So you want to offer some mindfulness practices to your students, but you’re not sure how they’ll respond. Or maybe you’ve already tried it, and were disappointed in their underwhelming response. It’s pretty much undeniable that mindfulness can help teenagers, so how can you offer it in a way that will actually help?
It all starts with the atmosphere you create in the classroom (virtual or otherwise). If you can create a space where students feel comfortable being themselves, and where they trust each other enough to share their personal experience with others, you’re halfway there. While that’s not easy, the steps below can help.
1. Make It Personal. When you introduce mindfulness to your students, talk about your own practice and how important it is to you. Tell them how long you’ve been practicing. And if you’re just starting out, own it! That aligns you with them -- it’s an experiment you can all do together. The key is to be genuine. Because if there’s one thing teenagers pick up on, it’s insincerity. So lay it out there, and invite them to join you. Yes, it makes you vulnerable. But you’ll be asking them to do the same thing. By role modeling for them, you’re setting the tone for what type of behavior to expect.
2. But Don’t Take It Personal. There will be some students in your class who don’t respond, and that’s ok! It’s not you. Mindfulness is a fantastic approach for those who are in the mental and emotional space to be open to it, but not all students are there. Honor where those students are as well, by respecting their space, and then…
3. ...Lay the Ground Rules. Emphasize that while no one is required to participate in any mindfulness practice, anyone who wants to participate should be able to, which means polite, respectful behavior during the actual practices. You can ask them what they think this means and let them create the specific expectations as a class. And then make sure to hold students accountable when they’re not meeting this expectation. Being mindful doesn’t mean you’re a pushover. Two words to remember here: firm but gentle. Firmly, gently remind students about what they agreed to.
4. Welcome Distractions. Because they’re gonna happen! Someone will sneeze or cough, or knock on your door, or a phone will buzz, or chairs will creak, or your kids will come tearing through your home office. This is a great opportunity to remind students that mindfulness doesn’t mean absolute quiet and the absence of thought. It simply means understanding your relationship to the thoughts you have, and if one of those thoughts is about a distraction, that’s fine! It’s just like any other thought. I like to use distractions as little “bells” to bring me back to my practice. If distractions can annoy you, that just means you’re assigning a value to them. Judging them. And one of the keys to a mindfulness practice is non-judgment. It’s a noise. Noise happens.
5. Reflect. If you manage to work a practice into your class, well done! To really make it stick, and provide room for growth, allow the kids to reflect on it. If you’re opening space after a practice and they don’t seem to want to share, try a journal prompt based on the practice. Or do a think-pair-share (ask a question, let them think about it, discuss with a partner, and then share out with the whole class). One thing I’ve learned over the years is that even if students are dead quiet when I ask them how a practice went, there’s often a lot going on inside. It’s just a matter of giving that a place to get out.
6. Sleep=OK. I guarantee that a student will fall asleep while you’re doing this. With my classes, I usually preempt this by telling them that if they happen to fall asleep, that’s fine. It just means they’re not getting enough of it, and maybe they need that more than a mindfulness practice. And then maybe the snoring won’t be so awkward! (If it repeatedly happens with the same student, I’d check in with them about their sleep habits.) Remember your goals here: the social emotional health of the students. If you’re talking to them about sleep, you’re still showing them you care and helping them form healthy habits. And if you’re doing this remotely, I’d suggest allowing everyone to turn their cameras off, and making sure they’re muted. Because otherwise, it’s just weird. Think about it. Yes, you might get one or two students who grab some Pringles while you’re reaching nirvana, but this isn’t boot camp.
7. Build Trust. If you think your class hasn’t gelled yet, and isn’t ready to share personal experiences at this level, do some trust building activities. This has the added benefit of showing them that you’re interested in more than their academic performance. Kids, after all, want to be known and loved. You can find a LOAD of fun games here, courtesy of Bernard de Koven. And you can also check out these activities from the Greater Good Science Center.
So that’s it. This isn’t exhaustive, of course, so please feel free to share any of your tips with a comment below.
And if you'd like access to a pack of 5-minute mindfulness practices, please sign up below, where it says "Join the MO(ve)MENT," and check out this blog post.
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