Mindfulness in the Classroom: Mindful Principles for Social and Emotional Learning

by Season Mussey

Mindfulness can be used in the classroom as a method to increase overall teacher effectiveness, raise student achievement, and reignite the joy of teaching and learning. "Mindfulness in the Classroom" introduces eight mindful principles that support social and emotional learning for teachers and students in today's schools, leading to increased empathy, kindness, self-awareness, integrity, self-control, and honesty. The book provides an introduction and theoretical overview of mindfulness, followed by a discussion of the eight mindful principles. Research-based evidence is presented alongside differentiated teaching activities and classroom examples, helping to bridge the gap from theory to practice. Larger implications for schools and society are also discussed, including a call to use these principles to teach the whole child. Mindfulness in the Classroom offers teachers and students a guide for the journey back to the heart of teaching and learning.

224 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 1, 2019

Reviews

[Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Season Mussey begins this education book with a dramatic plea for love: love in the classroom, love for students, love for other teachers. She connects the current interest in SEL (social-emotional learning) with this need for love as a foundation. Love is the motivator for all the rest.

I was at first taken aback by the overt call to love. But as I read the book, with its personal examples and anecdotes I was persuaded that love is what makes all the work worthwhile. Mussey gives eight foundational principles for her idea: "I" Work; Creativity; Cultivating Connections; Writing, Breathing and Movement; Gratitude; Holding Space; and Commit-to-One. She lists the essential components of each principles and then goes on to explain how these concepts look in the classroom. She combines general, over-arching goals and principles with specific examples and strategies for implementation.

At the back of the book are lesson plans in how to teach selected principles. I found these plans helpful both as examples that I could use directly and as ideas that sparked other ideas for creating curriculum for myself.

Mussey is clearly an educator of passion and intelligence. It is known that people who feel valuable, who are emotionally healthy, have more energy and a greater ability to invest in activities that extend beyond themselves. Students with strong relationships and self-esteem are, at least is the thought, better able to engage in learning. I believe this is true.

Committing to Mussey's beliefs and enacting her principles in the classroom would, I believe, lead to happier classrooms filled with students--and teachers--who are happy to be there and eager to learn. I look forward to working to shift my own teaching practice to incorporate these principles in the classroom and in my life.

[Cathy Pearlman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I appreciated the open and honest nature of this book. As someone familiar with mindfulness, I feel that Mussey did a really nice job of making the ideals practical and accessible for teachers. By outlining her 8 basic principles and detailing how it will benefit you as a teacher and your students in the sense that teachers can address the needs of students as a 'whole person' and not just a body in your classroom. The end of chapter discussion questions lend themselves to potential professional development activities or teacher book clubs and the journal prompts offer time for reflection and an entry to implementation in the classroom. I also like how this was not strictly written for elementary or secondary teachers, but could be easily adaptable for any classroom. I highly recommend this to anyone in education!

[Jeri · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent resource for building relationships and bringing focus to what is important for teaching to the whole child.

[Emily Castro · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an eye opener it will have get you to realized that maybe we are moving to fast in this world and not being mindful of our children as a whole person. Personally I love this book and I'm greatful to have read it because it has made me realize if I want my kids to succeed I need to be mindful on how to go about teaching my kids the same thing this book has taught me. I hope all teachers and educators read this book to help our future generations to come.