Benefits of an exchange between a school and a meditation centre

The quick pace of life has effected even the youngest of us all, impacting their behaviour in class and their educational development. To fight this, many opt for punishment or even resort to medicating their children. But have you considered an exchange to promote positive behaviour? In this post, we want to dive into the benefits of an exchange between a school and a meditation centre.

The success of an initiative in Baltimore that substitutes punishment for meditation

A few days ago we spoke in our social networks about a surprising headline: a school in Baltimore that stopped punishing its students. Instead, they use meditation and mindfulness practices to encourage children to reflect on their actions.

The application is simple. Robert W. Coleman Elementary School surrendered itself to the local organisation, Holistic Life Foundation and designed a meditation room called Mindful Moment Room. Children have a space where they can calm down, meditate, and speak with an adult who shows them compassion and helps them reflect on whatever may have happened.

One of the most interesting aspects of this decision is that students aren’t forced to go to the Mindful room. They decide by themselves when they go. This way, they learn to control their emotions and learn that they are people whose actions have consequences.

But do you know what’s most surprising about this case? Students from Robert W. Coleman Elementary School haven’t been suspended ever since the beginning of this initiative. This is proof that there are other types of education, which take into consideration the emotional well-being of the children and help them manage their feelings or stressful situations.

Why not organise an exchange between a school and a meditation centre?

What they did in Baltimore really drew attention due to its huge success, even more so when you consider that this is a particular conflict-prone city. On the other hand, in countries with Buddhist traditions, such as India, this is very common in their education system. And similar cases can be found in Spain.

In fact, there are already 200 educational centres in Spain that have introduced this practice in different ways, through mindfulness or meditation via school programmes. There is even an initiative called Colegios Mindfulness that helps promote full attention in classrooms.

At dothegap we believe that meditation can be a great tool for education, since it has been shown to help improve students’ performance, but aboveal, because it helps develop emotional intelligence, combats situations of conflict, helps one tackle day-to-day challenges and makes children happier.

Perhaps your centre has thought of implementing these practices at some point. A great way of getting started would be through an exchange between the school and a meditation centre.

On one hand, you could propose a kind of professional exchange, whereby professors get integrated in the meditation centre to learn the necessary keys needed to apply this practice in their classrooms. Along with school monitors, they could design a small guide adapted to the young ones in the care.

Moreover, experts at the meditation centre could be in charge of workshops to raise awareness of this practice in the school. Children receiving their first experience of mindfulness from an expert would be a great experience, opening a whole new world to them, filled with possibilities, beyond tantrums and punishments.

Another possible experience would be an trip with students and professors to visit different centres of meditations or mindfulness, highlighting the roots of this practice and techniques to apply it to their day-to-day life. This way, it would be much easier for the school staff to decide whether to implement meditation on a regular basis or, if you’re convinced, to establish a programme with the help of professionals who experienced meditation through an exchange.

What do you think of this type of experience as an alternative to more traditional education? Do you think typical punishments in schools have reached their end? If you want to experience a successful alternative that’s become increasingly popular around the globe, take the next step, do an exchange between your school and a meditation centre. At dothegap we’re excited to promote this kind of an exchange, are you up to the task?