MINDFULNESS AS A SUBJECT IN PRIMARY EDUCATION?

What is mindfulness?

Knowing directly what is going on inside and outside ourselves, moment by moment. (Williams, 2018).

Mindfulness it is a way to think that now a day is having more contact with the education. People could probably think that it would not work with the pupils at all because it is something that the global think of it is to get concentrate and think on yourself in silence.

Mindfulness could surprise us. In my case, I thought that mindfulness would not work with the children because it is something difficult to try with a whole class or with a group of children, but as I saw it, I was completely wrong.

Last summer, in 2018, I went to a volunteering for a month in Cambodia, I was being an instructor with an NGO in a summer camp with children from 3 to 17 years old. Incidentally, most of the blogs that I will write, my experience will be include in Cambodia and some placements that I had in a school in Spain two years ago with pupils from 0 to 5 years old.

Anyway, in my summer camp, there was everyday a timetable that we had to achieved. There were some activities that we should do all groups together. One of those activities was the mindfulness. In the morning there were around 170 children from 3 to 17 years old. I thought that it would be impossible to do mindfulness with them but it was not. In the morning as they arrived from their houses to the camp, they had showers and some free time to play until we finished to shower all the children. At that time we called them and they get separated into different age groups. We asked them for silence and we started the mindfulness activity. It was about to take some deep breathes and then they listen to an audio in khemer (Cambodian language) that told them to relax and get aware of their problems and try to relax and think on good thinks and about the god that they pray to, what good stuff they would do for him. I honestly could not get most of the stuff that that audio said as I do not speak khemer, but I asked some khemer’s instructor about the meaning.

In was so surprised how easily was to get them sit down and in silence and doing the mindfulness all together even with the children from 3 years. And after that they were quite chilled during the first activities.

There is no just one way of promote the mindfulness, there could be an easy and fast way, and it is to have some deep breathes and close the eyes and think about you a little bit and go away of the things that you got around you. There is also tai-chi a different way to get relaxed but using your body and doing some easily and slow movements. Also, yoga or walking are other different ways to do mindfulness with the children.

This is the way that I saw that mindfulness is worth it with education and probably promote it after the break and also I would say after the subject Physical Education so the pupils could forget what they did in the break and in P.E. and get concentrated in that time on the subject that they have. Lots of thing that happen sometimes is that pupils still thinking that they are at the break or playing in the class and they do not understand the meaning of different time, different subject.

Mindfulness could be a different way to change their children mind, I mean, straight changes for primary children are too strong for them, they do not know how to change by their own selves yet. I will probably suggest to have 10 minutes after those two moments that I said before and at the beginning of the day and at the end of it, so they do not get stressed and so their brains do not get confused with times and try to not mix the different stuff that they did or learned.

Mindfulness could start making the children get more organized with their stuff and thoughts and do not stressed with their lives. Organized their head, it is something that I think it is very helpful for the future, as as soon as they start doing it, even though they do not have important stuff, for their future they will express their gratitude.

To sum up, I would say that probably put a subject about mindfulness will be necessary and useful for the develop from the pupils. These moments will relax the pupils and make them concentrate and make them conscience of the change of subject or moment for example after their break.

Reference:

Williams, M. (2018). Mindfulness. nhs.uk. Available at: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/stress-anxiety-depression/mindfulness/ (Accessed 26 Oct. 2018).