Why Schools should replace detention with Mindful Meditation

If you’ve ever attended a public school, you are no doubt familiar with detention. It’s been the go-to punishment for misbehaving students practically for as long as there have been schools in the United States, but it often doesn’t work as well as adults have been led to believe. It does punish students for their bad behavior, but it often doesn’t address the reasons why students misbehave. Maybe a student causes trouble because of problems at home, or maybe they have issues with anxiety that cause them to act out. Staff members cannot address any of these problems if students are to simply sit quietly in a classroom as punishment.

Even though detention is a very common form of classroom management and punishment, there are better solutions available. One solution that has proven very effective for many children is mindful meditation. The idea is that children who misbehave in class are sent to a quiet meditation room where they can engage in calming meditation techniques. This gives the student time to reflect on their behavior in a positive manner and calm themselves down.

Why Mindful Meditation Works

The biggest difference between detention and mindful meditation is that while detention is almost always seen as a punishment, mindful meditation is more of a therapeutic exercise. Students aren’t shamed explicitly or implicitly when they are sent to a mindful meditation room, something that cannot always be said when a student is given detention. Meditation gives children a chance to reduce their anxiety, boost their energy levels in a healthy manner, improve focus, and otherwise put them in a much better mood. Meditation can also be combined with other activities such as kids yoga to be even more effective. In fact, easy yoga exercises can be taught in classrooms to improve student behavior and make classrooms much more manageable for teachers and other staff members.

Students of all kinds can benefit from mindful meditation, but it has proven especially helpful for academically-challenged students. Studies such as this one have shown that mindful meditation can lead to improved academic success and higher graduation rates. This shouldn’t come as a surprise since the right mindful meditation techniques will improve a student’s ability to focus while reducing their anxiety, two things that can greatly improve one’s performance in the classroom.

Mindful Meditation Programs from Mindful Practices Yoga

Mindful meditation and yoga in the classroom may seem like relatively new concepts, so some schools might not know how to use it to their best advantage. Fortunately, Mindful Practices Yoga can help train your students and staff in various meditation techniques. Our SEL certification courses are designed for meditation novices and yoga enthusiasts alike, and we can help find a program that will work best for your school’s needs. For more information about our programs, contact Mindful Practices Yoga today.