Mindfulness

We’ve been asked recently about resources to help Christian teachers deal with various situations as they go about their everyday work. One of these topics was Mindfulness, so on this subject, Megan Patterson, a member of the CVE comittee has written this Blog post:

Megan’s thinking out loud

At the staff meeting this afternoon the head said she’d like us to start including Mindfulness in the school day.

The announcement got me rattled. I really need to work out what I think about this before tomorrow.

I guess the first thing is to be sure about what mindfulness is. But that’s not easy: everyone seems to define it differently. In the staff room this afternoon, after the head left, we had quite a discussion!

Michael was adamant that it’s seizing the beauty of the moment.

Level-headed Sarah, whose opinion I invariably seek out, said that mindfulness involves focusing the mind on one thing and rejecting distractions. She thinks it will help her son who has ADHD.

Geoff was agitated after the head’s announcement because he says mindfulness is mind–altering. He had heard a BBC broadcast about people who had long-term psychological disturbance after practicing mindfulness. He’s going to ask the head if she’s listened to the broadcast he heard: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0738hm2.

Alan says mindfulness is developing greater alertness to everything that is going on around you without distraction from pre-occupying thoughts. He’s convinced it will raise attainment as the children will become more creative, focused and calm.

Clara was cautious. She had read an article that summarised current evidence on the effectiveness of mindfulness in schools: she seemed to think that the article was saying schools shouldn’t expect mindfulness to do more than it was intended to do: https://www.nationalelfservice.net/treatment/mindfulness/mindfulness-in-schools-what-next/

That prompted pragmatic Kim to say that as time and resources are limited we should encourage the head to make sure they are used on interventions that are known to have an impact. Of course, the leadership will say that mindfulness doesn’t need costly equipment, but staff time is costly and contact time with pupils is certainly limited. Kim said that the Education Endowment Foundation has a summary of interventions which, unlike mindfulness, do have strong evidence behind them:https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/resources/teaching-learning-toolkit/

I didn’t say anything. I was bothered and I know why. It’s because of what I think mindfulness is.

My understanding is that mindfulness is a Buddhist technique for eliminating suffering by uprooting the “illusion of self. “ If self is extinguished I am freed from mental anguish; feeling neither fear nor desire, neither shame nor guilt. Mindfulness is the seventh element on the eightfold path to Nirvana, that state of perfect stillness and peace when enlightenment is reached and all craving and desire ceases.

It’s because I see it like this that I was so rattled this afternoon. For me eradicating selfhood runs contrary to all I hold dear as a Christian. I see myself and all the unique individuals in my class created by God in His image for fellowship with Him eternally. I see the brokenness and heartache in the homes represented in my classroom and know that it’s cause is sin which separates us from God. Extinguishing self isn’t the answer, the answer is found in facing the problem squarely and seeking forgiveness through the death of Jesus.

My mind ran over the rows of desks in my classroom as I thought about this issue this evening.

Darren, Ahmed, Siobhan, Caitlin, Omar, Sean, Tyler, Ethan, Chloe, Sophie, Alec, Rahul, Sara, Jade….

They are forming habits now while they are young. I am responsible for the training of their young minds. I will be careful how I guide them. The practice of mindfulness is not compatible with my religious belief and it isn’t compatible with the religious beliefs of some of the children in my class. Whilst I will teach my pupils many things about many different worldviews I won’t coerce them to engage with a practice with which they are not comfortable. I’m going to have to ask the head what she means by mindfulness because I can’t impose what I think of as mindfulness on the pupils in my care.

The head is approachable and cares deeply about the social and emotional well-being of the children. She listens to concerns staff and parents raise. Tomorrow I’ll speak to her and ask her what mindfulness means to her.

Meanwhile I’ll focus on what the scriptures tell me I should be thinking about:

Psalm 48:9 Within your temple, O God, we meditate on your unfailing love.

Psalm 77:12 I will meditate on all your works and consider all your mighty deeds.

Psalm 119:97 Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long.

Psalm 119:99 I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on your statutes.

Psalm 119:148 My eyes stay open through the watches of the night, that I may meditate on your promises.

Psalm 143:5 I remember the days of long ago; I meditate on all your works and consider what your hands have done.

Psalm 145:5 They will speak of the glorious splendour of your majesty, and I will meditate on your wonderful works.

Philippians 4:8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

References:

https://www.bethinking.org/youth

https://www.reformation21.org/articles/mindfulness-or-the-mind-of-christ-1.php

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0738hm2 .

https://www.nationalelfservice.net/treatment/mindfulness/mindfulness-in-schools-what-next/

https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/resources/teaching-learning-toolkit/

Megan Patterson September 2017