BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, September 23, 2016 (Morning News USA): What would a school do when one of its students misbehaves? Detention is one common action. But Robert W. Coleman Elementary School in Baltimore is doing something unique — meditation. Detention is a common disciplinary action among schools to address students’ misbehaviors. It involves a trip to the guidance counselor for a series of activities, depending on the extent and degree of misbehavior.
The school set up a room called Mindful Moment Room, in partnership with Holistic Life Foundation. The room is not the typical cold, lifeless, white-walled empty room with the bare essentials. The Mindful Moment Room has lamps, artsy decorations, and purple pillows. When kids are sent to this room, the aim is to help them practice meditation by teaching them breathing exercises, and encouraging talk therapy. Kids meditate about their behavior, talk about the things that led to the misbehavior, and discuss ways to avoid such incidents from happening in the future.
For a decade now, Holistic Life Foundation has been offering a program called Holistic Me, an after-school meditation program for pre-kindergarten to fifth graders. They partnered with Robert W. Coleman Elementary School and created a mindfulness exercise program, and yoga practice to be included in the school’s system.