Bullying in Irish Education

CHAPTER SIXTEEN: Mindfulness and Pre-School Children

CHAPTER SIXTEEN Mindfulness and Pre-School Children Madeleine Young  Preventing conflicts is the work of politics; establishing peace is the work of education. (Maria Montessori, 1972, p. 30) INTRODUCTION Early childhood is often romanticised with thoughts of play, fun, indulgences and cuddles; images of chubby little individuals who have not a care in the world come to mind. Does behaviour radically change as these pre-schoolers enter middle childhood and adolescence? Much recent media attention has been given to bullying – the victims and perpetrators. According to the charity Beatbullying (BBC News UK, 2010), 44% of suicides of young people in the United Kingdom are attributed to bullying. Schools have adopted anti-bullying policies and codes of discipline and many anti-bullying programmes have been marketed to address the problem; however, a whole-school approach is vital. If we are intent in preventing bullying, we need firstly to promote those positive qualities of empathy and loving-kindness in our children at a very young age as it is in early childhood that the foundations for such qualities are rooted. Once those qualities are present, it may become much more difficult to objectify others by bullying behaviour. We need to counteract the bullying epidemic in our society at a deep level, not by punishing or criticising the perpetrators or bystanders but by encouraging children to pay attention to thoughts and reactions in order to develop compassion. A peaceful mind helps to create a compassionate attitude, while anger and fear create conflict and misery (Warren, 2002). The Dalai Lama (1997) has instructed us that if we accept all experiences in life, whether positive 362 or negative, then we will avoid becoming overwhelmed and losing control. In this way we can learn to manage our emotional responses and avoid out-of-control behavioural outbursts. We need to accept the unacceptable and learn to let go of our tendencies to control, avoid or crave (Rosenbaum, 1999) and work towards wholeness and authenticity (Perls et al., 1998). Children are constantly told by teachers and parents to ‘pay attention’, yet they are frequently not shown how (Mann, 2001). The skill of paying attention is at the heart of mindfulness, as by paying attention to the breath, to the body and to the thoughts, children can learn to pay attention to their reactions (Semple et al., 2006). It has been stated by the many advocates who promote mindfulness with children that through mindfulness children learn to pay attention, by improving concentration, developing listening skills and learning how to relax, as they begin to focus their attention on the breath. Focusing on the breath assists children to stay in the present, helps them to acquire an awareness of their feelings and body sensations, without judgement, thus improving their impulse control, so that they become less reactive, and choose instead how to respond (Bien 2006, Thich Nhat Hanh, 2008). The promotion of empathy and kindness is a secondary goal of the mindfulness programme, as children are encouraged to give and receive thoughts of loving-kindness (Kornfield, 2005). Mindfulness may be considered to be a religious practice by many and therefore care should be taken not to influence children’s religious beliefs. Although mindfulness is frequently associated with Buddhism, a school programme needs to be regarded as a secular activity (Fontana and Slack, 2007). It can be difficult to accurately define the term mindfulness. Kabat-Zinn (1994) describes it as paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, yet without judgement. Essentially, it may be regarded as training in mental discipline. When people learn and practise mindfulness, they begin to stop identifying with thoughts, feelings and body sensations and to cease obsessing with the drama of their own personal narratives. As a result they become more objective and start to observe instead what is going on for them with curiosity and interest (Chaskalson, 2011). Mindfulness teaches us to stop attending to unhappy memories and critical judgemental thoughts and feelings, by witnessing them as they arise with compassionate awareness, thus liberating ourselves from worry, stress and unhappiness (Williams and Penman, 2012). Mindfulness is a powerful tool in teaching. If a teacher behaves calmly, then students are likely to follow and if a teacher shows MINDFULNESS AND PRE-SCHOOL CHILDREN 363 364 Madeleine Young respect, then students return the courtesy. Both teachers and students learn through mindfulness to notice thoughts and feelings with conscious awareness, without reaction, observing them as they...