Instead of Detention, These Students Get Meditation

Teachers at one West Baltimore school send disruptive students to a meditation room. Staff at the school reported an improved school environment, fewer office referrals.

Kids here stretch, do yoga and practice deep breathing. More important, staff say, they build an ability to be mindful and calm. And in the face of so much adversity, some of these children are coming out ahead.

"I did some deep breathing, had a little snack, and I got myself together," the boy recalled. "Then I apologized to my class." - West Baltimore Student

Although a meditation room is no miracle cure for students' strife, those at the school say it's done wonders for their learning environment and productivity.

There are many students who come to school feeling on edge or high alert due to the dynamics of the family relationships. There simply is a lack of support felt in many of the homes in my classes. Many of the basic necessities are severely lacking as I have homeless, foster, and abused students in my class. Now imagine coming to school and having to forget the last few hours to do well on a test you couldn't study for because your father was arrested by ICE and faces deportation. It is preposterous to think we are serving our students and continue to step over their feelings and adversities. Giving these students the skills they need to cope is giving them an equitable learning environment.

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT

It was not until I was shown this article that I began to really understand what it was that called me into teaching. I knew that the content was meaningful and interesting to me as someone who hid in books most of my life. I am enamored at the infinite possibilities that stories give to us. Reading and writing and listening were the ways I thrived growing up in a difficult and toxic home. These coping tools are what I could have used to really make the most of the education I was being afforded. These are the same skills that every child needs to be able to maneuver through the battle that is life and to become his or her own person.