices in the daily classroom routine which some schools in other countries practice. To address the need for transitioning, every subject teacher leads the class to a two-minute mindfulness exercise after the prayer or during actual lesson time if the need arises. So if there are five subjects for half a day, then the students have at least cumulatively done mindfulness exercises for 10 minutes, and another 8-10 in the afternoon. The ideal duration for grade school children being 3-10 minutes twice a day, that would be sufficient.

What has been the result? The practice has resulted in students becoming relaxed, more attentive, focused, receptive, and responsive. It has cut down the problem of redirection of attention and focus, as the exercise gives the brain and the body the space to transition and switch gradually. Thus, teacher-student interaction has become fluid and more productive.

This practice has gained high acceptance from both teachers and students, hence, its institutional inclusion in all subjects and all levels in Corpus Christi Grade School, and its recommendation to other institutions who share the same concern. –Mars Guibone, m.guibone@gmail.com