The penultimate post in my series “How I Saved My Teaching Career” appeared on School Gate this morning. In this post, I describe how learning to meditate made me a better teacher.
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Classroom as Microcosm 
Go you! I find (when I have the patience for it…LOL) meditation does wonders for me. Love, Goddess
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Thanks, Goddess. Lack of patience is one of the biggest obstacles for me too, but when I invest, the rewards are great.
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A very nice article on a very helpful, but underutilized technique. I think too many westerners think that there’s something religious about meditation, which keeps them away as much as anything else.
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I think you’re right, Bob – but once we get over the “religious” mistake, I think a lot of us abandon meditation because it’s so hard! Persistence and acceptance are difficult qualities to cultivate…
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FWIW, in the spirit of dialogue, I posted some thoughts about your series (OK, mostly my thoughts about myself) on my own blog… I think this is an idea that is important, but only given lip service.
And, actually, I pray, and it helps the same way meditation does, so it can be approached from both perspectives.
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Lightly:
I’m so happy you got some personal reflection mileage out of the series.
If I’d had more space, I would have extended the meditation piece to talk about prayer – I don’t pray myself, but I know many teachers who do, and I know this helps them enormously.
For those who are interested, you can find Lightly Seasoned’s post of reflections at:
http://lightlyseasonedteacher.blogspot.com/2009/08/staying-energized.html
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Siobhan, I wanted to thank you for visiting, InnerEd. I have subscribed to your blog (and am impressed by it). Thank you for subscribing to mine.
I, also, have found meditation an invaluable part of my career. Part of having that internal intrinsic engine that fuels our continuing teaching is being able to remove the stresses and negativity that so often fill our schools.
For me, I found it helped me not worry so much about the distractions of being a teacher in the bureaucracy–who’s teaching what, what students are wearing, the politics of it all, etc., and I found myself more focused on what matters–student engagement, student progress, and making learning relevant.
Love the blog!
http://innered.edublogs.org/2009/07/21/your-job-doesnt-fufill-you-you-fulfill-you/comment-page-1/#comment-54
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I’ve already let you know how much I like this article. Let me just add that I’ve been doing it. I can feel good things will come about because of it. Remaining still when things are getting “hot” with students or otherwise at work is a gift we should all work to develop.
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Damien:
I’m so glad you’ve found practicing helpful. Now if I could only settle into a meditation routine myself! Countdown to school stress in 4, 3, 2 ….
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Thanks for the link… I’m not really used to getting traffic on my blog :).
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