When a student is acting out in class it can be hard for a teacher to help them. There’s a whole class of other students to worry about and often it’s easier on everyone to just send them to the principal’s office.
Of course, it’s not really easier on the kid and doesn’t help them deal with whatever upset them in the first place.
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A couple of Baltimore schools have been experimenting with a different solution.
One of then is Robert W. Coleman Elementary School, where mindfulness has become part of the school’s culture.
A few years ago, they partnered with The Holistic Life Foundation to bring the Mindful Moment Program to their students.
The program brings in experts and activities meant to teach kids the power of mindfulness.
Twice a day, for 15 minutes, a mindfulness recording is played over the intercom, with the Mindful Moments experts visiting classrooms. Each classroom also has a weekly 45-minute yoga class.
But the biggest change was the introduction of a Mindful Moments Room.
When kids act out or get upset in class, they aren’t given detention or sent to see the principal. Instead, they visit the MM Room for a 15 minute session with a coach.
They’re led through breathing exercises and a short meditation before the coach discusses the specific incident.
The short break allows them to calm down and refocus before returning to class. Students can even request permission to visit the room when they feel like they need it.
For the kids, it’s a chance for calm when they may be struggling at home.
After the program had been in place for a few months, Principal Carlillian Thompson told CNN that it was definitely having an effect.
There were far fewer kids being sent to her office and the school hadn’t had to put a single kid on suspension yet that year.
