Mindful Teaching and Teaching Mindfulness: A Guide for Anyone Who Teaches Anything

by Deborah Schoeberlein David, Suki Sheth

Author Deborah Schoeberlein pioneers the practical application of mindfulness in education. By showing teachers how to tune into what's happening, inside and around them, she offers fresh, straightforward approaches to training attention and generating caring both in and outside of the classroom. Mindful Teaching and Teaching Mindfulness emphasizes how the teacher's personal familiarity with mindfulness plants the seed for an education infused with attention, awareness, kindness, empathy, compassion, and gratitude. The book follows a teacher from morning to night on a typical school day, at home, during the commute, and before, during, and after class. This book is perfect for teachers of all schoolteachers, religious educators, coaches, parents-anyone who teaches anything.

Genres: Education, Teaching, Nonfiction, Psychology, Professional Development, Buddhism, Philosophy

224 pages, Paperback

First published August 10, 2009

Reviews

[Kim Miller]

I bought this book a few years ago and dipped into it every now and then. On returning to education and facing new challenges I was relieved to find it again in a box of stored hidden treasures. This book contains perfect reminders for restoring calm - in my own body and mind, even if I'm not in a place to implement it in my classrooms just yet.

If you already have an in depth knowledge of mindfulness, you're not going to find anything new or ground breaking here. But if you're looking for a reminder about why you started teaching in the first place, or strategies to help get through each day effectively and without courting burn out in your classroom, I can highly recommend it. Would also be great as a pedagogical book club read for educators hoping to bring a more peaceful and effective learning environment to their schools.

[Annalisa]

I found this book disappointing as Buddhist and as a teacher. It offered "mindfulness light" exercises that I don't actually see as useful in most classroom settings because they are separate from the rest of the classroom experience. I was hoping for a way to integrate mindfulness into my teaching, not suggestions of how to get students to be quieter by doing breathing practice. Doing walking meditation is great, but having students walk around the room and then discuss what it was like--how do I relate that English or physics or history? And if it can't be related, won't the students see it as separate from their lives rather than something that can help them always?

So not what I was looking for, but if someone has no knowledge of basic mindfulness exercises it might be a place to start.

[Steve]

I've read lots of mindfulness books, but this is the first I've read that is specific to my occupation. Nothing earth-shatteringly new, but readable and full of exercises that are worth considering (even if I think many would be more effective for younger students). I plan on reading more recent books on mindful education. The subject seems very important as kids become more addicted to gadgets and strive for high grades for all the wrong reasons. How much is knowledge really worth without awareness?

[Marcia]

A helpful guide for becoming a more mindful teacher. Specific techniques are presented to become more mindful, increase attention and quiet your racing mind. Exercises are also detailed for teachers who wish to share the techniques with their students. I will definitely try to implement some of these techniques in my daily life.

[Dianne]

Preparing for Winter Term study abroad - how to whirl 28 students from Rome to Edinburgh in 3 weeks in a mindful way. Disappointing in the end how little time and space we had in our schedule and housing to gather for reflection.

[Todd Mayville]

http://www.elephantjournal.com/2009/1...

[Andrea Levin]

It is concise and well organized, and it successfully translates Buddhist meditation practices for a secular classroom.

[Kathleen]

There are parts of this that I found to be really valuable and components that I think I may tie into my small counseling groups and share out with staff as appropriate. However, it either shared too much and was too repetitive in some circumstances or shared too little in others. I would have liked to have had more information on activities to complete with students. I did appreciate that the author had all the exercises she shared listed in the back for easy reference.

[Brooke]

This is a really great resource for beginning with mindfulness in your classroom. I think it can be read cover to cover AND used as a resource to refer back to and skip around in. I appreciated that it didn't sound too "hippy-dippy," and instead paired more Eastern-based philosophies with more westernized strategies to allow for a realistic/ feasible adaptation of this practice into one's teaching.

[Rachel]

Many useful strategies

Some I plan to use:

Take 5
Pg. 42 ideas for how to signal the start of class
Take 1
Using Riddles to capture attention
Pg. 57 Mindful Memory
Hiding a twig
Mindful Seeing
Mini Mindfulness breaks
Pg. 93 Drawing the Mind
Mindful Eating

[Mr. Holt]

Please check out my review of this resource on my Holteacher Prespective Wordpress Blog.

[Scott Charlesworth]

Practical and insightful - highly recommended for all teachers, particularly those considering or currently implementing mindfulness in the classroom.

[Vita Pires, Ph.D.]

Good tips and reminders.

