Mindfulness
As school administrators and classroom teachers we spend endless hours thinking about instructional pedagogy, teacher and student interactions and experiences for growth.
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6. MINDFULNESS A Tool for Administrator | Teacher Self-Care
ABSTRACT
As school administrators and classroom teachers we spend endless hours thinking about instructional pedagogy, teacher and student interactions and experiences for growth. These priorities consistently devour not only our school budget to provide classroom resources, but also consume our time beyond the classroom, to research innovative unit plans and to create compelling, differentiated lessons. Yet, the myopic frenzy of punitive teacher evaluations mandated by the regulations of a new rating system; and the conflict and contradictions in the roll out of the common core standards tied to divisive and competitive high-stakes tests threaten our administrator | teacher well-being. In this chapter, I share my school’s journey with the introduction of growth mindset and mindful practice in professional development with high school teachers. Keywords: mindfulness, public high school, school climate, administrators, teachers, mindset, self-care, mindful practices, calm, empathy, compassion, listening THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES: MINDFUL AWARENESS
In the philosophical framework of Growth Mindset (Dweck, 2006), our authentic inquiry is both emergent and contingent on what we learn, embracing values proposed by Egon Guba and Yvonna Lincoln (1989). Our action research is participant-centered and dialectical, as Kenneth Tobin (2015) points out, in dialectic relationships such as administrator | teacher, each constituent informs and mediates the other for mutual coexistence. Our collaborative inquiry about the infusion of mindfulness in professional development for teachers was mediated, motivated, and inspired by polysemia, i.e., differences in our perspectives and emerging understandings. Mindfulness has been defined by Jon Kabat-Zinn as “the awareness that emerges through paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally to the unfolding of experience moment by moment” (2003, p. 145). Yet, we have abandoned the fabric of our society in being blind to our shared humanity. Sadly, as reported by Sabrina Tavernise (2016), an American journalist, U.S. suicide rates
M. Powietrzyńska & K. Tobin (Eds.), Weaving Complementary Knowledge Systems and Mindfulness to Educate a Literate Citizenry for Sustainable and Healthy Lives, 89–96. © 2017 Sense Publishers. All rights reserved.
D. GENOVESE
have surged to the highest in nearly 30 years. We, the people, are suffering. Although educators have an innate sense of caring, in our public school system there is an emotional intensity, the increasing level of stress is toxic and can threaten self | other well-being. Unfortunately, many teachers respond by leaving the profession altogether (see Ingersoll, Merrill, & Stuckey, 2014, for a recent review). Our pain deserves mindful attention. Clearly, learning to care defines “genuine education” (Noddings, 1992). School administrators who pay attention to school environment can increase a sense of calm and bring greater empathy and acceptance in interacti
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