When you observe your students, do you react or respond?
This is not just a semantic difference.
When we react to our students, we engage on impulse. We are not considering the impact of our actions outside of the specific moment in which they occur.
When we respond to our students, we often start with a pause to ask ourselves the following: How does this student action make me feel? How can I respond in a way that is supportive of my students and their overall trajectory?
While it may sound simple, in practice, it’s not easy to do. It is part of my continued work to stop myself before reacting so I can fully respond.
In this episode of Breaking the Paradigm, I discussed how a practice of mindfulness can support teachers in being able to respond to students. Because the truth is, unless health and safety is at risk, things we think need our reaction usually do not.
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Breaking the Paradigm is a division of Developing Education, which is on a mission to transform education globally to foster human development and flourishing for all people.
First Intention: Curriculum and pedagogy support for Montessori adolescent practitioners, specifically with math and language across the prepared environment.
The Enlightened Educator Project: Supporting educators with mindfulness and resiliency through professional development and downloadable resources.
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