Rechtschaffen - The mindful education workbook: lessons for teaching mindfulness to students

ALSO BY DANIEL J. RECHTSCHAFFEN

The Way of Mindful Education:
Cultivating Well-Being in Teachers and Students

NORTON BOOKS IN EDUCATION

The Mindful Education

WORKBOOK

Lessons for Teaching Mindfulness to Students

DANIEL J. RECHTSCHAFFEN

References in this book to third-party organizations, tools, products and services are intended to provide general information only. Neither the publisher nor the author can guarantee that any particular practice or resource will be useful or appropriate to the reader, and neither the publisher nor the author should be understood to endorse any organization with which it or he, as applicable, is not specifically affiliated.

Interior illustrations by Micah Cohen, micahcohen.net; micahcreek@gmail.com

Copyright 2016 by Daniel Rechtschaffen

All rights reserved

First Edition

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Book design by Carole Desnoes

Production manager: Christine Critelli

The Library of Congress has cataloged the printed edition as follows:

Names:

Rechtschaffen, Daniel J., author.

Title: The mindful education workbook :

lessons for teaching mindfulness to

students / Daniel

Rechtschaffen.

Description: First edition. | New York :
W.W. Norton &

Company, [2016] |

Series: Norton books in education | Includes

bibliographical references

and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2015046822 |

ISBN 9780393710465 (pbk.)

Subjects: LCSH: Attention. | Mindfulness

(Psychology) | Educational

psychology. | Mindfulness-based cognitive

therapy.

Classification: LCC LB1065 .R3867 2016 | DDC 371.102dc23 LC

record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015046822

ISBN 978-0-393-71047-2 (e-book)

W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.

500 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10110

www.wwnorton.com

W. W. Norton & Company Ltd.

Castle House, 75/76 Wells Street, London W1T 3QT

For Taylor.
My wife, my friend,
my teacher, my compaera.

Contents

This e-book contains some places that ask the reader to fill in questions or comments. Please keep pen and paper handy as you read this e-book so that you can complete the exercises within.

Deepest gratitude goes to my students, who have taught me the art of playing mindfulness. So many of the lessons in this book were inspired or directly taught to me by students and teachers who took these teachings and evolved them in ways I never would have imagined.

I am indebted to the schools and organizations that have given me a home to implement the teachings in this book. I particularly want to thank the Marin Preparatory School, the SEEDS of Awareness community, Mindful Schools, as well as all the educators who have taken the learning journeys with me through the Mindful Education Institute and Mindful Education workshops.

To Linda Lantieri for her mentorship. I have never met someone as whole heartedly committed to the inner lives of kids. To Daniel Siegel for his shining mind and heart and for playing a key role in helping me publish my books. To Susan Kaiser-Greenland, who has been a guiding light for me in her profound creativity and the way she embodies mindfulness in her teaching. To Jamie Zimmermanwe carry the legacy of your beautiful heart and visionary work with us. There are so many in the mindful education community I have the honor of calling my friends and colleagues. Here are just a few I want to name because of how much I have learned from them and how deeply I respect the work they are doing: Jennifer Cohen Harper, Iamani Carrey-Simms, Melody Baker, Gina Biegal, Ali Smith, Atman Smith, Andy Garcia, Tish Jennings, Michael Craft, Meena Srinivasan, Theo Koffler, Laurie Grossman, Richard Shankman, Megan Cowan, Chris McKenna, Vinny Ferraro, Shauna Shapiro, Richard Burnett, Chris Cullen, Sam Himelstein, Jessica Morey, Marylin Neagley, Ryan Redman, Daniella Labra, Amishi Jha, Richie Davidson, Spring Washam, J. G. Larochete, JusTme, B. K. Bose, Morris Ervin, Howard Moody, Rachel Brown, Mim Kohn, Emily Weiner, and Peter Bonnano.

I understand that bringing mindfulness into the education system is a phenomenon only possible because of the forward-thinking minds and diligent work of those who have come before me. My mother, Elizabeth Lesser, and father, Stephan Rechtschaffen, have been foundational in bringing wisdom traditions into the mainstream and offering me a truly mindful upbringing. Having founded and directed the Omega Institute, they gave me the gift of growing up surrounded by luminaries whom I have had the honor of learning from, such as Jon Kabat-Zinn, Daniel Goleman, Thich Nhat Hanh, Joan Halifax, John and Jennifer Welwood, and so many others. I thank all of those whose vision and diligence have validated the benefits of mindfulness and emotional intelligence so that we now can integrate these invaluable practices into schools.

To Benjamin Yarling, Deborah Malmud, and the rest of the remarkable Norton team. The seed of this workbook was planted by your faith in my vision, and the support you have shown through every step has brought these pages to full bloom. Also to Micah Cohen for bringing beauty to these pages with his amazing art.

The Mindful
Education

WORKBOOK

________________________________

Mindfulness is like taking a tour inside your body to help calm yourself down.

Mindfulness is being really aware. You can even hear ants moving and you can feel blood moving in your body!

Mindfulness is a tool to use when youre fighting with someone and you can just take some vacuum cleaner breaths and then get on with what you were doing.

ELEMENTARY STUDENTS, SAN FRANCISCO

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The Mindfulness in Education Movement

Schools across the world are turning to mindfulness in the hopes that it will be an antidote for rising stress, emotional dysregulation, and attention deficit. In researching the school systems that have adopted mindfulness, we are learning that students and teachers are happier, more focused, emotionally regulated, and less affected by stress (Zenner et al., 2014). What school would pass up a chance to raise test scores, have fewer playground fights, and cultivate a more peaceful environment?

In South Burlington, Vermont, students begin and end each day with a few mindful minutes, focusing on their breath and building their attention muscles. In Baltimore, Maryland, high schoolers walk into the chill room when they need to cool down from stressful situations, working with impulse control and learning to communicate when there is conflict. In Sun Valley, Idaho students practice compassion in school and then make it real by choosing community service projects in their town, even traveling around the world bringing their empathic commitment. Students from Mexico to Israel to Rwanda are learning mindfulness in creative and inspiring ways.