Blog Post # 3 - Teacher Self-Attention: Cultivating Inner Peace, Calm, and Compassion and OBSERVING the Culture of a Classroom

 

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PART 1: Teacher Self-Attention: Cultivating Inner Peace, Calm, and Compassion

 

               I believe that it’s crucial for teachers to take care of their mental and emotional health so as to not suffer burnout. When teachers feel grounded, they can better serve their students and not feel like they are running on a hamster wheel. When teachers are overwhelmed, they aren’t always the happiest and are even short-tempered. This does not foster a kind, respectful, and engaging classroom as the students will be more focused on how the teacher is feeling and how to avoid attention from them. When students sense that you are in a good place, they feel more at ease and that they can come to you with just about anything. How can we expect our teachers to do their jobs as students when we as teachers are struggling? When we have all our ducks in a row and feel at ease within ourselves, we can help students achieve great things. I think of struggles as being stuck in a fog. When it’s foggy, we miss so much and are frustrated we can’t see everything we want to. When the fog clears, we feel better and can see the whole picture. This is what taking care of ourselves as teachers is like. I myself have noticed that taking time for myself makes me feel lighter. I’m not stress-free, but I can handle it better by having tools to help ground myself.      

             One of my favorite sections from Chapter 6- Orchestrating Classroom Dynamics from Jennings’ book Mindfulness for Teachers was the section on building good relationships. When students have a good relationship with you, they can be more mindful in the classroom and feel safe and valued. “When you ask people why a teacher made a difference in their lives, the typical response is that the teacher saw them for who they were and cared about them. Giving each student our full mindful attention for even a short period of class time gives him or her the message “I see you.”… It’s our job to teach our students, and we want them to succeed. However, not all students are high academic achievers, and we need to be mindful to also communicate that we value nonacademic attributes that our students exhibit, such as helpfulness, friendliness, creativity, problem-solving, and conflict resolution” (Jennings, 2015, p. 148). This quote hit me as I could relate to it. I was not the top academic student but always felt valued in other ways because my teachers found other things to praise. I felt welcome, seen, and heard, and that meant more to me than these teachers will ever know.

         

              In response to Kohn’s quote, “To “manage” students’ behavior, to make them do what we say, doesn’t promote community or compassion, responsibility or reflection. The only way to reach those goals is to give up some control, to facilitate the tricky, noisy, maddening, unpredictable process whereby students work together to decide what respect means or how to be fair” (Kohn, 2006). I would say that I believe there is value in giving in a bit to your class. In giving up control here and their students are able to discover what works for them and what doesn’t. Students also end up becoming self-monitors and keep each other in check. I also believe that there is value in having students develop class norms that they all agree upon. When students are given this control, they are more apt to follow them. When teachers are mindful, they are better able to let little things slide without losing their cool. Also, when we’re in a good place, it’s easier to relinquish some control. 

 

PART 2: OBSERVING the Culture of a Classroom

 

            In my school, I chose to observe “in what ways and how the teacher’s organization and management of time, space, activities, and attention provides for engagement in active, productive learning.”

 

 

 

These images are from a fourth-grade classroom. The picture shows how the teacher has set up her classroom to promote engagement by having students in pods work together and see her teaching at the board at the front of the classroom at the same time. A schedule is posted on the whiteboard, so students know what’s coming next and aren’t caught off guard. The teacher uses google slides to keep her on track. She has it organized by what she is teaching in a day. The teacher has also stored supplies in labeled bins and containers that are easily accessible to students allowing them to get up and grab what they need without having to stop class to get them a new pencil and stuff like that. 

           

            The other thing that I observed is “in what ways and how the teacher maximizes learning time through rituals, routines, and norms of interaction.”

The Morning Song - Dwayne Reed - YouTube

 

            This video is played every morning in class after breakfast as a way for students to know to clean up and get ready to learn. This song was also used on a day that they had indoor recess for a cleanup transition. I was amazed at how well it worked. The teacher cued up the video with two minutes left of indoor play, and kids immediately started to talk to each other about cleaning up. When the song played, the class happily sang along and was cleaned up well before the song ended. I was so impressed with them. This is all in part because their teacher taught the expected class norm of readiness and used the ritual of the song. The song also has a great message about learning and can be used as a grounding tool. The classroom that I work out of at the school for Reading Corps is right next to the fourth-grade classrooms, and every time I hear this song, I feel at ease and happier. I can only imagine the positive effects it has on the students.