Japanese baseball legend, Tetsuharu Kawakami, dedicated himself to Zen Buddhism and was known for spending hours meditating and honing his concentration. He claimed that his focus was so powerful that, when batting, the “ball would just stop.”
While you may not be a Zen master, there is much benefit to exploring mediation and mindfulness practices in the context of teaching. Mindfulness, which involves intentionally paying attention to the present moment and becoming more aware of one’s experience, has gained mainstream popularity in recent years. Mindfulness practices can now be found in schools, hospitals, counseling centers, and other places, as research continues to show promising benefits.
While an elementary teacher, I co-conducted research involving introducing mindfulness techniques, such as mindful breathing, walking, and even eating, to a group of gifted students (Gifted from the “Inside out”: Teaching mindfulness to high-ability children).
My current dissertation research explores mindfulness and other Zen concepts in the context of serving as a supervisor for pre-service teachers. Personally, I have experienced the benefits of meditation practice in my own work and other facets of life.
Why mindfulness? Teaching can be stressful, highly demanding, and fast-paced.
During the course of a day, teachers must play many roles, including providing instruction, communicating with parents, counseling social-emotional challenges, and managing behaviors. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed and out of control. Burnout and turnover in the profession is very common.
I believe there’s incredible benefit to being able to “slow things down.” The ability to center oneself, to remain focused and calm amidst the chaos, can serve as a highly useful and practical tool for teachers. Mindfulness and meditation can help improve one’s perception of what is occurring in the classroom and respond effectively—rather than react out of a stressful state of mind.
The following techniques can be embedded into your teaching with relatively little adjustment:
Of course, these are suggestions. A starting place might be to implement one of these methods, such as a simple meditation practice or becoming aware of one’s breathing when teaching. If you find benefit, then continue to adopt other mindfulness practices throughout the school day. In time, you will notice yourself feeling calmer, less rushed, and more aware of what is happening. Who knows, maybe teaching might even “stop” for a moment.