The Mindful Teacher

by Elizabeth MacDonald, Dennis Shirley

As academic achievement becomes narrowed into a single-minded obsession with test scores, what possibilities remain for ethical, caring teachers to hone their craft and inspire their students with the joy of learning? In The Mindful Teacher, authors MacDonald and Shirley begin by articulating the prevalent problem of alienated teaching the kind of teaching that teachers perform when they must comply with external conditions that they feel do not serve their students well. As a solution, they propose mindful teaching the kind of teaching that is informed by contemplative practices and teacher inquiry. The authors identify key strategies that teachers can use daily to integrate more reflection and awareness into their busy classroom life. The seven synergies of mindful teaching are Open-Mindedness, Caring, Stopping, Professional Expertise, Authentic Alignment, Integration, and Collective Responsibility

Genres: Professional Development, Education

112 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2009

Reviews

[Meg Petersen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book. I will use this in my work in teacher leadership. It brings together many traditions and contains much wisdom. Don't be put off with the idea that it will push a certain religion. The mindfulness was presented in such a way that the person most allergic to religion in the world (me) found it sensible and wise. It combines the idea of using meditation in teacher leadership groups with very thoughtful ideas about education and the professional lives of teachers. I appreciated that these teachers worked in difficult urban settings and did not gloss over the kinds of problems which confront such teachers every day, or the professional and personal doubts they experience. It encourages us to stop and consider these problems in their entirety in a systemic way, but at the same time, presents ways to help each other to work towards concrete solutions...

[Pashew · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Mindful Teacher is another alert to what a heart dwelling profession teaching is. It is a reminder of what a highly important job and a heavy responsibility, a burdensome, on the shoulders of teachers especially and educators generally.
The book suggests a new method to overcome the obstacles a teacher faces on daily bases while teaching in the classroom, dealing with other colleagues and things related to administration in the school. It is stating that if you are Mindful, it is highly possible for you to be more successful in your career. Being a Mindful Teacher basically means to overcome Alienated Teaching.
Mindful teaching “is a form of teaching that is informed by contemplative practices and teacher inquiry” (Macdonald and Shirley, 2009. P_4) and this results in “enable[ing] teachers to interrupt their harried life style, come to themselves through participation in collegial community of inquiry and practice, and attend to aspects of their classroom instruction and pupil’s learning” (Macdonald and Shirley, p_4). While alienated teaching is when “teachers perform when they feel like they must comply with external conditions that they have not chosen and from which they inwardly dissent with” (Macdonald and Shirley, p_4).


Read the rest here http://pashewmajeed.blogspot.com/2013...

[Skye · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a high school teacher of English and Latin, I have found this book to be extremely helpful. I want to include mindfulness in my classes but I never knew how... Now I do! I especially liked how the two writers went back and forth in their perspectives. It kept the writing really fresh and was a very fast read that packed a lot of great ideas into a few concise chapters.

I should also say that I am Dennis Shirley's daughter. But I can honestly say I love this book aside from that, and this book convinced me that Mindful Teaching is the best way to help students succeed.

Mindful Teaching has been adopted in the Canadian province of Alberta and the concept is spreading. Hopefully this can help launch us into the next chapter in American education as well!

[Nia Nymue · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unnecessarily verbose. My favourite part was the sharings by the teachers. I think the book should have focused more on that rather than artificially expanding the size of what might just be otherwise a long, but excellent, research article.