The students of Robert W. Coleman Elementary school have found a new way of dealing with their problems. Robert W. Coleman Elementary has implemented what they call the “Mindful Moment Room,” a place where students are sent to think about their actions and decompress. As a result of this program, the school has seen less disciplinary referrals as well as less suspensions. Instead of simply punishing a child for unruly behavior, this program creates a positive outlet for children to target and understand the root of their actions.
Furthermore, Robert W. Coleman is located in West Baltimore, a place where a quarter of residents are living below the poverty level. Not only, but the majority of the students found within this elementary school qualify for free or reduced lunch. That said, the students often come from high-stress environments, which can be a
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According to the article, meditation can ease depression, anxiety and other psychological stressors, all issues that can negatively impact a child’s academic performance. With that said, since a majority of the students at Robert W. Coleman come from high-stress environments, meditation has done wonders. Therefore, the Mindful Meditation Room creates an environment where students are able of decompressing while also enhancing their ability to learn.
In conclusion, meditation has proven to have extremely positive effects on the children at Robert W. Coleman. With fewer needs for disciplinary action, the Mindful Meditation Room succeeds not only at correcting misbehavior, but also at providing a positive environment for students to deal with their psychological struggles. With all that said, instead of simply sending a misbehaving child to detention, more schools should participate in a program that positively deals with
Murphy, M. (2006). Taming the anxious mind: An 8-week mindfulness meditation group at a university counseling center. Journal of College Student Psychotherapy, 21, 5-13.
A school’s Behavior Matrix can create a school climate that reinforces good behavior, a positive and safe environment, encourages responsibility of actions, builds positive relationships, ensues high expectations, and builds community (Muscott, Mann & LeBrun, 2008). The consistency of responses, consequences, and rewards will create an atmosphere that promotes positive behavior and discourages negative behaviors. The strategies set forth by the Behavioral Matrix are set up for the entire school population focusing on the students that do not necessarily have behavioral issues. It is mainly for the purpose of increasing student achievement, discourage problematic behaviors, and increase positive interactions throughout the school environment (Bradshaw & Pas, 2011). Therefore, the goal of a Behavioral Matrix is in fact to strengthen positive behaviors that are already in place and give a consistent disciplinary action guideline to move those individual that commit negative infractions towards positive direction. Positive Behavior Support systems are set up to acknowledge the good that students accomplish, and does not allow infractions to define who they are and allows for them to reinstatement the good
CS III b: Times have changed. I can remember when coporal punishment was an acceptable means of re-direction and discipline. Today, with more education, educators and providers have better ways of communicating and developing stronger characters in children. A completely different means of fostering growth and discipline have evolved. Proven lesson methods through psychologists have opened doors for marked and proven progress. Understanding my students backgrounds through home visits, parent meeting, and one-to-one time with my children help me and my fellow educators develop a "whole" view of a childs image and make-up. Re-direction, strong fun-tasks, and constant guidance is the initial start to helping children with challenged
In the article “Instead of detention, these students get meditation”, Deborah Bloom of CNN.com writes about the Mindful Moment Room and its effects on students that attend Robert W. Coleman Elementary School. The Mindful Moment Room is the school’s meditation room where teachers send disruptive students instead of detention. The Mindful Moment Room is a “warm, brightly lit space strewn with purple floor pillows, yoga mats and the scents of essential oils.” In the room, kids are given the opportunity to stretch, do yoga and practice deep breathing that help them simmer down before returning to class. Most of the students that are disruptive and rowdy in class are the ones that are facing high-stress situations at home which cause strife at school.
Schools scattered around the country are beginning to implement rooms called Mindful Moment Rooms. In these rooms angered or disruptive students practice breathing techniques, yoga, and meditation. These rooms are where they can come and relax before being sent to class. In an article from CNN.com called “Instead of detention, these students get meditation” written by Deborah Bloom, the impacts of these relaxtion rooms are told. Students are sent here to so they can create a better learning experience for themselves and their peers.At the Robert W. Coleman Elementary School, the implementation of the “Mindful Moment Room” has decreased detentions and suspensions to none.
Their body’s alarm system is switched way on, so they may be primed for fight or flight and not able to sit calmly” (Bloom). For these kids, meditation becomes an outlet to relieve their pent-up emotions, and let their guards down for several moments. The room becomes a safe haven for them, which is why meditation should be more common in classrooms across the world, for students of all ages.
