We LOVE this idea!
Typically, when a child misbehaves or is involved in any “misdemeanour”, the school generally assesses the severity of it, and deems if it warrants a detention.
But aside from a being a punishment, does it actually help? And if the child is misbehaving for a deeper reason than just ‘boldness’, does sitting in a quiet room and staring at the walls actually do anything to resolve the issue?
Well in a bold move, one school in Baltimore in the US is replacing detention with meditation.
Instead of suspending them or putting them into detention, Robert W. Coleman Elementary School places disruptive children into the Mindful Moment Room, where they are encouraged to practice breathing exercises and meditation, and talk through why they were put there.
The room is specially decorated to have a calming effect, with soft lighting, cosy cushions and decorations. Kids who enter sign the visitor log and are assigned a Mindfulness Instructor who typically practices five minutes of targeted discussion with the child, followed by 15 minutes of meditation or mindfulness.
The Mindful Moment Room was set up in partnership with the Holistic Life Foundation, a non-profit organisation which facilitates this service in other schools too, as well as a host of other activities such as after-school meditation and yoga.
“It's amazing,” says Kirk Philips, the Holistic Me coordinator at the school. “You wouldn't think that little kids would meditate in silence. And they do.”
And according to Robert W. Coleman, the meditation is having a positive effect. So far this year there have been zero suspensions, while another school, Patterson Park High School says suspension rates have dropped and attendance has increased.
We have to say, there is absolutely nothing about this we don’t like. We think something like this implemented in Irish schools could only have a positive effect.
