BETTER FOCUS AND CONCENTRATION
A first grader working on a base 10 math assignment
is visibly upset and confused by the work. She puts down her pencil, closes her eyes,
moves her arms slowly in a circle above her head, takes another deep breath, opens her eyes,
picks up the pencil & finishes her assignment. It is 100% correct. Though the teacher is
extraordinarily excited about the event, the child shrugs her shoulders and says "I
just did what Mr. Richard told us to do."
RAISING SELF-AWARENESS
Describing the benefits of mindfulness to a donor, a particularly
enthusiastic fifth grader tells her, "The thing about mindfulness is that when you do
something wrong you know it and you can stop doing it." This 11 year old understands
the power and importance of the self-awareness one gains through the practice of mindfulness.
DECREASED STRESS FOR STUDENTS & TEACHERS
A first grade teacher tells us she would like to
speak at our fundraiser. We are all delighted to hear her describe the fact that after five years of
teaching in an Oakland public school, she was ready to throw in the towel. Then the mindfulness program
appeared. As a result she decided to rededicate herself to the profession.
IMPROVED SCHOOLWIDE CULTURE & CLIMATE
A social worker in a Title One Elementary School in
Sacramento brought the mindfulness program to 470 students at her school. She described how in the
spring semester she had, for the first time in eight years, free time. "I had a 45 minute
uninterrupted lunch daily and in the mornings I had free time because I had so many fewer referrals.
The students use mindfulness to resolve their own conflicts and calm themselves down. Mindfulness is
the only thing to which I can attribute the change."
DEVELOPING IMPULSE CONTROL & REDUCING VIOLENCE
On the first day of school, five months after
the program ended, a fourth grade boy replies to the question, "Did any of you use mindfulness over
the summer?" "I was really mad at my brother and I went to go get a weapon. As I was going
to get it, I remembered my mindfulness and took a breath instead." Self-regulation and improved
impulse control are important benefits of mindfulness that have the potential to decrease the violence
facing our society today.
NATURAL CONFLICT RESOLUTION SKILLS
At the end of the school year a second grader relays the
effectiveness of brain science. "Remember you told us mindfulness changes your brain? It’s true.
Before I used to get really mad when someone stole the ball at recess. I don't anymore; I can just work
it out."
INCREASED CALM
A fifth grader describes how he and his Grandma used to get very upset by the
upstairs’ neighbor’s noise. "Now we just practice mindfulness and it doesn’t bother us
anymore." Finding calm is the most prevalent answer we receive when we ask students about
the advantages of practicing mindfulness.
SKILLFUL WAYS TO RESPOND TO DIFFICULT EMOTIONS
At the end of the school year, a school
psychologist asked her students what tools they learned that they could continue to use in the summer
when they are having a hard time. Every single one of them responded, "Mindfulness."
INCREASED EMPATHY AND UNDERSTANDING OF OTHERS
A teacher who wrote Mindful Schools a letter of
support described an instance when a child with a very short fuse blew up at his table. His table mates,
all calmly suggested that he remember to use his mindfulness. He was able to calm down.