It’s true. September 2022 and Class Relax gets to address pupils in 7th and 8th grades who actually choose to participate.
Is this a dream come true for a mindfulness teacher?
Day one of the year, and this teacher is one of a line-up of Facilitators presenting their workshops to an auditorium full of boisterous kids.
My presentation for the 8th grade was happily cheered. Kids approached me before the massive session and after. I was hugged and smiled at and in general made to feel that I was in the right place.
My presentation on week later for the 7th grade, all newbies to the school, also went well. They didn’t know me but they honored me by listening and following instructions as we all went through a Dry Shower, body tapping exercise. Those kids were forced to sit still, quietly for 90 minutes, and not withstanding a few time-outs for resuming quiet attention, were remarkable. (More than I was, who found myself doing push-ups on the stairs while listening to those who went on and on about their workshop).
Last Wednesday I welcomed my little class of Grade 8 kids and lo and behold, in walked a few of the absolute most impulsive, cushion throwing boys. (What? I thought). I gave instructions, we went over our rules including being mindful of who has the right to speak via the talking piece, how we listen respectively with an open mind, how we speak from the heart and how we keep the goings on of the class private amongst us.
Then the pillow sliding antics began. How did it happen? It appears that a few latecomers charging in after the rule review can totally upset the balance of a classroom, but I knew that.
There were two women there as companions for two kids, one of whom was special ed and another who was definitely in need of a personal coach.
The special ed child, filled with the joy of seeing me (although he’d hardly shown up in his weekly mindfulness class all of his grade 7 year), brought along the companion from Hell. She sat with her cellphone, and decided at one point to coach me in tossing out pupils (‘That’s how it’s done!” she advised). Her own wild charge was not deemed to be part of the outlaw brood.
To cut to the chase, a lot of nice things were done (but as usual, the brain ruminates on the negative – survival fight or flight wiring). For example, we each thought of what we’d wish for our friends for this new year, we wrote it down, and then in turn, we each held a lovely smooth quartz crystal to silently send our wish from our hearts to our friends. Some of those written wishes later transformed into paper airplanes which were lovingly aimed at the friend of their choice.
I gathered up a few of the planes and crushed paper balls after the dears cleaned up the cushion arrangement, and found some lovely messages. “May you be happy”.
“May you be successful in school”, “May you have lots of friends”, “May the teachers be nice to you”.
My brain was another story. How was I to handle the jumpers, the bouncers, the cushion throwers.
I deliberated for a few days then came to the conclusion that I’d deal with their homeroom teachers, telling them to find these dears another group, something more conducive to jumping around.
To my amazement, I was told that one boy really wanted to come to Mindfulness. It was his only choice. He didn’t want to join a sports group. The suggestion was that I call him and tell him that he’s on probation and if after this next class things didn’t work out, we’d revisit the subject of his exit from the class.
I called and we made a deal. He would make great efforts to be quiet and follow instructions. If he needed a few minutes to air out his brain, he could take them and then come back. If I felt he needed to leave for a few minutes, I’d use a secret code word that only we two would know, and he’d hear it and take a short break. He agreed, but since we did the negotiation by phone, I’m not really sure if the terms of the deal were clear. We’ll go over them this week before class.
Another boy was also on the phone call negotiation track. He also promised to take a time-out when needed, and he begged my indulgence since the most rowdy of the outlaws simply made it impossible for him not to join in. Since those 2 rowdies who had crashed the class will not be present this week, boy #2 believed that he would more easily be able to stay still.
To be seen! Here we go, 2022!
Class Relax 