Mindfulness: Teachers Connect With Colleagues and Breathe Through Stress

• In Event: 47.095 - MTCC Roundtable Session 19
  In Roundtable Session: 47.095-9 - Advancing Self and Social Transformation Through Cross-Cultural Conversation

Abstract

For twenty-four weeks, a group of high school teachers and K-12 social workers gathered every Monday morning before school to engage in a thirty minute session of guided mindfulness techniques. Using interview and focus group data, this paper explores how the participants talk about their experiences and program impact. We also inquire into how a small group of individuals learning a guided mindfulness practice might spread and impact the greater school community. Participants indicate that the weekly meeting time became a community of support for them enabling them to know and connect with their colleagues in ways they hadn’t experienced before. Finally, each individual shared that they incorporated what they learned into their work with their K-12 students.

Author

• Shara Cherniak, University of Georgia