The mindful teacher

For the last couple years, my school district has been emphasizing twelve  "Habits of Mind" that all teachers should be working to include in their lessons like persistence, managing impulsivity, listening and creative thinking . Great stuff. Teachers like it, and we have  posters on our walls to remind us of these intellectual capacities. Some of us believe that cultivating these habits is the real work of teachers.  Of course, the trick is translating these habits into practical lessons, and making them stick. And like all habits, they are strengthened through repetition. How to do that?  Mindfulness practice may be one simple way to inculcate new "habits of mind."  Even a basic concentration practice, like sitting and focusing on the breath, engages many of these habits, like  persistenc e: we keep coming back no matter how many times the mind goes off the breath; listening with understanding : we listen to our minds and bodies without judging what we ob...

Art by Tim Iverson

I've thought about how much the job of a teacher is like that of a police officer: upholding rules of behavior; looking out for the greater good; protecting the rights of all to a safe environment; having "situational awareness"-which sounds very much like mindfulness. Another similarity of the two jobs is the insistence on truth . I recently read an engrossing book by David Simon, called,  "Homicide", (Holt paperbacks, 1992). For an entire year Simon, a crime reporter for the Baltimore Sun , shadowed officers in the homicide division of the Baltimore Police Department. Simon creates a vivid portrait of his characters, their language, stresses, and their day-to-day activities.  One of the things that struck me is the prevalence  of lying they have to confront.  The detectives can almost assume that any suspect  is going to spew falsehoods,  or shade the truth. Or simply say  nothing at all. It's as if the detectives swim in a sea ...