83CHAPTER 5
THE MINDFUL CLASSROOM: CREATING
SUPPORTS AND STRUCTURE FOR MINDFUL
TEACHING AND LEARNING
In the end, we conserve only what we love.
We will love only what we understand.
We will understand only what we are taught.—Bab Dioum, Senegalese Teacher and Poet
(Dioum, 1968)The quote by Bab Dioum speaks to the importance of cultivating mindfulness in your class-
room and school from the ground up. Yes, we can love things we don’t understand and, yes,
we understand more than we are taught. Yet, it is by teaching students how to see clearly,
to appreciate subtleties and nuances in their world, and to understand the interconnected-
ness of our world that we will more effectively lead them to be protectors of the world and
each other. Teaching students mindfulness is essential. To do this, we must work toward
building and cultivating mindfulness—giving thought to the layout of the room, the tools
provided to the students, the routine and structure of the school day, and our way of being
as we teach. So many educators, from elementary schools to universities, complain about
the neurological states of children, how they can’t pay attention, do not value each other or
themselves, and seem solely driven by needs and wants. As I argue in Chapters 1 and 2, our
students reflect what is practiced and presented in our culture. To shift toward a more effec-
tive, thoughtful, and kind way of being in our world, in school, toward each other, and in
how we approach schoolwork, we must shift what and how we teach. For students to value
reflective thinking and acting, they must have a sense of what that is. For them to have an
understanding, we must teach and practice it. What we do shows what we value.
The first step in preparing to implement mindfulness practices in school is to get you
and your classroom ready. In this chapter, you find a brief overview of the nature of mind-
fulness practices (i.e., beginner’s mind, the four foundations of mindfulness, and the process
of meditation), guidance for preparing your classroom, and tips for delivering mindfulness
practices in school. Chapters 6 and 7 detail specific formal and informal practices for you.