Fostering empathetic and connected classrooms through mindfulness-based interventions

View a pdf version of the report here:

Fostering empathetic and connected classrooms through mindfulness-based interventions.pdf


*“Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.” —* Anne Lamott, 2015

It doesn’t take an academic paper to conclude that the COVID-19 pandemic has been brutal for everyone. Not being able to laugh with our friends, hug our grandparents or celebrate birthdays, graduations, anniversaries—takes a toll. Teachers are exhausted. A US study done in January of 2021 found that one in four teachers planned to leave the profession by the end of the school year, compared to one in six the year prior (Steiner & Woo, 2021). However, COVID is not the only factor here. A 2016 study also found that 83% of educators were experiencing increased stress from the workplace, and 60% said their work had negatively impacted their mental health (Wigelsworth & Quinn, 2020). For students, in addition to the gaps in learning and social skills teachers are seeing, mental health is on a free-fall. Even before COVID, Canada has one of the highest suicide rates in the world for youth. It is the second leading cause of death among 15-29-year-olds, and one in five kids has a plan for self-harm (Carrington, 2019). A Statistics Canada (2020) survey had 57% of youth reporting that their mental health was worse than before the pandemic, specifically before implementing physical distancing measures. These students had lower grades and found it challenging to make friends. When predicting their child’s mental health, the survey found that parents reported better mental health than the children themselves did. Parents were not always aware of the mental health struggles of their children. Now more than ever, there is a desperate need to reconnect, both with each other and with our students.

Do you have anything to clear?

Almost everyone took on a new hobby during the COVID-19 pandemic. For some, it was baking; for others, it was knitting. For me, it was yoga. I had dabbled before, but during the pandemic, it was the thing that kept me sane. It became a ritual for me—the perfect combination of movement, breath and introspection. So I wondered how I might incorporate it into the classroom as a movement break. My daily yoga practice led me to a job at Lululemon when things opened back up again. My work there inspired my topic for this project. At Lululemon, at the start of every shift and every staff meeting, we are all asked one question: “Do you have anything to clear?” This allows us to verbalize anything that may be preventing us from being fully present. These “clearings” help us foster a culture of empathy and support. Initially a yoga-based company, Lululemon operates with mental well-being and mindfulness at its core. Taking what I have experienced in that culture, I wondered how I could use clearings and other strategies to build a similar culture in the classroom. This led to my inquiry question:

<aside> 💡 How can mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) be used in schools, and what are their benefits?

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Secondary questions to lead the research are: What is mindfulness? What are some supports and criticisms of a mindfulness approach? What strategies can we use to incorporate mindfulness in our schools?

In-class research

Mindfulness Toolkit

References