The Sacramento Bee – Loretta Kalb
“Minutes after the opening bell at Albert Einstein Middle School in Sacramento, a quiet calm swept across a classroom of eighth-grade students who listened, eyes closed, as U.S. history teacher Thomas McKenna guided them to a mindful state. “An emotion comes in. You acknowledge it. And you move on,” McKenna intoned Wednesday before reading a poem, “Guest House” by Jalal al-Din Rumi. The poem urged students to meet dark thoughts, shame and malice “at the door laughing.” If that doesn’t sound like a traditional start to a middle school day, there’s good reason. Many of today’s middle school students are light-years removed from their parents’ childhood experiences thanks to the Internet, after-school activities and social pressures. Enter mindfulness, a state of being in the present. That means learning to acknowledge and then put aside anxiety from yesterday’s conflicts or tomorrow’s uncertainties. The strategy can help students reduce stress, prepare for a test, cultivate empathy. Students can count deep breaths as they focus on the present, on their physical being, on calming their minds as they learn to focus.”(more)