Nick Mosca holds a Master of Divinity from Harvard with an emphasis on mindfulness in education. His courses, webinars, and presentations have enabled hundreds of administrators, teachers, parents, and students to align mindfulness practices with their skills and interests. For more information, please e-mail nick@nickmosca.com
If you’ve heard about mindfulness and are wondering how it relates to your day-to-day life as a school leader, then this blog is for you. You may not realize it but you already have a lot of experience with mindfulness. Any time you’ve ever (desperately) tried bringing a wayward class back to a lesson, you’ve practiced it! Similarly, mindfulness practitioners attempt to gently redirect their attention back to the present moment. In essence, mindfulness is classroom management – for your thoughts!
After consulting with hundreds of teachers and administrators, I’ve realized that mindfulness is a secular practice that anyone can cultivate. And it’s worth it. As a teacher for over a decade, I can honestly say that mindfulness is the most powerful tool in my professional toolkit.
When I am mindful, I become far more reflective than reactive. I am better able to appreciate my students’ quirks because I am more aware of my own. Overall, the classroom transforms into an expansive space where I am less punitive and far more compassionate toward both my students and myself.
When we embody values like this, something wonderful happens: students start reflecting them back. A feedback loop forms in which our mutual mindfulness fuels each other.
Unfortunately, school leaders feel they don’t have enough time to practice mindfulness – even though they truly can’t afford not to. Inspired by Allison Zmuda’s masterful work in the field of personalized learning, I have developed 7 easy steps to use mindfulness in ways that align with your unique learning styles and interests. That way, you’ll genuinely want to practice (and thereby gain all its benefits) – both inside and outside of the classroom.
Alongside Allison Zmuda, Nick Mosca will present at the Think Space grand opening event in Lakewood, Colorado on February 4, 2017. Drawing on over ten years of experience, Nick’s professional development courses, webinars, and presentations have enabled hundreds of clients to align mindfulness practices with their skills and interests.