To start, research shows that meditation helps students learn better. Meditation, a transcendental belief, involves the mental repetition of a mantra “Om” which results in peace and relaxation. In Dead Poets Society, Mr. Keating tells the students
Mindfulness meditation consists of skills and methods to unplug from the busy world around you and from the busy 'monkey brain ' so often experienced in today 's life and particularly in ADHD, anxiety and depression. According to Jon Kabat-Zinn, mindfulness meditation trains and reinforces the ability to pay attention to the present moment, on purpose which helps to increase concentration, decrease anxiety, improve sleep, improve mood, decrease the stress response, and improve physical and emotional health. The studies are compelling about the health benefits of mindfulness meditation. In fact, studies show that mindfulness meditation actually changes the brain in positive ways. The cortex of the brain is thicker in certain areas of the brain in those who practice mindfulness meditation. And brainwave patterns are changed in healthy ways as well.
Meditation means to concentrate and connect with ones’ own mind, to explore identity and emotions in order to be aware of conscious, sub-conscious and unconscious thoughts. Meditation originates and has been has been practiced in Asia for thousands of years for different reasons such as increasing concentration abilities, religious purposes and also to train the mind. This essay will focus on how meditation affects brain plasticity (ability to change), emotionally and intellectually, leading to better performance and coping abilities in stressful situations. Things like attention span, memory functions and complexity of emotions will be further explored and may interest the reader since meditation can answer many questions on improving mental health that affects almost everyone. I will make the claim that meditation practice needs to be introduced early into educational institutions such as schools. Because evidence suggests that that meditation increases the volume of the cortex in the brain, leading to a higher and more powerful emotional intellect and cognition that improves things like memory, attention and emotional control. It is logical to assume that in order to alter thickness of cortex, mental thought functions and emotional strength, meditation should be introduced to children early in school for greater performance.
Our program’s philosophy on positive child guidance is to discipline instead of punishing children for accidents or mistakes they make. With the help of our committed staff, we can provide a positive atmosphere that will allow the children to feel loved and accepted to help build their self-esteem. Our program will offer the children with choices, but there will also be reasonable, and developmentally appropriate limits. The educators will model positive behaviours that will teach the children to problem solve and build self-control in a healthy, and safe way.
Children and adolescents in the United States face different psychological challenges, such as anxiety disorders, depression, attention deficit disorder, as well as many other psychiatric diagnoses (Bloom, Dey, & Freeman, 2006). The prevalence rate of children diagnosed with a mental disorder is alarming. According to Merikangas et al. (2010), 22.2% of American children and adolescents get diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder that is severe enough to impair their ability to attend school and learn (Bucci, Marques, Oh, & Harris, 2016). Kids that are plagued by various psychological illnesses may experience a difficult time concentrating and staying focused in school. Additionally, the over-accumulation of toxic stress, either due to the pressures of schools or environmental (i.e., difficult exams, poverty, household dysfunction, etc.), can have negative and detrimental effects during childhood, as well as adulthood (Bucci et al., 2016).
Numerous studies have been conducted that look at using praise in order to decrease disruptive behaviors in the classroom. With my study I will look at the effects of using praise to reduce the disruptive behaviors of a 2nd grade student during class time. The three studies I have chosen to look at that use praise to decrease unwanted behaviors are a classroom teacher consultation model for increasing praise and decreasing disruptive behavior, positive attending to improve student behavior, and direct behavioral consultation. My first article looks at a classroom checkup that addresses the need for classroom-level support while minimizing treatment integrity problems which are common to school-based consultation (Reinke, Lewis-Palmer, & Merrell, 2008). My second article focuses on the teachers to improve student behavior in the classroom and this is
Detentions are not effective because people still get in trouble. Also kids like high school kids won’t want to go to a meditation room because it’s too boring. Then again meditation rooms can be good for lower ages to release stress from school work. The students will be peaceful and quiet throughout the day and ready for school work. That is what I think about detentions being a meditation time for students.
School-age children(7-11 Years) have poor school performance. The child finds studying and learning difficult when the child cannot stop worrying about what happened at home the night before or who is going to get hurt that night, or maybe even killed later on. The child will also have behavior problems with peers and adults. Because of the lack of observable
Matt Leland (2005) emphasizes the benefits of mindfulness on academic achievement, “Mindfulness is helpful in the moment of learning and also in more future-focused skills. By maintaining a calmer view of the present, students are able to improve their study habits, planning, and organizational skills” (p. 20). During my elementary years, I wish I would have been taught more of these skills to help with the academic struggles I experienced. When I was younger, I remember feeling performance anxiety before I had to take an exam in science. Although I enjoyed science class and studied, I felt overwhelmed, nervous, and my mind was going in a million different directs. I also notice in my field experience that many of my students tense up or sigh when they are told they are about to take an exam. There is an uneasiness that affected students in the classroom and added pressure.