Meditation should not be required in all K-12 schools, but instead, new teachers working in low-income, urban elementary and middle schools should be trained to then implement it in their specific classrooms. Mindfulness meditation has been shown to give those who practice it long lasting benefits. A majority of these benefits though, would help younger students more than the middle aged women who make up a majority of those who practice mindfulness meditation. It has been found that mindfulness meditation can be linked to an increase in, “happiness, focus and self-confidence and a reduction in psychological distress, including stress, anxiety and depression.” These, along with many more including attention and awareness are not only a good thing in general, but can help kids as they progress through life. In a study examined by the Mindful Schools Organization, they summarized that, “social skills in kindergarten predict improved education, employment, crime, substance abuse and mental health outcomes in adulthood.” If children are given the opportunity to meditate starting in their early schooling, they will be able use those skills later in life when dealing with stressful or depressing situations. In high school, I was actually a part of a study conducted by the University of California schools. While I personally did enjoy the daily mindfulness meditation, there was an overwhelming majority that did not. Throughout my four years in high school, I found that many people seemed hesitant to comply to these meditation practices and as a result, I feel as though this shows that requiring meditation in high school is too hard of a task. My observations of how students at my high school viewed mindfulness meditation only further solidify my opinion that mindfulness meditation should not be required, especially in high school. This is so, by the time children reach high school, instead of being forced to meditate, they can do those mindfulness meditation practices when they personally think it is necessary.  

While it would be great to go ahead and implement meditation in all schools right away, it is not that easy. There is the question of resources which presents issues of cost and number of professionals available. Not only are there simply not enough trained professionals to go to every school in the United States, but it also costs a lot of money to bring in these professionals to train the teachers. This means that certain schools must be prioritized. What I am suggesting, is to implement mindfulness meditation into the schools located in urban, low-income areas. Living in poverty seems to put an extra stress on children given that, “ ‘Some of our children are homeless. Some of them come to school from situations where they don’t have lights at home, or food. They see crime occur in their neighborhoods,’ Principal Carlillian Thompson said.” This statement, made by the principal of a low-income, urban elementary school, helps shed light on the harsh realities these children face on a daily basis. Their environment is a lot harsher than, say, a life in the suburbs. It has been found that, “traumatic stress is a reality for millions of children who grow up in an oppressive climate of poverty, violence, and fear.” Given that mindfulness meditation can help ease stress, implementing meditation in these schools would make a greater difference than if it were administered in a wealthy suburb. Also, teaching these kids at a young age will help them to cope in stressful situations because they can take the mindfulness practices they do at school and can do them in times of stress.

Now comes the question of how to go about implementing mindfulness meditation into these schools. It seems as though there are still those who are skeptical of implementing mindfulness meditation into schools, so what I propose is to require new teachers to be trained on how to implement mindfulness meditation into their classrooms. By teaching new teachers, this should eradicate the possibility of resistance between teachers and the school on this issue of meditation in the classroom. This would also allow a smooth transition of the implementation of mindfulness meditation in schools. Any teachers who are open to the idea can participate in the training process as well. In highschool, I also noticed that some teachers were far more enthusiastic about meditation than others. This is important to note because some students were given more quality instruction and guidance than others while participating in mindfulness meditation. This is why I think the implementation of mindfulness meditation would be more successful if new teachers are trained, instead of training all teachers, despite their views on the idea. When informing these new teachers about meditation and how to implement it in the classroom, they will hopefully gain an understanding of what is going on in their students’ heads as well. Cavazos states it perfectly, saying, “If teachers have an idea of what’s going on behind the bad behavior, they can more effectively reach their students because they know it might not just be a child choosing to be defiant or difficult.” Giving teachers instruction on how to implement meditation goes hand in hand with teaching them why to implement meditation. And figuring out what is going through their students’ heads and realizing there is more to their behavior than “just being difficult” is important. This is where the reasoning behind implementing meditation lies.

It is also important to realize that the effectiveness of the mindful meditation practices will relate directly to the teachers themselves. Katherine Weare, a University professor in the UK points out that, “In promoting mental health in schools we have to start with the mental health and wellbeing of teachers themselves…” A teacher who is tired and maybe even burnt out from countless years of teaching might see this as another hassle to adhere to. A teacher with this attitude may not be suitable to lead mindfulness practices, given their mood and current outlook. But a new teacher shouldn’t have those feelings of being burnt out. This means that they would most likely more effectively administer the mindfulness meditation practices they have learned and been trained to perform. Also, given the benefits that daily mindfulness meditation provides, these new teachers will hopefully keep themselves from reaching this “burn-out” period longer as a result.