Before reading this post, please be sure that you catch up on my previous post where I found the missing piece that I have been looking for! Well, shall I say, it was something that required a higher emphasis in my classroom, deliberately finding new reinforcement strategies.
... MINDFULNESS!
It was quite a rough patch for me in the last few weeks, until I was inspired to reintroduce a new outlook of mindfulness in my classroom. I was talking to my teacher friends for several hours, and with their support and amazing words of wisdom, I planned two simple demonstrations to shed some light on the concerns that I have been observing among my students. These are, none other than, their choice of words and actions when they interact with their friends.
I remembered how excited I was the next morning. I was REALLY, REALLY looking forward to see my students and walk them through these two simple demonstrations! I jumped out of bed slightly earlier than my usual timing, took my shower, put my makeup on, and bought some items that I needed for the demonstrations from 7-11 outlet in front of my condo. And... of course, COFFEE! It was 8:00 am, and the school bell rang. I heard my students running up the stairs, as loud as the giant's footsteps, and the anticipation in me grew stronger.
Parable of a Toothpaste
I gave each of them a small tube of toothpaste with a cup. They were really confused and started thinking that we were about to learn how to brush our teeth the right way. Then, I told them to squeeze all the white paste out into the cup, every single bit of it. They sure had fun doing that, without thinking much of the exact objective of this simple demonstration. After that, I told them to put back all the white paste into the tube again, and they went bonkers! They tried cutting the tube into half and poured it back, but no matter how hard they try, it was never going to look like the original toothpaste that we see on the shelves. Difficult... Impossible... So, what's the point here?
After washing their hands, I gathered them at our meeting area in a big circle. Subsequently, I started my daily presidential speech, LOL! Imagine the toothpaste tube as our mouths, and the white paste as our words. Whatever kind of words that come out from our mouths leave a big impact on the listeners of our words. Whatever that we say, it is just so impossible to take it back, and that's why we need to be very wise with our choice of words. Both kind and unkind words affect the soul and emotions of the listeners. I gave examples of words and phrases that I often hear in my classroom, and to my amazement, all of them were staring at me quietly, with gentle, contemplative eyes. I knew, they were able to relate to some parts of my message (or parable, haha).
Parable of a Balloon
Next, I asked them to say one thing that made them feel sad or upset. As they shared, I blew air into the red balloon that I have in my hand. It grew bigger, bigger and bigger. I also secretly hid a notice board pin behind me and I popped the balloon intentionally! The loud balloon pop was the light-bulb moment for us! I shared that we have our own balloons of emotions and feelings and all of us have different capacity on how much we can take before the balloon eventually popped into anger and/or tears. They were able to recognize authentic connections of what was shared in the parable of a toothpaste with this new parable of a balloon.
"Miss Cally, when we are sad, we will learn how to appreciate being happy." This has totally left me flabbergasted, before three of them started tearing followed by the longest silent three-minute we have ever had in our classroom. We then had our exit ticket, a short reflection time on both the parables or demonstrations before they went for their PE (physical education) lesson. The following were some of the responses I have received:
- "We will never look at toothpaste and balloon the same way ever again!"
- "Now, when I brush my teeth, I am going to remember this parable forever!"
- "Even our teachers and parents have their own balloons..."
- "We can say sorry to our friends after saying unkind words, but we won't know how they really feel. Maybe they will even remember our words for many days, or years!"
- "I cannot imagine a world with no teachers..."
- "Life is so difficult, but I think we just need to be kind with one another."
- "Phew, I cannot believe that I cried. Now I know how my mom feels, when she cries, or scolds me."
What a great relief to all my headache and heartache! There are still tiny hiccups here and there, but things are getting better day by day. Though the two kids that used to be the bestest friends still have their own ups and downs at school, they are definitely more mindful of their words and actions as compared to previous weeks. Everything happens at its own pace, and it is a rewarding journey or process. In fact, both the parables were a good reminder for me, and I am sure everyone else feels the same too.
“Child, to say the very thing you really mean, the whole of it, nothing more or less or other than what you really mean; that's the whole art and joy of words.”
(quoted by C.S. Lewis)
Thank you for reading my post today! Hope you liked it :)
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Really love this parable of toothpaste and balloon. So much wisdom in it. I do pray the two buddies will be the bestest friends in the near future as they had iron sharpen iron already.
Indeed hurtful words once spoken can never be taken back. I always hope there is a remote control to mute myself on time so not to lash out the words. Oh yes parents need the parable too.
So good im going to resteem this.
Thank you, @iamjadeline for your support! :) And yes, definitely a good reminder for us yeah.
Thank you for the reminder too.
As adults, we forget a lot even the simplest thing.
Resteeming this!
Thank you, @roselifecoach for your support! :)
Most welcome @heartscally!
So good!!! Enjoyed reading every bit of it, @heartscally! Gonna resteem this, can't wait to read your upcoming writing. Xx
Thank you, @alimamasstory for your support! :)
Good teachers are golden. I wish we had teachers like you in Nigeria. Thanks for this post, really educating.
Aww, thank you, @udochi for a big compliment! :)
This is a fantastic post and you are surely a great example for your fellow teachers. I've resteemed your post under education. Join us on the steemiteducation discord channel. Plenty of teachers to communicate with!
Ah, thank you for the resteem, @giantbear! I am already in the Discord channel, and have been reading a lot of #steemiteducation posts from time to time, when things don't go too crazy at work. :) Thanks for the support!
I liked this technique you used, and how the children captured the message so easily. It shows that it has worked well for children to have a clear and concise learning.
Thank you for the compliments, @cindycam! Appreciate it much! :)
What a beautiful writing here. Thank you for always teaching something :)
Thank you for your support, @waybeyondpadthai! :D
Mindfulness is exactly the kind of subject matter that matters most! That's what I want my kids to be learning and practicing in their daily lives. Thank you for the kindness and caring you're showing to your students.
Totally agree with you, @caleblindsay. Thank you for your support! :)
Oh i is like the 2 parables! Very simple, yet full of wisdom! So true that it can even apply to adults! I pray that all of your students will remember this message and apply it in their daily lives as they grow up. Reminder to me too. I'm so in awe of your way of teaching your students, way to go Ms.Cally! Upvoted and resteemed 👍
Awww, thank youuuu, with all the teacher shenanigans I have to face everyday, that pretty much forced me to find good, and better strategies to play with. Thanks for your support, @michelleloh168! :D
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Oh wowwww! Thank youuuu, @howtostartablog! :)
:)
This is so true. And particularly needed on a platform like this where people often spew out their thoughts onto a permanent block chain without thought as to what are the implications of them.
Appreciate the beautiful post. Thank you.