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Mindfulness
In April 2017, I attended a conference entitled Positive, Resilient Minds: The Science of Promoting Student Grit, Gratitude, and School Success which was organized by Learning & the Brain. For more details on the conference content, please see below. Through my experiences at this conference, it became clear that creating an environment where students feel safe and confident to focus on work was a more challenging task than I had thought previously. Some pressure is necessary for us to stretch and grow, but too much of this can be disabling.
To deepen our understanding of this topic, I asked my fellow administrators to join me in taking the Mindful Schools Mindfulness Fundamentals course. Dr. Walsh, Mrs. Figlioli, Mrs. Burton, and Mrs. Mankey agreed and we completed the course during the Spring of 2017. Through this course, we learned about ourselves and practiced strategies to enhance our ability to be thoughtful in difficult moments and truly joyful in times of celebration. In the Fall of 2017, I completed the Mindful Educators Essentials course to deepen my understanding. Completing these courses does not qualify me as any expert on this topic; I remain a fellow learner with our group. I have researched studies and strategies on this topic, and I believe that together we can support each other as we strive to be mindful in our work.
Our Mindful Moments groups meet once a month on the second Tuesday:
8am @ BAEC
2:40pm @ M/HS
Thank you to all who attend-we are better together!
Conference Summary-copied from the conference brochure:
In order for students to thrive and succeed in today’s high-stress, changing, and chaotic world,
they will need skills well beyond good test scores. Research has shown that one of the most
important traits for school and life satisfaction are positive emotions, such as optimism,
gratitude, empathy, kindness, and happiness. This conference will show ways to build positive
emotions, empathy, grit and resilience, mindfulness, and gratitude in students to increase their
chances for school and life success.
For nearly 20 years, the LEARNING & the BRAIN® Conference has created an interdisciplinary
forum — a meeting place for researchers, clinicians, and educators — to examine new research
findings with respect to their applicability to the classroom and clinical practice. We would like
to encourage you, as educators and clinicians, to discuss new ideas, collaborations, and interventions
to improve the lives of children.
