Lisa Moore rattled a rainstick before urging her Cook Middle School students to shut their eyes or look down.
“Let what’s stressing your mind go,” she said between deep breaths. “As you breathe out, let all that stuff go.”
Students exchanged glances. Some giggled, distracted by classroom visitors. Ultimately, the eighth-graders sank into their seats, closed their eyes or looked at their feet as their teacher’s soothing voice led them through their afternoon “mindfulness” session.
Twice a day, at the start of first and sixth period, teachers at this school on Santa Rosa’s southwestern outskirts dim the lights and encourage students to relax their bodies, take deep breaths and calm their minds.
For all the buzz over technocentric learning and endless hours devoted in classrooms to test preparation, this too, represents a growing trend in the education of our next generation.
Once on the cultural fringe, mindfulness — a form of meditation — is now promoted in the American mainstream, from the bastions of the corporate world to primary and secondary schools across the country.
Cook launched its mindfulness program at the beginning of this school year, seeking to reduce student stress and attain sharper focus in classrooms.
“At first I thought it was a little bit silly,” said Briana Gutierrez, a 14-year-old student in Moore’s class. “But I got used to it. It’s pretty relaxing.”
Gutierrez said she sees the benefits on her campus. Students aren’t as “wild,” she said.
Principal Matt Pollack said that despite the initial skepticism on campus, suspensions are down, and fewer kids are getting into trouble — improvements he credits partly to the sessions. Discipline referrals decreased by 35 percent, compared to this time last year, he said. Meanwhile, grades are up. Students who last year received Ds and Fs on their report cards now are getting As, Bs and Cs, Pollack said.
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