[Laura Risdall]

As a teacher and parent, I wanted to learn more practical mindfulness strategies to my “toolbox.” This books is a good introduction, but I am left wanting more. More clarity, more ideas, more practical strategies. Good for a true beginner.

[Molly]

I liked this book, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend it for someone who doesn't already have mindfulness as well as teaching experience. At the same time, the mindfulness overview in it is pretty basic, so I'm not totally sure who the intended audience is. It definitely made me think about new ways to integrate mindfulness practices into both my curriculum and my day-to-day teaching life, but the book is very general/all purpose--it includes step-by-step instructions for leading a variety of mindfulness activities, but it's up to you to see how they fit in with your specific context (which is why I think prior experience would help). The book is organized so that "mindful teaching" and "teaching mindfulness" are covered in an intertwined way with individual chapters covering both aspects. Of course, both aspects *are* intertwined, but I wonder if separating them out might have been better organization. I think it would be easier to find the class activities in the book if they were in their own chapters instead of embedded into a narrative that goes back and forth between practicing mindfulness as a teacher and teaching it to your students.

[Sarah]

I got this book back in December and am just now reviewing it! As the title suggests, it's about incorporating mindfulness into your life as a teacher and into your students' lives. I'm always trying to be a more mindful person, so I really liked the tips and exercises in the book. Some of the exercises seem like no-brainers, like doing five minutes of mindful breathing every morning--but if this is not a regular practice for you (and it wasn't for me when I started the book), it's really, really difficult! I liked the classroom exercises a lot--like mindful seeing and mindful eating--but I haven't tried any of them out with my own classes. The only thing I've done with my own classes is guided imagery exercises, which have worked really well. One day when I am a more confident and experienced teacher, I would definitely like to explicitly teach mindfulness the way this book suggests!

[Tess]

I found the first few and last chapters the most helpful. I began the Take 5 she suggested in the morning in order to transition from home to school. It is meditating and setting an intention for the day. It has worked wonders. I have doubled it to Take 10 and look forward to beginning my school day this way. I have become a better person and teacher. The chapters on teaching mindfulness to the students are not relevant for me right now.

[Robin Miller]

While the book is directed at K-12 educators, the practices it encourages can be useful for college instructors as well. Some of its suggestions may be hard to implement in congruence with traditional teaching methodologies aimed at the students but it can only be beneficial to be more present as a teacher.

[Shana Elbrecht]

Thank goodness I am done with this book! It was okay, but I just didn't buy a lot of what it said. I've noticed that's a trend with the books from this class...clearly it was just not up my alley. Oh well!

[Jonatan Billiau]

Ok. Not great. Rather than saying "it's a book for anyone who teaches anything", it should say, it's a book for teachers of high school and elementary students, who want them to learn mindfulness.
Exercises are very repetitive, probably wouldn't recommend.

[Carrie]

Practical guide on incorporating mindfulness techniques. Classroom activities are easy to understand, realistic personal applications as well. I've taken personal and curricular mindfulness courses, this is a great companion book.

[Kate]

This is a great introduction to mindfulness in the classroom. It contains sensible explanations of the benefits of mindfulness as well as practical, flexible activities and exercises. I felt like this was written by someone who really understands teaching. Great intro!

[Darío Carrillo]

«La enseñanza cobra sentido cuando tienes un equilibrio o un saldo positivo entre tus beneficios totales y tus costes. La relación de simbiosis entre el profesor y los alumnos fomenta la sostenibilidad, el éxito y la satisfacción mutua». Deborah Schoeberlein

[Erin]

A bit repetitive and a little simple, this book does provide some interesting techniques that I will try with my class.

[Nancy Pitre]

Easy reading , a bit repetitive , but helpful.

[Matthew Wlezien]

Good premise and a lot of good information amongst a lot of repetition. I felt that as a teacher it did give useful advice to adding mindfulness to the classroom.

[Nativida]

This is a good book for someone who has a basic knowledge of mindfulness practice. It has some suggestions that teachers could implement right away.

[Sara]

A compelling argument for why mindfulness should be incorporated into teaching, and many good techniques and ideas, but overall the book was rather repetitive.

[Linda Vituma]

Ieelpot, izelpot, izdarīt to klātesoši - un jēdzīgas domas un rīcība top iespējama jebkurā dzīves brīdī un apstākļos. Klātesoša pauze - lūk, šīs grāmatas doma, ko paņemu.

[Kim Benouski]

This is a good basic overview of mindfulness for those who might want to try it in the classroom.